Details:
Movie Title: Enter the Dragon
Released Date: August 19, 1973 (U.S.)
Tagline: “Their deadly mission: to crack the forbidden island of Han!”
Runtime: 102 minutes
Director: Robert Clouse
Screenplay Written By: Michael Allin
Based On: Original screenplay
Is it a remake?: No
Budget: Approximately $850,000
Box Office: Approximately $90 million worldwide (estimates vary by source and re-releases)
Main Cast:
- Bruce Lee — Lee
- John Saxon — Roper
- Jim Kelly — Williams
- Ahna Capri — Tania
- Shih Kien — Han
- Bob Wall — Oharra
- Bolo Yeung — Bolo
- Angela Mao — Su Lin
- Geoffrey Weeks — Braithwaite
Awards:
- Saturn Award Nomination — Best Action/Adventure Film
- Entered into the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress in 2004 for cultural, historical, and aesthetic significance
- Widely credited with helping popularize martial arts films in the United States and globally
Short Plot Summary:
Martial artist Lee is recruited by British intelligence to infiltrate a private martial arts tournament hosted on the island fortress of crime lord Han. While competing in the tournament, Lee investigates Han’s illegal activities and seeks personal revenge connected to his family’s past. Alongside fellow competitors Roper and Williams, Lee uncovers a criminal operation hidden beneath the island’s glamorous exterior.
Key Quotes:
- “Boards don’t hit back.” — Lee
- “We need emotional content.” — Lee
- “Don’t think… feel.” — Lee
- “A good martial artist does not become tense, but ready.” — Lee
Trivia
Director:
- Robert Clouse was chosen partly because Warner Bros. wanted an American director familiar to Hollywood production systems.
- Quentin Tarantino has cited Enter the Dragon as one of the most influential martial arts films ever made.
- The film blended Hong Kong martial arts filmmaking with American studio production techniques, helping create crossover appeal.
Cast / Casting:
- This was Bruce Lee’s final completed film released during his lifetime. He died on July 20, 1973, just weeks before the film’s premiere.
- Jim Kelly’s performance helped make him one of the first major Black martial arts movie stars in Hollywood.
- Bruce Lee personally choreographed many of the fight scenes.
- Jackie Chan appears briefly as one of Han’s guards and was accidentally struck in the face by Bruce Lee during filming.
- Sammo Hung also worked on the film as part of the stunt and martial arts team.
Soundtrack / Score:
- The score was composed by Lalo Schifrin, known for Mission: Impossible and Dirty Harry.
- Schifrin combined jazz, funk, orchestral music, and Asian musical influences for the soundtrack.
- The soundtrack became one of the most recognizable martial arts film scores of the 1970s.
Location:
- Filming took place primarily in Hong Kong.
- Han’s island fortress scenes were filmed at Golden Harvest studio locations and nearby coastal areas.
- Some outdoor scenes were filmed around Kowloon and Hong Kong Harbor.
Behind-The-Scenes:
- Bruce Lee insisted on greater authenticity in the fight choreography compared to earlier martial arts films.
- The famous mirror room finale was inspired partly by The Lady from Shanghai (1947).
- Lee suffered multiple injuries during filming due to the intense physical demands of production.
- Production was a collaboration between Warner Bros. and Golden Harvest, making it one of the first major Hollywood/Hong Kong co-productions.
- Bruce Lee and Bob Wall reportedly hit each other for real during portions of their fight scene.
Nostalgia:
- The film triggered a massive martial arts boom in American pop culture during the 1970s.
- Bruce Lee’s yellow-and-black style outfits and philosophical dialogue became iconic elements of martial arts cinema.
- Enter the Dragon heavily influenced later fighting games, action films, anime, and hip-hop culture.
- The film became a staple of cable television and VHS rentals throughout the 1980s and 1990s.
Easter Eggs:
- The underground lair concept and tournament structure later influenced films and games including Mortal Kombat.
- Numerous later action films paid homage to the mirror room climax.
- The “fight tournament on a secret island” formula became a recurring martial arts movie trope after this film.
Misc:
- Bruce Lee was reportedly dissatisfied with portions of the English-language dubbing and dialogue.
- The movie earned far more internationally than expected and became the highest-grossing martial arts film of its era.
- The film was released just after Bruce Lee’s death, contributing to enormous public interest.
- The success of the film helped establish martial arts as a mainstream Hollywood genre.
Sources Cited:
- IMDb: IMDb – Enter the Dragon (1973)
- Wikipedia: Wikipedia – Enter the Dragon
- Box Office Mojo: Box Office Mojo – Enter the Dragon
- Rotten Tomatoes: Rotten Tomatoes – Enter the Dragon
- TMDb: TMDb – Enter the Dragon
- Additional Sources:
