Enter the Dragon

Summary

“And when there is a good opportunity, I do not hit. It hits all by itself.”
2023 has proven itself to be an exceptional year for fans of Bruce Lee. In the last couple months Arrow Video has released a definitive collection of his films on 4K in their new Bruce Lee at Golden Harvest box set, and now Warner Bros. has given fans a brand new 4K UHD version of Bruce Lee’s defining film Enter the Dragon. This makes good sense because it was only licensed on Blu-ray in Arrow’s box set. Obviously, this was a notable omission in 4K for those of us who wanted to own every one of Bruce Lee’s films in the best format possible. It is amazing to have Warner’s new 4K UHD to sit right beside the box set and complete the collection.
It is worth mentioning that I have owned Bruce Lee’s filmography several times over including the Legacy Collection box set by Shout! Factory, the standalone Warner Blu-ray release of Enter the Dragon, and Criterion’s excellent Bruce Lee’s Greatest Hits box set. I finally feel like I have purchased the definitive versions of these films for my collection. Despite the fact that I have viewed Enter the Dragon numerous times over the years, I was incredibly excited to see how the film would look in the updated format. Luckily, Warner have done a tremendous job on the 4K release and have included an absolutely amazing new Dolby Atmos track that adds a lot to the experience. I watched the movie the other night with a huge grin on my face.
Outside Hong Kong, Shaolin monk and martial artist Lee (Bruce Lee) is recruited by a British secret service to enter a mysterious martial arts competition hosted by Han. Han had once also been a Shaolin monk, but had used his skills to turn towards crime. Lee returns to Hong Kong where his father also lets him know that some of Han’s people had attempted to abduct his sister. When the sister could no longer defend herself from the men, she cut the leader of the men, Oharra’s, face and committed suicide. Lee travels by boat with numerous other fighters to Han’s island. The other fighters include a compulsive gambler (John Saxon) who has run up numerous debts with dangerous people, and a black fighter (Jim Kelley) who has defended himself against racist cops before leaving for the competition. At the island, the competitors face danger in and outside of their fighting matches, which can be lethal. Lee investigates to find out what criminal enterprises Han is involved in, while fighting Han’s best fighters.
Enter the Dragon is the best film in which Bruce Lee starred before his untimely death. Bruce Lee died on July 20, 1973 at the age of 32 from a freak allergic reaction to a headache medication called Equagesic. Bruce had already began shooting for his next film Game of Death and had filmed a number of the fight scenes for the picture at the time, but the picture was not completed. Enter the Dragon had been completed and he had seen the final cut of the picture before his death. He was extremely pleased by how the picture had turned out. Sadly, the film did not premier until nearly a month after his death on August 19, 1973, so he never got to enjoy the fruits of his labor. The film was a blockbuster hit grossing over $400 million worldwide against a budget of roughly $850,000. Bruce Lee proved with Enter the Dragon what a sensational crossover star he could have become. The success of the film, paired with his martial arts philosophies in Jeet Kune Do, and the mystique from his untimely death helped to make Bruce Lee one of the most enigmatic figures of the Seventies. His cultural impact can not be understated. Fifty years after Enter the Dragon was released, people still talk about the speed of Lee’s movements and his exceptional sense of style and charisma.
Enter the Dragon benefits from a great ensemble cast. John Saxon had been acting in pictures for nineteen years steadily, and he proved himself to be a talented martial artist in his own right in the film. Jim Kelly is as cool as they come in the picture. Aside from being a solid martial artist, Kelly had a great ability to deliver the lines his character was given. Kelly is given many of the very best lines in the script and despite his lack of acting credits, he is extremely charismatic in the role. Enter the Dragon gave Kelly a career acting in blaxploitation martial arts pictures for a number of years. The extremely intimidating Bolo Yeung is enjoyable in one of his earliest roles. Kien Shih is fantastic as the villainous Han. Shih is just as compelling as a fighter as he is a convincing James Bond style villain. Shih is a lot of fun to watch onscreen. Robert Wall is memorable as the bearded and scarred Oharra. Wall continued to work with Chuck Norris on numerous pictures after reuniting with Bruce Lee once more on Game of Death. Angela Mao is perfectly cast as Lee’s street fighting sister Su Lin. She had already proven herself in projects like Lady Whirlwind, and she is great in her small role. Ahna Capri plays a memorable female henchman to Han that handles the escorts. Sammo Hung is uncredited but appears at the beginning of the film and Jackie Chan also played a number of the henchmen that Bruce Lee beats up in the film. The glue that binds the film together is Bruce Lee, giving a career best performance. Lee is terrific in the film. He is as suave as he is tough – a mixture of James Bond and philosophy spouting Shaolin monk.
Director Robert Clouse brings the very best out of everyone involved. Working with cinematographer Gil Hubbs, the exotic settings of Hong Kong and Han’s island really come to life. Bruce Lee choreographed the fight scenes, and they are exceptional. It is amazing that fifty years later the fight sequences still feel thrilling. The film is aided by an amazing score by Lalo Schifrin. Schifrin was an absolutely brilliant composer and had already established himself with his work on Dirty Harry, Cool Hand Luke, Bullitt, and the iconic Mission: Impossible theme song, but his work on Enter the Dragon is a masterclass in how films like this should be scored. The score manages to mix in sounds and instrumentation that fits the Asian setting while also adding in funk and jazz instrumentation. It is some of his finest work.
Enter the Dragon deserves to be on any self respecting film collector’s shelf. It is one of the best and most often imitated martial arts pictures ever made. It spawned a million copycats and helped to expose the world to martial arts cinema. It helped to cement the legacy of Bruce Lee as one of the greatest martial arts performers of all time, and left us all wanting more. Warner has done us all a service by releasing the film on 4K.

Video
Presented in Native 4K in an aspect ratio of 2.39:1, Enter the Dragon looks incredible in Warner Bros. new UHD presentation. Fans of the picture should be extremely pleased with the work that Warner has done on this transfer. Fine detail is excellent with very well resolved grain. The cinematography by Gil Hubbs is great and really brings the best out of the exotic locations. I would have given this presentation a perfect score, but some compression issues do occur because both cuts of the film have been presented on the disc without branching. Honestly, this is such an amazing way to view this film that those few compression issues are not a very big deal.

Audio
Warner Bros. has done a truly remarkable job on this release by presenting the original mono track and a brand new Dolby Atmos track. The Dolby Atmos track is exceptional. Lalo Schifrin’s fantastic score has never sounded better and the Atmos track makes the numerous fight scenes hit harder than ever before. It is one of the best Atmos upgrades I have ever heard for a film from that era.

Supplements:
Introduction by Linda Lee Cadwell – a brief intro to the film by Bruce Lee’s widow.
Audio Commentary – producer Paul Heller and writer Michael Allin are featured on the track.
Theatrical Trailer

Overall Scores:
Video – 4.75/5
Audio – 5/5
Supplements – 2/5
Overall – 5/5

Enter the Dragon is one of the greatest martial arts films of all time and one of the most important. Its blockbuster success helped to make martial arts films viable entertainment all across the world. Bruce Lee’s legacy is so closely related to this film that the two are inseparable in my mind. This would have been his huge crossover success. The script which is a clever mixture of a James Bond style adventure with a martial arts tournament and exotic locales set a template which has been used in several films since. Fifty years after its release, the film has lost none of its appeal. Fans of the film will be in love with how how good the film looks and sounds in the UHD format. The new Dolby Atmos track is exceptional. The video would have earned a perfect score, but because the disc was not made with seamless branching between the two cuts, some compression issues occur occasionally. I still have decided to give this release my absolute highest recommendation.