20 Reasons Why You Rock: Enter the Dragon
50 years ago today, Enter the Dragon opened in theaters coast to coast in the United States.
Enter the Dragon was a box office hit around the world. The movie landed at exactly the right time capitalizing on the growing popularity of not only Bruce Lee, but of Kung Fu films in general. The fact that it was released just weeks after Bruce Lee’s untimely demise likely played a part in the film’s success as well.
The movie was groundbreaking, the movie became iconic and the movie absolutely rocks…
#1. There’s only one way to kick off the list and that’s with the man himself, Bruce Lee! Enter the Dragon starred Bruce Lee at the top of his game and marked Lee’s triumphant return to Hollywood. Without Bruce Lee, Enter the Dragon is not one of the most influential martial arts movies of all-time.
#2. The Enter the Dragon main theme, composed by the legendary Lalo Schifrin. may be the most iconic piece of music in Kung Fu movie history.
#3. Our first bit of action is a sparring session between Bruce Lee and Sammo Hung. And if you ever wanted to see the two martial arts legends spar while wearing speedos… then Enter the Dragon is really the movie for you.
#4.When you think of martial arts tournament movies, the two at the top of the list are likely Enter the Dragon and Bloodsport… there are two men who can lay claim to being in both of those films, Bolo Yeung of course and the other less obvious one… Roy Chiao. Chiao, who played Shidoshi Senzo Tanaka in Bloodsport, had an uncredited role as the Shaolin Temple Abbot in Enter the Dragon.
#5. Every hero needs a great villain and Enter the Dragon has that and then some with Shih Kien’s Han. A former Shaolin monk turned opium dealer, Han has his own private island to conduct his nefarious business on and more interchangeable hand weapons
#6. Just by association Bill Wall’s O’Hara would be a guy you’d like to see Lee beat the crap out of at some point. But we find out that three years earlier that O’Hara was responsible for the death of Lee’s sister and that only builds the anticipation to see Lee kick O’Hara right in his scarred face!
#7. Lee’s sister was played by the Lady Whirlwind herself, Angelo Mao… who we got to see kick some ass in a flashback sequence before going out honorably.
#8. The introduction to John Saxon’s Roper tells us all we need to know about the character… Roper knows how to handle himself in a fight… Roper loves. the finer things in life, gambling and beautiful women. I love the fact that Roper’s secretary was played by Marlene Clark, who I will always remember as Lamont’s fiancée Janet on Sanford & Son.
#9. Looking back on the movie, it is fun to see Pat E. Johnson as one of the hoods collecting on Roper’s gambling debts… Pat is probably most recognizable as the referee at the All Valley Karate Tournament and being the man in the middle of the iconic shot standing between Daniel LaRusso and Johnny Lawrence.
#10. Enter the Dragon also introduced the world to Jim Kelly, who from where I sit is the coolest cat in motion picture history.
#11. Long before bullying was a hot topic, Lee provided everyone with a PSA of sorts on the boat that’s transporting the fighters from around the world to compete in Han’s tournament. After Lee witnesses Parsons, a fighter from New Zealand, abusing and bullying members of the ship’s crew… he intervenes and gives Parsons a humbling lesson in the art of fighting without fighting.
#12. Has anyone ever had a more career defining role than Yang Sze did in Enter the Dragon? Yang Sze played Bolo and it wasn’t long after that Yang Sze would start being credited as Bolo Yeung. That’s not just career defining, the movie literally renamed him.
#13. One of my favorite scenes in the movie, is the pre-tournament banquet scene… the sights, the sounds and the fact that it all comes to a sudden halt when Mr. Han makes his grand entrance to welcome the fighters. Then it all immediately resumes when he make his exit.
#14. While Enter the Dragon is a martial arts movie, it did provide Bruce Lee the opportunity to do more than fight… we got to see Lee channel his inner James Bond as he was sneaking around at night, slipping into Han’s underground lair and getting the dirt on Mr. Han.
#15. When we finally get Lee vs. O’Hara it does not disappoint … and Lee even hits the line “Boards don’t hit back” before the fight. And you just know Bolo took a mental note.
#16. Bruce Lee + Nunchaku = Worth the price of admission
#17. Business really picks up after Roper refuses to take on Lee and join Han’s evil enterprise. Instead Roper pulls off the upset of the decade when he defeats Bolo and that busts Han’s tournament bracket and he starts sending waves of his fighters to take out Roper and Lee… it’s like a giant battle royale of martial arts mayhem!
#18. My favorite line in the movie… “You have offended my family. And you have offended the Shaolin Temple.”
#19. The final fight between Lee and Han is taken up about 10 notches courtesy of the mirror room.
#20. I love the final shot of Han’s fur claw stuck in the arm of the chair and the end credits playing over it with the amazing Lalo Schifrin’s music to bring it all home.
