
Enter the Dragon
The last film completed by Bruce Lee before his untimely death, Enter the Dragon was his entrée into Hollywood. The American-Hong Kong coproduction, shot in Asia by American director Robert Clouse, stars Lee as a British agent sent to infiltrate the criminal empire of bloodthirsty Asian crime lord Han (Shih Kien) through his annual international martial arts tournament. Lee spends his days taking on tournament combatants and nights breaking into the heavily guarded underground fortress, kicking the living tar out of anyone who stands in his way. The mix of kung fu fighting (choreographed by Lee himself) and James Bond intrigue (the plot has more than a passing resemblance to Dr. No) is pulpy by any standard, but the generous budget and talented cast of world-class martial artists puts this film in a category well above Lee's primitive Hong Kong productions. Unfortunately he's off the screen for large chunks of time as American maverick competitors (and champion martial artists) John Saxon and Jim Kelly take center stage, but once the fighting starts Lee takes over. The tournament setting provides an ample display of martial arts mastery of many styles and climaxes with a huge free-for-all, but the highlight is Lee's brutal one-on-one with the claw-fisted Han in the dynamic hall-of-mirrors battle. Lee narrows his eyes and tenses into a wiry force of sinew, speed, and ruthless determination

Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story
This enjoyable and touching biography of martial-arts film star Bruce Lee stars Jason Scott Lee (no relation), an actor with a lively face and natural intensity, who makes every moment of this film compelling. Directed by Rob Cohen, Dragon traces Bruce Lee's slow rise over myriad obstacles--most of them race-based--to become an international superstar in films. Lee's origins are oddly set in San Francisco instead of his real home in Seattle, but then again there is plenty of artistic license going on as Cohen explores the actor's psyche through some powerful fantasy sequences. Lauren Holly is good as Lee's wife, Linda (whose book about her late husband inspired this movie). A scene involving Bruce's rescue of son Brandon (who died in a filmmaking accident in 1993) from a murderous spirit is plain spooky. The special-edition DVD release has a widescreen presentation, director interview, featurette, screen tests, closed captioning, optional French soundtrack, and optional Spanish subtitles

The Chinese Connection
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