Enter the Dragon (5 Stars)

I just realised that in my last two reviews of this film I didn't say anything about the plot. Maybe I can make up for that omission this time. After all, there might be one, just one of my readers, who has never seen this brilliant film.

Every three years a martial arts tournament is held on a private island that's partially within the territorial waters of Hong Kong. (The film was made in 1973 when Hong Kong was still being administered by the United Kingdom). The island's owner, a man called Han, used to be a Shaolin monk, but now he's left the path and betrayed the monastery by turning to evil. British officials also suspect that Han is involved in the disappearance of young women.

A martial arts student called Lee – played by Bruce Lee, of course! – is asked to take part in the tournament, so that he can investigate what's happening on on the island. He's also told that Han's personal bodyguard, O'Hara, was responsible for his sister's death. This adds a typical Chinese sub-plot to the film.

Apart from Lee, we're introduced to three other martial artists attending the tournament. Roper is an American businessman who's heavily in debt. Williams is a brash black man from an American ghetto fleeing from police persecution. Parsons is a New Zealand fighter, about whom we know very little, except that he's an arrogant bully.

At night Bruce Lee sneaks around the island and discovers an underground lair. Heroin is being manufactured, and beautiful women are being turned into heroin addicts so that they'll willingly become prostitutes.

Williams and Roper just want to have fair fights and maybe win a big prize, but when they see that some of the bouts are being fought to the death they get nervous. Understandably.

This is a beautifully crafted film. The Blu-ray release is very clean, with the exception of a few fuzzy scenes in the early part of the film. This is probably as good as the film will ever get. It's especially noticeable how clear the Hong Kong slum scenes look in comparison with the DVD release.

The film might seem dated, but that's not a big problem. Just enjoy it for what it is. If you're someone who never watches Chinese martial arts films, this is an exception worth making.

Success Rate:  + 103.9

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