Enter the Dragon is a 1973 martial arts film directed by Robert Clouse. The film stars Bruce Lee, John Saxon and Jim Kelly. It would be Lee's final completed film appearance before his death on 20 July 1973 at age 32. An American and Hong Kong co-production, it premiered in Los Angeles on 19 August 1973, one month after Lee's death. The film went on to gross an estimated US$350 million worldwide (equivalent to more than $1 billion adjusted for inflation), against a budget of $850,000. Having earned over 400 times its budget, it is one of the most profitable films of all time.

Enter the Dragon is widely regarded as one of the greatest martial arts films of all time. 

In 2004, it was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant". Among the first films to combine martial arts action with the emerging blaxploitation genre, its success led to a series of similar productions combining both genres. Its themes have also generated scholarly debate about how they reflect the changes taking place within post-colonial Asian societies following the end of World War II. Enter the Dragon is also considered one of the most influential action films of all time, with its success contributing to mainstream worldwide interest in martial arts as well as inspiring numerous fictional works including action films, television shows, fighting games, comic books, manga and anime.

Plot

Lee, a highly proficient Shaolin martial artist and instructor from Hong Kong, is approached by Braithwaite, a British intelligence agent investigating the suspected crime lord Han. Lee is persuaded to attend a high-profile martial arts competition on Han's private island to gather evidence that will prove Han's involvement in drug trafficking and prostitution. Shortly before his departure, Lee also learns that the man responsible for his sister's death, O'Hara, is working as Han's bodyguard on the island. Also fighting in the competition are Roper, an indebted gambling addict, and fellow Vietnam war veteran Williams.

At the end of the first day, Han gives strict orders to the competitors not to leave their rooms. Lee makes contact with undercover operative Mei Ling and sneaks into Han's compound, looking for evidence. He is discovered by several guards but manages to escape. The next morning, Han orders his giant guard Bolo to kill the guards in public for failing their duties. After the execution, Lee faces O'Hara in the competition and ends up killing him. With the day's competition over, Han confronts Williams, who had also left his room the previous night to exercise. Han believes Williams to be the intruder and beats him to death when he refuses to cooperate. Han then reveals his drug operation to Roper, hoping that he will join his organisation. He also implicitly threatens to imprison Roper, along with all the other martial artists who joined Han's tournaments in the past, if Roper refuses. Despite being initially intrigued, Roper refuses after learning of Williams's fate.

Lee sneaks out again that night and manages to send a message to Braithwaite, but he is captured after a prolonged battle with the guards. The next morning, Han arranges for Roper to fight Lee, but Roper refuses. As a punishment, Roper has to fight Bolo instead, whom he manages to overpower and beat after a gruelling encounter. Enraged by the unexpected failure, Han commands his remaining men to kill Lee and Roper. Facing insurmountable odds, they are soon aided by the island's prisoners, who had been freed by Mei Ling. Han escapes and is pursued by Lee, who finally corners him in his museum. After a brutal fight, Han runs away into a hidden mirror room. The mirrors give Han an advantage, but Lee breaks all the room's mirrors to reveal Han's location, and eventually kills him. Lee returns outside to the main battle, which is now over. A bruised and bloodied Roper sits victorious while the military finally arrive to take control of the island.

Cast

• Bruce Lee as Lee
• John Saxon as Roper
• Jim Kelly as Williams
• Ahna Capri as Tania
• Shih Kien as Han (voice dubbed by Keye Luke)
• Robert Wall as O'Hara (as Bob Wall)
• Angela Mao as Su Lin, Lee's sister (as Angela Mao Ying)
• Betty Chung as Mei Ling
• Geoffrey Weeks as Braithwaite
• Bolo Yeung as Bolo (as Yang Sze)
• Peter Archer as Parsons
• Ho Lee Yan as Old Man
• Marlene Clark as Secretary
• Allan Kent as Golfer
• William Keller as L.A. Cop
• Mickey Caruso as L.A. Cop
• Pat E. Johnson as Hood
• Darnell Garcia as Hood
• Mike Bissell as Hood
• Jackie Chan as Han's henchman
• Sammo Hung as Shaolin fighter
• Roy Chiao as Shaolin Abbott
• Paul Heller as Radio Operator
• Lam Ching Ying
• Tony Liu as Tournament fighter
• Alan Chui Chung-San as Tournament fighter
• Yuen Biao as Tournament fighter
• Antone Pagan as Young Shaolin Monk
• Yuen Wah as Tournament fighter
• Hidy Ochiai
• Wei Tung as Lao
• Tadashi Yamashita
• Mars as Guard
• Mang Hoi as Ship's mate

Production

Due to the success with his earlier films, Warner Bros began helping Bruce Lee with the film in 1972. They brought in producers Fred Weintraub and Paul Heller. The film was produced on a tight production budget of $850,000.

The screenplay title was originally named Blood and Steel. The story features Asian, White and Black heroic protagonists because the producers wanted a film that would appeal to the widest possible international audiences. The scene in which Lee states that his style is "Fighting Without Fighting" is based upon a famous anecdote involving the 16th century samurai Tsukahara Bokuden.

John Saxon is a black belt in Judo and Shotokan Karate, who studied under grandmaster Hidetaka Nishiyama for three years. In negotiations, his agent told the film's producers that if they wanted him they would have to change the story so that the character of Williams would be killed, not Roper. They agreed and the script was changed.

Rockne Tarkington was originally cast in the role of Williams. However, he unexpectedly dropped out days before the production was about to begin in Hong Kong. Producer Fred Weintraub knew that karate world champion, Jim Kelly had a training dojo in Crenshaw, Los Angeles so he hastily arranged a meeting. Weintraub was immediately impressed, and Kelly was cast in the film. The success of Kelly's appearance launched his career as a star: after Enter the Dragon, he signed a three-film deal with Warner Bros and went on to make several martial arts-themed blaxploitation films in the 1970s.

Jackie Chan appears as a guard during the underground lair battle scene and gets his neck snapped by Lee. He also performed several stunts for the film, including the scene where Lee's character quickly climbs a rooftop at night. However, Yuen Wah was Lee's main stunt double for the film.

Sammo Hung appears in a brief fight scene against Lee at the start of the film.

An urban legend surrounding the making of Enter The Dragon claims that actor Bob Wall did not like Bruce Lee and that their fight scenes were not choreographed. However, Wall has denied this stating he and Lee were actually good friends.[25]

The film was shot on location in Hong Kong. All scenes were filmed without sound: dialogue and sound effects were added or dubbed in during post-production. Bruce Lee, after he had been goaded or challenged, fought several real fights with the film's extras and some set intruders during filming. The scenes of Han's Island were filmed at a residence known as Palm Villa near the coastal town of Stanley.

Argentinian musician Lalo Schifrin composed the film's musical score. While Schifrin was widely known at the time for his jazz scores, he also incorporated funk and traditional film score elements into the film's soundtrack.[28] He composed the score by sampling sounds from China, Korea, and Japan. The soundtrack has sold over 500,000 copies, earning a gold record.