From: Reviews and Criticism of Vietnam War Theatrical and Television Dramas (http://www.lasalle.edu/library/vietnam/FilmIndex/home.htm) compiled by John K. McAskill, La Salle University ([email protected])
E6740 ENTER THE DRAGON (1973) (Other titles: The deadly three; Long zheng hu dou; Operation Dragon)
Credits: director, Robert Clouse ; writer, Michael Allin. Cast: Bruce Lee, John Saxon, Kien Shih, Ahna Capri, Jim Kelly, Robert Wall. Summary: Martial arts action/adventure film set in Hong Kong and vicinity in 1973. Lee, a member of a Shaolin Temple, is a master of the physical and spiritual disciplines of the martial arts. Lee has been invited to a tri-annual martial arts tournament held on an island owned by Han (Shih), a reclusive billionaire who was once a member of the Temple but has now become a renegade. The British police believe Han uses his tournaments as cover for narcotic and prostitution activities. Lee reluctantly agrees to enter the tournament, but his reluctance to confront Han disappears when another Shaolin monk reveals that during the previous staging of this tournament, he and Lee’s sister were accosted by several toughs led by Han’s personal bodyguard, an American named O’Harra (Wall). In the ensuing confrontation the monk cut a deep scar on O’Harra’s face but Lee’s sister was killed. At her gravesite Lee vows revenge. Also attending the tournament are two American martial arts experts, John Roper (Saxon) and Kelly Williams (Kelly), who served together in Vietnam but took differing paths on their discharge. Roper is on the run from Mafia gambling debt collectors, while Williams is wanted for killing two racist Los Angeles cops who first attacked him. All three soon find themselves at the mercy of Han and his army of martial arts fighters protecting his underground narcotics factory and prostitution ring.
“A sarkany kozbelep” Film kultura 22/7 (1986), p. 80-81. Bleecker, Tom. Unsettled matters ; the life and death of Bruce Lee : a biography Lompoc, Calif. : Gilderoy Publications, 1996. ______. (see also under Lee, Linda) Block, Alex Ben. The legend of Bruce Lee New York : Dell, 1974. Broeske, Pat H. “Enter the dragon” Magill’s survey of cinema. English language films, second series Englewood Cliffs, N.J. : Salem Press, 1981. (v. 2, p. 715- 19) Brown, Royal S. “Theater and film: ‘Enter the dragon’” High fidelity and musical America 24 (Apr 1974), p. 116-17. Clouse, Robert. Bruce Lee : the biography Burbank, Calif. : Unique Publications, 1988. ______. The making of Enter the dragon Burbank, Calif. : Unique Publications, 1987. Coleman, John. “Kung Fuey” New statesman 87 (Jan 11, 1974), p. 57+ Deglin, Paul. “Operation Dragon” [photo essay] Cine revue 54 (Jan 31, 1974), p. 15. “Director Ang Lee lends his artful eye to a martial-arts epic” American cinematographer 82/1 (2001), p. 68+ [10 p.] “East through the looking glass” Cinevue 7/4 (Sep 1992), p. 1-2. [Enter the dragon] CinemaTV today no. 10064 (Jan 7, 1974), p. 8. [Enter the dragon] [DVD review] Empire no. 133 (Jul 2000), p. 124. “Rnter the dragon” Film score monthly 3/6 (1998), p. 32-3. “Enter the dragon” [photo essay] Films and filming 20 (Oct 1973), p. 29-31.
[Enter the dragon] Hollywood reporter 227/32 (Aug 13, 1973), p. 3. “Enter the dragon” Motion picture guide (edited by Jay Robert Nash and Stanley Ralph Ross) Chicago : Cinebooks, 1985. (v. 3, p. 770) [Enter the dragon] [Video note] Sight & sound 3/12 (Dec 1993), p. 60. Enter the dragon : 25th anniversary special Huddersfield : M.A.I., 1998. Gaul, Lou. The fist that shook the world ; the cinema of Bruce Lee Baltimore, Md. : Midnight Marquee Press, 1997. Hunter, Jack. Intercepting fist : [the films of Bruce lee and thye golden age of kung- fu cinema] New expanded ed. London : Glitter Books, 2005. Lee, Linda and Bleecker, Tom. The Bruce Lee story MacNab, Geoffrey. “Home movies: reviews” Sight and sound 12/2 (Feb 2002), p. 68. Nicholls, Rod. “Enter the dragon” Lumiere no. 33 (Apr/May 1974), p. 26-7. Paul, William. “Getting the thrust of kung Fu” Village voice 18 (Aug 30, 1973), p. 61. Rayns, Tony. “Enter the dragon” Monthly film bulletin 41 (Jan 1974), p. 5-6. Saada, Nicholas. “Enfin Schifrin!” Cahiers du cinema no. 514 (Jun 1997), p. 11. Sauvaget, Daniel. “Operation Dragon” Revue du cinema no. 282 (Mar 1974), p. 100- 101. ______. “Operation Dragon” Revue du cinema no. 288-289 (Oct 1974), p. 256-7. Tarratt, Margaret. “Enter the dragon” Films and filming 20/6 (Mar 1974), p. 44-45. Thomas, Bruce. Bruce Lee : fighting spirit ; a biography Berkeley, Calif. : Frog, c1994. Williams, Whitney (Whit.). “Enter the dragon” Variety 272 (Aug 22, 1973), p. 12.
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