Part of 1973
Determined to help capture the drug dealer responsible for the death of his sister, a martial arts expert (Bruce Lee) enters the dealer’s kung fu tournament in an attempt to fight his way to the dealer’s headquarters. At the risk of becoming a mere American knockoff of the era’s wave of Hong Kong action cinema, ENTER THE DRAGON would also be Bruce Lee’s first mainstream U.S. film. He passed away a few weeks before its premiere and ensuing enormous success.
“Part martial-arts extravaganza, part James Bond-style caper and part shrine to the man who introduced high-speed Hong Kong action techniques to the West, virtually reinventing the way Hollywood would subsequently treat its own such offerings (albeit with far less of a sense of fun). Cheated of the starring role in TV's ‘Kung Fu’, Lee keenly wanted ENTER THE DRAGON to make him a movie star of the first order. It did.” —David Lazarus, Salon.com
