Enter the Dragon (1973)

Enter the Dragon is a 1973 martial arts action-spy film directed by Robert Clouse and starring Bruce Lee, John Saxon and Jim Kelly. It was Lee’s final completed film appearance before his death on 20 July 1973 at age 32. An American and Hong Kong co-production, it premiered in Los Angeles on 19 August 1973, one month after Lee’s death. The film is estimated to have grossed over US$400 million worldwide (estimated to be the equivalent of over $2 billion adjusted for inflation as of 2022), against a budget of $850,000. Having earned more than 400 times its budget, it is one of the most profitable films of all time as well as the most successful martial arts film. Enter the Dragon is widely regarded as one of the greatest martial arts films of all time. In 2004, it was selected for preservation in

the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant”. Among the first films to combine martial arts action with spy film elements and the emerging blaxploitation genre, its success led to a series of similar productions combining the martial arts and blaxploitation genres. Its themes generated scholarly debate about the changes taking place within post-colonial Asian societies following the end of World War II. Enter the Dragon is also considered one of the most influential action films of all time, with its success contributing to mainstream worldwide interest in the martial arts as well as inspiring numerous fictional works, including action films, television shows, action games, comic books, manga and anime.

Plot.

Lee, a highly proficient martial artist and instructor from Hong Kong, is approached by Braithwaite, a British intelligence agent investigating the suspected crime lord named Han. Lee is persuaded to attend a high-profile martial arts tournament on Han’s private island to gather evidence that will prove Han’s involvement in drug trafficking and prostitution. Shortly before his departure, Lee also learns that the man responsible for his sister’s death, O’Hara, is working as Han’s bodyguard on the island. Also fighting in the competition are Roper, an indebted gambling addict, and fellow Vietnam war veteran Williams. At the end of the first day, Han gives strict orders to the competitors not to leave their rooms. Lee makes contact with undercover operative Mei Ling and sneaks into Han’s underground compound, looking for evidence.

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He is discovered by several guards, but manages to escape. The next morning, Han orders his giant enforcer Bolo to kill the guards in public for failing in their duties. After the execution, the competition resumes with Lee facing O’Hara. Lee beats O’Hara in humiliating fashion, then kills him after he attacks Lee with a pair of broken bottles. Han abruptly ends the day’s competition after stating that O’Hara’s treachery has disgraced them. Afterwards Han confronts Williams, who had also left his room the previous night to exercise. Han believes Williams to have knowledge of the intruder and after a destructive brawl, beats Williams to death with his iron prosthetic hand. Han then reveals his drug operation to Roper, hoping that he will join his organisation. He also implicitly threatens to imprison Roper, along with all the other martial artists who joined Han’s tournaments in the past, if Roper will not join his operation.

Despite being initially intrigued, Roper refuses after learning of Williams’s fate. Lee sneaks out again that night and manages to send a message to Braithwaite, but he is captured after a prolonged battle with the guards. The next morning, Han arranges for Roper to fight Lee, but Roper refuses. As a punishment, Roper has to fight Bolo instead, whom he manages to overpower and beat after a grueling battle. Enraged by the unexpected failure, Han commands his remaining men to kill Lee and Roper. Facing insurmountable odds, they are soon aided by the island’s prisoners and the other invited martial artists, who had been freed by Mei Ling. Han escapes and is pursued by Lee, who finally corners him in his museum. After a brutal fight, Han runs away into a hidden mirror room. The mirrors initially give Han an advantage, but Lee smashes all the room’s mirrors to reveal Han’s location and eventually kills him.

Production, Writing.

Due to the success of his earlier films, Warner Bros began helping Bruce Lee with the film in 1972. They brought in producers Fred Weintraub and Paul Heller. The film was produced on a tight production budget of $850,000. The screenplay title was originally named Blood and Steel. The story features Asian, White and Black heroic protagonists because the producers wanted a film that would appeal to the widest possible international audiences. The scene in which Lee states that his style is “Fighting Without Fighting” is based upon a famous anecdote involving the 16th century samurai Tsukahara Bokuden.

Casting.

Rod Taylor was first choice for playing the down-on-their-luck martial artist Roper. Director Robert Clouse had already worked with Taylor in the 1970 film Darker than Amber. However, Taylor was dropped after Bruce Lee deemed him to be too tall for the role. John Saxon, who was a black belt in Judo and Shotokan Karate (he studied under grandmaster Hidetaka Nishiyama for three years), became the preferred choice. During contractual negotiations, Saxon’s agent told the film’s producers that if they wanted him they would have to change the plot so that the character of Williams is killed not Roper. They agreed and the script was changed. In a six decade career, the character would become one of Saxon’s best known roles. Rockne Tarkington was originally cast in the role of Williams. However, he unexpectedly dropped out days before the production was about to begin in Hong Kong. Producer Fred Weintraub knew that karate world champion Jim Kelly had a training dojo in Crenshaw, Los Angeles, so he hastily arranged a meeting.

Weintraub was immediately impressed, and Kelly was cast in the film. The success of Kelly’s appearance launched his career as a star: after Enter the Dragon, he signed a three-film deal with Warner Bros and went on to make several martial arts-themed blaxploitation films in the 1970s. Jackie Chan has uncredited roles as various guards during the fights with Lee. However, Yuen Wah was Lee’s main stunt double for the film, responsible for the gymnastics stunts such as the cartwheels and jumping back flip in the opening fight. Sammo Hung also has an uncredited role in the opening fight scene against Lee at the start of the film. A rumor surrounding the making of Enter The Dragon claims that actor Bob Wall did not like Bruce Lee and that their fight scenes were not choreographed. However, Wall has denied this, stating he and Lee were good friends.

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Filming.

The film was shot on location in Hong Kong. In keeping with local film-making practices, scenes were filmed without sound: dialogue and sound effects were added or dubbed in during post-production. Bruce Lee, after he had been goaded or challenged, fought several real fights with the film’s extras and some set intruders during filming. The scenes on Han’s Island were filmed at a residence known as Palm Villa near the coastal town of Stanley. The villa is now demolished and the area heavily redeveloped around Tai Tam Bay where the martial artists were filmed coming ashore.

Soundtrack.

Argentinian musician Lalo Schifrin composed the film’s musical score. While Schifrin was widely known at the time for his jazz scores, he also incorporated funk and traditional film score elements into the film’s soundtrack. He composed the score by sampling sounds from China, Korea, and Japan. The soundtrack has sold over 500,000 copies, earning a gold record.

Marketing.

Enter the Dragon was heavily advertised in the United States before its release. The budget for advertising was over US$1 million. It was unlike any promotional campaign that had been seen before, and was extremely comprehensive. To advertise the film, the studio offered free Karate classes, produced thousands of illustrated flip books, comic books, posters, photographs, and organised dozens of news releases, interviews, and public appearances for the stars. Esquire, The Wall Street Journal, Time, and Newsweek all wrote stories on the film.

Box office.

Enter the Dragon was one of the most successful films of 1973. Upon release in Hong Kong, the film grossed HK$3,307,536, which was huge business for the time, but less than Lee’s previous 1972 films Fist of Fury and The Way of the Dragon. In North America, the film was receiving offers of US$500,000 (equivalent to $3,100,000 in 2021) from American distributors by April 1973 for the distribution rights, several months before release. Upon its limited release in August 1973 in four theaters in New York, the film entered the weekly box office charts at number 17 with a gross of $140,010 (equivalent to $850,000 in 2021) in 3 days. Upon its expansion the following week, it topped the charts for two weeks. Over the next four weeks, it remained in the top 10 while competing with other kung fu films, including Lady Kung Fu, The Shanghai Killers and Deadly China Doll which held the top spot for one week each.

In October, Enter the Dragon regained the top spot in its eighth week. It sold 14.1 million tickets and grossed $25,000,000 (equivalent to $150,000,000 in 2021) from its initial US release, making it the year’s fourth highest-grossing film in the market. It was repeatedly re-released throughout the 1970s, with each re-release entering the top five in the box office charts. The film’s US gross had increased to $100 million by 1982, and more than $120 million (equivalent to $620 million adjusted for inflation) by 1998. As of 2001, it has grossed an estimated total of over $400 million worldwide, having earned more than 400 times its original budget. The film’s cost-to-profit ratio makes it one of the most commercially successful and profitable films of all time. Adjusted for inflation, the film’s worldwide gross is estimated to be the equivalent of over $2 billion as of 2022.

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Home video.

Enter the Dragon has remained one of the most popular martial arts films since its premiere and has been released numerous times worldwide on multiple home video formats. For almost three decades, many theatrical and home video versions were censored for violence, especially in the West. In the U.K. alone, at least four different versions have been released. Since 2001, the film has been released uncut in the U.K. and most other territories. Most DVDs and Blu-rays come with a wide range of extra features in the form of documentaries, interviews, etc. In 2013, a second, remastered HD transfer appeared on Blu-ray, billed as the “40th Anniversary Edition”. In 2020, new 2K digital restorations of the theatrical cut and special edition were included as part of the Bruce Lee: His Greatest Hits box set by The Criterion Collection, which featured all of Lee’s films, as well as Game of Death II.