Enter the Dragon

Enter the Dragon (Chinese 龍爭虎鬥) is a 1973 film directed by Robert Clouse, a co-production of the Hong Kong company Concord Production and the American studio Warner Bros. It is the last film Bruce Lee completed: he died on 20 July 1973 and did not live to see its premiere. Michael Allin's screenplay was originally called Blood and Steel and aimed at Bond-style films; Lee came up with the title Enter the Dragon. The producers deliberately cast heroes of Asian, white and Black origin so that the film would appeal to the widest audience. Alongside Lee appear John Saxon, Jim Kelly, Bob Wall and Bolo Yeung, all of whom practised martial arts themselves. For the role of O'Hara Lee originally wanted Chuck Norris; Jim Kelly stepped in at short notice for Rockne Tarkington, and producer Fred Weintraub came to his dojo in Los Angeles because of it. Filming took place in Hong Kong from February to April 1973, the island scenes were shot at Palm Villa near Stanley, and sound was dubbed afterwards, as was local practice. Sammo Hung and Jackie Chan appear in small uncredited roles. In 2004 the Library of Congress added the film to the American National Film Registry. English Wikipedia credits it with a share in worldwide interest in martial arts and lists it as an inspiration for the Street Fighter game series. A remake, announced repeatedly, most recently in 2018, was never made.

Martial arts in this work

Fight choreography

According to available sources, the fight sequences were planned and assembled by Bruce Lee himself; we have not been able to verify that he is formally credited for this in the titles. Lee shows in them the approach he developed as Jeet Kune Do, whose roots reach back to Wing Chun, which he learned from Ip Man. According to Chinese sources, the opening fight with Sammo Hung was shot only a month after principal photography ended, and Lee directed it himself. The gymnastic elements of this scene, a roll and a back flip, were performed for Lee by stunt double Yuen Wah. Jim Kelly was a karate champion at the time of filming, having won the middleweight division at the Long Beach International Karate Championships in 1971, and practised Shorin-ryu. Bob Wall, Lee's opponent in the broken-bottles fight, practised Tang Soo Do under Chuck Norris; by his own account, real bottles were used in the scene and Lee was cut so badly that he needed stitches. John Saxon held a black belt in judo and in Shotokan, which he practised for three years under Hidetaka Nishiyama. Bolo Yeung met Lee while shooting a commercial and trained closely with him on this film. Jackie Chan plays an uncredited helper whom Lee fights; Sammo Hung got Chan small roles.

People and martial arts

• Robert ClouseDirector
• Bruce LeeFight choreographer· Jeet Kune Do
• Bruce LeeActor — as Lee· Jeet Kune Do (real practitioner)
• John SaxonActor — as Roper· Shotokan (real practitioner)
• Jim KellyActor — as Williams· Shorin-ryu (real practitioner)
• Bob WallActor — as O'Hara· Tang Soo Do (real practitioner)
• Bolo YeungActor — as Bolo· Kung Fu (real practitioner)
• Sammo HungActor· Kung Fu (real practitioner)
• Jackie ChanStunt performer· Kung Fu (real practitioner)

Awards

• Won · National Film Registry, Library of Congress (2004)