1001 Club - Enter the Dragon (1973)

#586. Enter the Dragon (1973)

Why It's In The Book: "Having established his action movie superstar credentials with rough-hewn Hong Kong vehicles like Fist of Fury and The Big Boss, former cha-cha champion and American TV sidekick Bruce Lee only had one shot as completing a movie with Hollywood production values…
Director Robert Clouse has the style you’d expect of someone directing a Brock Landers adventure (lots of zooms and flares), and Lee, whose real-life Hong Kong English was heavily-accented but fluent and distinctive, is stuck with Charlie Chan dialogue consisting of enigmatically wise pronouncements. But the action still delivers nonstop astonishment as, without the aid of the wires of effects used in the liked of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, Lee goes magnificently through the motions, twirling his signature nunchucks, flexing his oiled torso. Influential on an entire genre of subsequent martial arts movies and a template for every beat-‘em-up computer game, Enter the Dragon wins its place in film history purely on the strength of Lee’s charismatic presence and literally inimitable fighting moves." -1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die

Member Ratings

Movie Guy Steve - 8/10
"Here, [Lee] is immortalized as an ultimate, complete warrior unlike any to cross the screen before or since."
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marie_dressler - 7.5/10
"I am in the wrong demographic for this combo of James Bond spectacular and Hong Kong martial arts movie but enjoyed it nonetheless."
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Squish - 7.5/10
"Not only was it the film that proved to Hong Kong, to the world, and to Bruce Lee that he had made it to ‘world-class’, but Enter The Dragon was an important addition in legitimizing Hong Kong’s film exports to the planet"
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Adolytsi - 7/10
"I couldn’t figure out why this one, rather than another, was the game-changer and massively popular breakout hit to bring martial arts movies to the west, but I can live with it."
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Kim Wilson - 7/10
"Even I have to admit that the mirror fight sequence between Han and Lee is something special."
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Nicolas Krizan - 7/10
"crazy facial expressions and weird fight sounds"
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Siochembio - 7/10
"Sit back, have a few laughs, and enjoy the ride."
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Lindsey - 6/10
"So, this movie is more of a crime caper with our heroes defeating the evil drug lords (because drugs are bad, mmmkay) with some kung fu fighting thrown in there. However, there are a lot of opportunities to kung fu fight!"
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Michaël Parent - 6/10
"Just to witness Bruce Lee’s art and his dedication to style and culture might be enough to watch at least once this pop culture classic."
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Overall Rating: 7/10