Enter The Dragon at 50: 11 movies influenced by Bruce Lee’s classic
From Kill Bill to John Wick to Shang-Chi, the influence of Bruce Lee's martial arts classic continues to endure
Film Features Bruce Lee
Hollywood was not ready for Bruce Lee. When Enter The Dragon hit theaters 50 years ago, in August 1973, its synthesis of Bruce Lee’s unmatched swagger and his vision for what martial arts should look like on-screen changed cinema forever. Lee had starred in martial arts films before, of course, like Fist Of Fury, The Big Boss (retitled Fists Of Fury for its Stateside release), and The Way Of The Dragon, all limited releases in the U.S. Prior to that he played Kato in the short-lived 1960s Green Hornet TV series, which introduced him to American audiences, although Lee dismissed the role as stereotypical.
Enter The Dragon would change forever how audiences saw Lee. Ostensibly directed by Robert Clouse, Lee choreographed all the fight scenes and even changed the film’s title from its original, Blood And Steel. The film, in which Lee incorporates not just aspects of his self-created Jeet Kune Do fighting style but the philosophy behind it, had the backing of a major Hollywood studio (Warner Bros.) and was a sizable hit upon release. Enter The Dragon appealed to Western moviegoers, according to Bruce Lee: A Life writer Matthew Polly, because it felt more realistic than most kung fu movies and Lee’s mastery of Chinese martial arts stood out from the less acrobatic fisticuffs of American Westerns, which were still popular at that time.
Lee, of course, did not live to see the release of Enter The Dragon; he died of cerebral edema at age 32, just a month earlier. With his death, cinema was denied the gift of seeing Lee’s talent and stardom explode in ways we cannot imagine. However, his legacy endures. To this day, artists and filmmakers still draw inspiration from Enter The Dragon, whether it’s paying homage to that film’s directorial style or the way hand-to-hand combat is performed and captured on camera. To honor that film, here are 11 movies—listed in order of release—that illustrate the continuing influence of Bruce Lee’s one and only Hollywood masterpiece.
32 Comments
You know, I know this is waaaaaaaaaaay down on the list of things that are worth critiquing in The Man With The Golden Gun, but I wish they had Hip’s daughters use Muay Thai on Hai Fat’s goons, not kung fu. Then again, I suppose they wanted to avoid an R rating.
Fun fact: The actress who played one of the daughters later played the landlord in Kung Fu Hustle, decades later.
That’s awesome!
I love how she’s wearing the exact same expression.
No way!thanks!
Dave Baker argues that the Kill Bill movies are an elaborate metaphor for revenge by Tarantino on behalf of Bruce LeeNevertheless, for doing the dirty on Bruce Lee in Once Upon A Time In Hollywood, fuck Quentin Tarantino.
fuck Quentin TarantinoI don’t want to defend Tarantino – BUT … that scene was pretty much designed to let him have it both ways. Yes, Cliff beat Lee in one round, Lee beat Cliff in another, and they never got to the third round. So no clear winner of the two out of three contest.And yeah I thought it was silly to have it be 2 out of 3 – not sure why it wouldn’t be just, you know, a fight.
As if Brad Pitt (or Robert Blake or Robert Wagner) could best Bruce Lee in a fight. I know Lee said Muhammad Ali might kill him, but Ali they’re not.
You have to remember that Lee only weighed 135 pounds, and unlike the movies, was not actually God. In the real world, size does matter, that’s why any combat sport has weight classes. Also, that scene was loosely based on a real event, where stuntman Gene Lebell embarrassed him on the instigation of the other stuntmen, who were tired of Lee forgetting to pull his punches.
Lee knew that himself which is why he’s quoted in real life as saying that Muhammad Ali would “kill me.” He also became friends and trained with Gene Lebell. What’s depicted on screen is a far cry from anything that actually happened and Tarantino has specifically misquoted him in order to justify it. Charles Manson deserved a bit of rewriting but I don’t see why Bruce Lee did.
“In the real world, size does matter, that’s why any combat sport has weight classes”In the real world as you put there are no weight classes!Competitive martial arts (all forms of fighting) are different and the weight classes are there for a reason.But there a open weight competitions as well. Don’t get me wrong, technique can overcome weight and strength, but the more sizable that strength gap becomes, the greater the technique gap needs to be, because a strong enough opponent can still bully his way through proper technique in many cases.
I love the movie, and I’m not a particular fan of Bruce Lee (he’s cool for sure, just not really into martial arts movies in general), but from what I read, Tarantino originally scripted it to be a very definitive ass kicking of Bruce Lee by Cliff. It was Brad Pitt that talked him into making it more of a draw. I haven’t read it, but I’ve heard that version remains in the novel.
Oh please. For any fan of Bruce Lee with the littlest bit of maturity, that scene should be no big deal. Trust me, Lee’s legacy is quite safe.
White Hollywood treated Lee very poorly initially and then years after he’s gone, Tarantino portrays him as an arsehole and has one of the prime symbols of White Hollywood beating the “arrogant” Chinese guy. He falsely suggests Lee claimed he’d beat Ali in a fight and uses this to brand him “arrogant” when Lee is widely quoted as having said the opposite. Which, I suggest, is not indicative of an arrogant person. Tarantino has shown himself to be a prick in a number of ways but this is just one that particularly gets my goat. I suppose in that regard I, and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, are not quite as mature as you.
Trust me, Lee’s legacy is quite safe.Phew!
That’s my whole point: If you know Bruce Lee’s history, you know that scene is BS, so if you take it that seriously, worrying it will somehow tarnish his reputation, that is quite frankly bizarre, and on you. Once Upon a Time is not some documentary, or even a biopic. So yeah, there’s a lot of fiction happening. There’s also a lot of things happening in reality right now that deserve outrage, but it looks like you have your priorities.
I find your whole point weak. Regardless of who believes it, it’s plain disrespectful, distasteful and has the whiff of Whitey putting an uppity ——- in his place about it.It’s Tarantino needlessly being a dick. So, per my comment, fuck him. Now if you want to label that “outrage,” and/or to snidely imply with no factual basis whatsoever that noting how much of a dick he is implies some sort of lack of concern about more important issues, be my guest. And thanks. We’re obviously blessed with your presence in this thread about martial arts films given those many important things happening in reality to which you presumably devote every other waking moment. If only writing letters of protest about changes to abortion law and fighting climate change deniers didn’t keep you from posting more comments on the AVClub, but one has to prioritise.
“He falsely suggests Lee claimed he’d beat Ali in a fight and uses this
to brand him “arrogant” when Lee is widely quoted as having said the
opposite.”Wait, the movie where Sharon Tate doesn’t die at the hands of the Manson Cult is twisting another aspect of history? Almost like it might be the whole point…
Yeah, it gets some sort of metaphorical, fantasy revenge on the famously sick Charlie Manson. Tell me, what heinous crime did the evil Bruce Lee commit?
To me, the Bruce Lee bit existed as character notes for Pitt’s character: That he was a shit-stirrer and at least somewhat of a fabulist.
I took the scene in once upon a time as a “roast”, an absurd send-up as a gesture of respect, honestly I think that’s what it was. Not every homage has to be on-the-nose and taken at face value.
Tarantino’s comments about it make plain that it’s not a gesture of respect.
Oof that Google was a tough read just now. Well that sucks.
Is the homepage massive for anyone else right now or is it my computer glitching…. if it’s intentional…. yikes.
The Last Dragon is such a great fun stupid 80s movie. Everyone should see it.
When I say, “Who is the master?”, you say “SHO’NUFF!”
With a pretty great soundtrack to boot!
My God, Bloodsport is such a fun, cheesy movie! It is somehow stuck in the 80s and timeless simultaneously. I even love the tinny synth soundtrack.
When I was in the Navy, it was constantly playing in the lounge, fights would break out if you wanted to watch anything else. Well, that and Sniper, not bad movies, but I don’t care if I see either ever again.
In ‘The Last Dragon’, ‘The Chinese Connection’ is the film being screened at the dingy theater, not ‘Enter the Dragon’.
Jean Claude Van Damme’s best and most famous movieSays the person who has never seen Hard Target.
And the success of 1995’s Mortal Kombat just inspired other fighting game adaptations to use the same Enter the Dragon-style template. Tekken’s animated film invited everyone to an island, even though that’s not really how that game’s canon goes. But it is unabashedly specific to DOA: Dead or Alive, which just proved all Bruce Lee’s classic was missing was beach volleyball.