Enter the Dragon

For other uses, see Enter the Dragon (disambiguation).

Enter the Dragon
Theatrical release poster by Bob Peak
Traditional Chinese龍爭虎鬥
Simplified Chinese龙争虎斗
Literal meaningDragon Fights, Tiger Struggles
Hanyu PinyinLóng Zhēng Hǔ Dòu
Wade–GilesLung2 Chêng1 Hu3 Tou4
Yale RomanizationLùhng Jāng Fú Dau
JyutpingLung4 Zang1 Fu2 Dau3
Directed byRobert Clouse
Written byMichael Allin[a]
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyGilbert Hubbs
Edited by
  • Kurt Hirschler
  • George Watters
  • Peter Cheung
Music byLalo Schifrin
Production
companies
Distributed by
Release dates
  • 26 July 1973 (1973-07-26) (Hong Kong)
  • 19 August 1973 (1973-08-19) (United States)
Running time
102 minutes[3]
Countries
  • Hong Kong
  • United States
Languages
  • English
  • Cantonese
Budget$850,000
Box office$400 million

Enter the Dragon (Chinese: 龍爭虎鬥) is a 1973 martial arts film directed by Robert Clouse and written by Michael Allin. The film stars Bruce Lee, John Saxon, Ahna Capri, Bob Wall, Shih Kien and Jim Kelly. Enter the Dragon was Bruce Lee's final completed film appearance before his death on 20 July 1973 at the age of 32. An American-Hong Kong co-production, the film was premiered in Los Angeles on 19 August 1973, one month after Lee's death.

Enter the Dragon was estimated to have grossed over US$400 million worldwide (equivalent to an estimated $2 billion adjusted for inflation as of 2022) against a budget of $850,000. It is the most successful martial arts film ever and is widely regarded as one of the greatest martial arts films of all time.[4] 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".[5][6][7] Among the first films to combine martial arts action with spy film elements and the emerging blaxploitation genre, its success led to a series of similar productions combining the martial arts and blaxploitation genres.[8] The film's themes have generated scholarly debate about the changes taking place within post-colonial Asian societies following the end of World War II.[9]

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 the martial arts as well as inspiring numerous fictional works, including action films, television shows, action games, comic books, manga and anime.

  1. ^ Audrey Cleo Yap (5 October 2020). "Bruce Lee's Daughter Shannon Recalls His Struggle to Make 'Enter the Dragon' in New Book Excerpt (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Archived from the original on 8 October 2020. Retrieved 8 October 2020.
  2. ^ "Enter the Dragon". AFI Catalog of Feature Films. Archived from the original on 4 November 2023. Retrieved 12 August 2023.|
  3. ^ "Enter the Dragon". British Board of Film Classification. Archived from the original on 18 July 2020. Retrieved 17 July 2020.
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference Guardian was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ FLANIGAN, b. p. (1 January 1974). "KUNG FU KRAZY: or The Invasion of the 'Chop Suey Easterns'". Cinéaste. 6 (3): 8–11. JSTOR 42683410.
  6. ^ "Librarian of Congress Adds 25 Films to National Film Registry". Library of Congress. Archived from the original on 7 April 2020. Retrieved 28 April 2020.
  7. ^ "Complete National Film Registry Listing". Library of Congress. Archived from the original on 5 March 2016. Retrieved 15 June 2020.
  8. ^ Fu, Poshek. "UI Press | Edited by Poshek Fu | China Forever: The Shaw Brothers and Diasporic Cinema". www.press.uillinois.edu. Archived from the original on 4 June 2016. Retrieved 10 May 2016.
  9. ^ Kato, M. T. (1 January 2005). "Burning Asia: Bruce Lee's Kinetic Narrative of Decolonization". Modern Chinese Literature and Culture. 17 (1): 62–99. JSTOR 41490933.


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