Enter The Dragon encapsulates the "triumphant legacy" of martial arts master Bruce Lee. It imported a new brand of action cinema to Hollywood from the shores of Hong Kong, where Lee first found fame with his extraordinary repertoire of combat skills. Over three decades on from its theatrical release, this seminal action flick finally receives a worthy two-disc Special Edition DVD release.
Kicking Back
Disc One includes an engaging "all-new 'making of' documentary" - although it can't be all that new since the late James Coburn is heavily featured. As it turns out, Coburn's initial attempt to break Lee into the Hollywood mainstream was flouted by studio bigwigs, who refused to bank on a Chinese lead. Other grizzled old men - in the shape of producing team Fred Weintraub and Paul Heller - reminisce about those racist "good old days" for what is a rousing real-life tale of triumph over the odds. (Extra points for Weintraub's use of the word "cockamamie".)
An original set report from 1973 provides a stark and amusing contrast to all that slippers-and-cigars nostalgia. It's kitsch beyond belief, with what can only be described as a "whocka-whocka, ching-ching" soundtrack. And we think you'll find that's the technical term.
Twenty minutes of archive footage finds Bruce Lee speaking of "becoming one with the punch", in what is partly a lecture on Chinese philosophy and partly street tuff trash talk. This affords a rare and valuable insight into a man known for his actions more than his words.
Linda Lee Cadwell also gets a forum to eulogise about former hubbie Mr Lee, although she does occasionally scrape the barrel for insightful observations eg "he was a real human being". To back up her wild claims, home video footage of Lee kicking the bejezus out of an old mattress in the back garden is also included.
You'll fear for Paul Heller's health while listening to his gravelled audio commentary, which features long and unnerving spells of silence. Between these grave intervals, he offers a breakdown of the practical and creative problems faced by the production - for example, how to credibly deal with the absence of guns in a world populated by bad guys.
Dicing With Death
Disc Two offers unusually substantial bonus features; namely two feature-length documentaries on the legend of Bruce Lee. Curse Of The Dragon (1993) explores the far-reaching impact of his tragically short career through interviews with friends, family, and such Hollywood luminaries as James Coburn (who obviously had a lot of time on his hands in the later years), ahem, Chuck Norris and, um, Jean-Claude Van Damme - who's thankfully had a lot of time on his hands since the mid 90s. In an interesting sidebar, you'll also learn that a remote tribe in Malaysia worships Lee as a god while maintaining that he's still alive.
However, the crowning glory of this Special Edition package is A Warrior's Journey (2000). Despite the dry narration, this documentary contains thrilling footage shot by Lee for his last film, Game Of Death (1978). After his fatal collapse midway through shooting, producers cobbled together an abomination of a movie that even resorted to having cardboard cutouts of Lee to serve as stand-ins. Years later, the missing reels were uncovered and cut together using script notes found among the dead star's possessions. The resulting sequences are contained within this feature, and that alone makes this DVD a must-have for Bruce Lee devotees - and the inhabitants of remote Malaysian tribes.
EXTRA FEATURES
