Enter the Dragon

[the running guy]

I am a college student working on a paper for my Cultural Anthropology class. My assignment is to examine how a society (“the west” in this case) reacts to images in the media that portray the “other” (Chinese culture). I am currently writing my paper on images of Chinese culture that are represented in the Bruce Lee classic “Enter the Dragon.”
Please send me any thoughts you may have or cite any images from the movie that you found particularly powerful. Not all of these images have to be good. Please mention if you find any images of ethnocentrism, racism, or prejudice.
Please also be aware that I may quote any post in this thread. In maintaining anonymity, I will only use screen names to cite these quotes. If you do not wish to have even your screen name published, please mention this in your post, and I will use anonymous as the citation.
Your opinions matter to me. I thank you for any time you spend reading or responding to this post.
Sincerely,
Humble College Student

[cho]

I'd say Enter the Dragon is the most mainstream of fu flicks. It set the standard for the stereotype of chinese martial arts, wherein practioners make high pitch screams.

If you're looking for how the west portrays the east, Romeo Must Die is another one.

[SanSoo Student]

Well this was a big step up for kung fu, and traditional martial arts. Before the introduction of Kung Fu from pioneers such as Bruce Lee, people would've still have looked Kung Fu as a sort of karate.
Kung fu and martial arts began to spread because of the influence it had through the big screen.

[scotty1]

Sorry dude never really paid that much attention to it but I'll TTT it for ya

[David Jamieson]

well, Enter the Dragon was a fantasy film and offers really no bridges between east and west and rather portrays all characters as a conglomerate outside of their own cultural trappings.

For example, all the main characters are each from a differnet aspect of american culture.

The Chinese (Lee), The black Ghettoized guy (williams) and the white golfer/player (saxon).

each of these guys represented the paradigm of the day.

as far as insight into chinese culture, there is very little of this.

1 instance is teh lesson to lau by bruce wherein bruce imparts a tidbit of taoism with his finger/moon koan.

2nd instance is on Han's Island where the party takes place and we see a setting of what may have been a scene in Kublai Khans pleasure dome where there are wrestlers and dancers and musicians and endless trays of food (more mongol than chinese really and in fact it looks like the directors idea of what xanadu must have been like :D )

The movie in itself doesn't window into the chinese culture too much, but instead it seems to show chinese culture as it is percieved through the american paradigm of that day and age. (even now sadly :( )

cheers

[the running guy]

Thank you for your replies. Kung Lek hit the nail on the head with his final comment. This is the goal of the assignment- to examine Chinese images as they are dictated by a western studio.

This paper is an undertaking similar to "Reading National Geographic" by Lutz and Collins. The photos in the magazine are not always true to form of the cultures they represent. At all times, these photos are being shaped by western producers and a western audience. By presenting photos of bright colorful clothing, the magazine gives the western audience the exotic images they wish to see.

The banquet scene is a particularly interesting one. Without Kung Lek's comments, I never would have noticed the Mongolian images. One particular image that I am interested in is the 2 sumo wrestlers in the center ring. Why are they here? Sumo wrestling is clearly a Japanese art. Are the film makers trying to pass Sumo off as Chinese? or by placing the wrestlers in the center, do they call attention to cultural differences?

There I go again. I always end up with more questions than answers.

Thank you to all who have posted. I would like to encourage replies and further posting on this thread.
Sincerely,
Humble College Student

[Keng Geng]

I saw Enter the Dragon for the fifth and final time last night. I used to like it, but realized yesterday what a crappy movie it is.

[PaulH]

I'm holding my breath for your words of wisdom! Ha! Ha! You know how bull is, you bait it with a red cape and watch how it charges straight pass you. Ole!

[Keng Geng]

No seriously, it was quite disappointing. Just wondering if anybody has gone through the same process where their kung fu has improved, look backed on ETD, and saw it as crap...

[Taijiquan ninja]

Before we say its a crappy movie lets look at the facts. It is a martial arts movie of a chinese fighter that until this movie was more or less a B-list actor in america. Not to mention its form the 70's . Plus dude of course its not supposed to be all that great martial art wise. look at the matrix if Keanu Reeves didnt dodge bullets and levitate and slowdown time that movie would have been crap. The Bruce lee movies did suck in many ways because its all acting and not actual combat it was scripted and aimed at an unapreciative american audience that would only see the "neat kicks and stuff". However for not actually hitting anybody i think Bruce Lee still pulls off a very effective combat simulation even though contact is never made.

[PaulH]

Okay, guys. Here are what I like so much about the movie:

1. Good overall philosophy of MA : "Don't look at the finger!", "It hits by itself", "the art of fighting without fighting"...

2. Good expression of fighting spirit and power: Body, mind, and emotion are packed into a powerful blast of pure killing energy. This kind of volcanic fury can be seen and felt in the fight scene with O'hara and have thrilled legions of fans unfailingly across the decades.

3. Good brain. How do you fight against shadows? Break the mirrors of illusion to reveal the true enemy.

Good MA movies come and go, but fans that are touched by the Dragon's magics will treasure again and again those timeless moments when Bruce made the impossible possible. What more can a guy ask for in this kind of movie?

Regards,

PH

[rogue]

ETD, was light years ahead of the other chop socky flix of it's time. and it still sux. Lee never was in a good movie.

Keng Geng, have you gone back and watched the other Bruce Lee movies? It's like he's the only one with any training.

Now I liked him in the Green Hornet and Longstreet. Very cool in those.

[PHILBERT]

Ya know, many years ago I found a bunch of tapes at Wal-Mart of the Green Hornet series, however at the time, not into MA, I did not pay attention. (I also did not know Bruce Lee was Kato at the time).

Now I wish I could find those tapes again to watch.

[Taijiquan ninja]

yeah you guys are right i watched it again. as far as it goes i still think it is a great movie but ....i dont know it lacked something. i think that if Lee had written the script, done the casting roles himself, done the caureography, and had those jerk-off extras trained in basic MA then the movie would have been at least 5 times better than it currently is.



" Good MA movies come and go, "

[Taijiquan ninja]

yeah you guys are right i watched it again. as far as it goes i still think it is a great movie but ....i dont know it lacked something. i think that if Lee had written the script, done the casting roles himself, done the caureography, and had those jerk-off extras trained in basic MA then the movie would have been at least 5 times better than it currently is.



" Good MA movies come and go, "
thats what paul said and he is right remember jet lee's "Red Dragon" for example? (i wouldnt be suprised if you didnt the ma in it was pretty good but the plot and the characters were terrible not to mention the knee high invincible metal chariot car thing that the imortal exiled shaolin monk drove around in that looked like it was made out of doweling rods and aluminum foil)



oh yeah philbert that "Your bus gets shorter by the day." quote is hilarious

[GeneChing]

Check it out (http://www.loc.gov/today/pr/2004/04-215.html). There are now 400 titles and what an unusual collection (http://www-2.cs.cmu.edu/afs/cs.cmu.edu/Web/Unofficial/Movies/NFR-Titles.html). EtD is the first MA film I could see, but I haven't seen all of those films, so maybe one got by me. Chan is Missing was a prior film with an asian lead, but I think that's the only one... if anyone else sees other priors on the list, I'd be interested in knowing. I only skimmed it quickly.

[MonkeyBoy]

Sweet Jesus, he included Eraserhead!!!

[Li Kao]

And Spinal Tap is in there too :D

[PangQuan]

I think your right that ETD is the first MA flick on that list, of course I dont know the names of all the Chuck Norris flix but I dont think hes on there, luckily, Bruce made it first. Jet or Jackie will be next. Maybe in the same year.

[MonkeyBoy]

Chuck Norris will make the next cut with his classic film "Breaker, Breaker."

[Mega_Fist]

I just saw an awesome film called "Enter the Dragon". It stars Bruce Lee who was an actor in 1970s. It is about a man on an island and loads of WICKED fights. Bruce Lee practises a martial art called Gung Fu (different to Kung Fu btw) and wastes loads of people.

I was just wondering if anyone else has seen it or any other Bruce Lee films and could reccomend me to watch more films.

I'm thinking of making some martial arts films myself actually with my mates Andy and Steve so if you have any advice that would be good.

Arigato



"the super is the man who has the tiger of the spirit"

[David Jamieson]

who is this guy ^ and WHY does he think he's even remotely funny? lol

lamest troll EVER!

[Mortal1]

I think he is serious. The thing is he isn't out of double digits age wise.

[Mega_Fist]

I think he is serious. The thing is he isn't out of double digits age wise.

double digits, so you're into triple digits are you? 100 years old on kung fu forum? Impressive.

I actually know someone aged 200 so he's better than you.

[rfbrown3]

So just to see just how much you really know, exactly what is "Gung Fu" and how does it differ from "Kung Fu?"

And please do not say the Gung Fu derives from Judo! :rolleyes:

RFB

[YuanZhideDiZhen]

And please do not say the Gung Fu derives from Judo! :rolleyes:

RFB

that's a hollywood thing, so it might be 'Jew-tao'. :cool:

[SPJ]

To seek spiritual beyond the physical world:

Rec Kung Fu the series by David Carradine.

Kung Fu or Gong Fu (http://www.kungfu-guide.com/resources.html)

:D

[SPJ]

I was not allowed to see "Enter the Dragon" when it first came out. My parents said there is too much violence with glasses and metal hook hand.

Too much blood.

OOPS.

:D

[SPJ]

I was allowed to see Kung Fu. But it was banned in Taiwan.

Only after sometime, did I get to see the series.

A lot of talks and memory flashbacks, it was in the Shaolin temple and then the cowboy town in the west. Walking in the desert under the bright sun.

And fighting is short and gone. So my brothers and I waited for a long time for the fight scenes. Sometime, I had to go to the bathroom. My brothers would yell and com'on you miss the fight.

A great sigh.

:D

[David Jamieson]

I'm curious spj, do you remember why it was banned?

Is it because a squinting white guy just doesn't cop it as a chinese? :D

[SPJ]

I never knew why it was banned initially.

At the time, the TV stations were all government owned.

There was a time that they aired 24 hours programming. The puppet shows and Ming (short for Fu Jian) opera were popular.

After the oil crises, the TV air time was cut. One and half hours at noon and 6 hours in the evening.

Oh, most of the farmers were watching puppet shows and opera and no one was attending to their farms, I think.

:confused:

[SimonM]

I met Carradine once. He's kind of pathetic. It was a disillusioning experience. The poor old dude's liver spots have liver spots.

[Mega_Fist]

I met Carradine once. He's kind of pathetic.

More like you don't you mean!

There's a taste of your own medicine "Simon" if that is your real name.

[David Jamieson]

All disillusioning experiences are positive by the merit that they remove the illusion from your perception and you get to see what is actualy there.

It also teaches us to not carry so many preconcieved notions and the effect is that we are not so quick to support or detract from things we haven't directly experienced for ourselves.

:p

[Mega_Fist]

All disillusioning experiences are positive by the merit that they remove the illusion from your perception and you get to see what is actualy there.

It also teaches us to not carry so many preconcieved notions and the effect is that we are not so quick to support or detract from things we haven't directly experienced for ourselves.

:p

You're wonderfully pretentious. Anyway I was round my m8 Andy's house the other day and he knew this site about bruce lee yeah? So yeah he had this picture of what bruce lee from the future looked like check it out Bruce Lee fans!

Bruce Lee from the future (http://cine-hk.chez.tiscali.fr/Hkcine/Portraits-2/libruce.JPG)




"Many paths must be taken in order to reach the end of your inner journey" - Prof. Sammo Hung

[SifuAbel]

I'm sorry but............................................... .












................................... You are a retard.

[SimonM]

More like you don't you mean!

There's a taste of your own medicine "Simon" if that is your real name.

Ok, a bit at a time.

First of all that first line is entirely non-sequitur. I don't what exactly?

Second my name really is Simon. To be specific I am Simon Barry McNeil. I was born in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada at McMaster Hospital on Feb. 23, 1979. I attended the University of Western Ontario (London, Ontario, Canada) and graduated on June 16, 2005. While I lived in London I trained at Northern Black Dragon Martial Arts. You can access them on the web at www.nbdma.com

Currently I reside on the west campus of Luliang Higher College in Luliang City (Lishi), Shanxi, China where I am employed as an ESL teacher. I practice martial arts here through the auspices of the Luliang Higher College PE department where I focus on Sanshou.

Unfortunately LLHC does not have a website I am aware of. However all of this information should be confirmable by contacting various hospitals, schools and employment agencies if you care to check. I am not an artificial cyber-construct like you Mega_Fist (since you will undobutedly be too stupid to understand what I mean by this, what I mean is that I'm not somebody's idea of a running joke nor am I a martial arts fanboy who likes to talk big despite having never taken a class).

Grow a brain moron.

[Mega_Fist]

To be specific I am Simon Barry McNeil.

Unfortunately LLHC does not have a website I am aware of.

Grow a brain moron.

I have a mate called Barry. He's so hard he once punched a wall like 5 times in a row. Anyway, how do you expect me to believe that if it doesn't even have a website!?

You need to be more wise I think and more spiritual too.



"the power of the self is the spiritual of the tiger palm"

[mig]

Maybe one of you can remember the form Bruce Lee performed in the movie Enter the dragon? It seems to be a form from a north style that was common in Hong Kong. I think I saw a thread in this forum but can not find it. Thanks a bunch.

Mig

[David Jamieson]

He did a form?

In the beginning, he fights kempo, then he gives a lesson in one kick to a kid. single chamber front kick, generic shaolin really.

the only thing that would be formish would be the cave fight scene where he plays with the nunchakus. Which aren't chinese and aren't part of kung fu training except in styles that have brought them in following that movie actually. lol

:)

[GeneChing]

There's a scene just before when he's going to go out for some ninja (http://www.martialartsmart.com/ninja-styles.html)-action. Lee is in his room and throws some moves. I'm not sure that's a traditional form, but it's surely moves extrapolated from one.

Is this our first Enter the Dragon thread?:o

[mig]

Gene,

Precisely. I read in a Chinese magazine, that part is from a form or practice drill and I believe is from the north quite popular. The problem is that I can not find this thread somewhere. And you are right "enter the dragon" instead of the rabbit.

Thanks,

Mig

[GeneChing]

You got to remember, this forum only dates back a decade and we only started posting on film buzz over the last few years. ETD was 1973. A lot of the classics that predate this forum don't have threads yet, but we'll get them filled out as questions like yours pop up. ETD is one of the truly groundbreaking films of the genre, so it's due time. I reference it a lot; even referenced it in my latest Tiger Claw blog : Biters vs. Fighters (https://www.tigerclaw.com/blog/2010/12/biters-vs-fighters/).

[Jimbo]

When I was living in Taiwan, I saw a lot of old-school northern Chang Chuan (Long Fist) styles, and even practiced some for a couple of years, and saw a similar kicking combination as the one Lee did in his room in ETD (just before Bob Wall knocks on his door). I don't know if it was used as a particular drill, but it was commonly seen at some point in many sets. There were differences, though; the Chang Chuan/Changquan combo usually consisted of a right jumping front snap kick (slapping the instep), followed by the left sole of foot slap, then the tornado kick, all more or less going towards the front. Lee altered the directions a bit.

[mickey]

Greetings,

That kick combination can be found in the Five Leopard Fist of Eagle Claw. I remember reading somewhere on the net that Bruce Lee got that sequence from that form. I do not know the facts about that.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lXbEmrSunpk



mickey

[mig]

We are almost getting there and I think I may have seen the same thing in Youtube and it was published in a martial arts magazine about this sequence from someone in Hong Kong that practiced a style unknown to me.

Thanks again.

[mig]

Indeed I found a reference in the WULIN 2003 11pp10 but unfortunately the graphic is not clear to read. Maybe someone may have a copy. Thanks everybody.

Mig

[GeneChing]

We went up primarily to interview Saoirse Ronan and Joe Wright for our recent review HANNA: The Girl Who Kicked Ass (http://ezine.kungfumagazine.com/ezine/article.php?article=956). Much to my delight, I got a chance to meet two of the original stars of ETD, Jim Kelly and Bob Wall

http://a8.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc6/207808_10150214472809363_135964689362_8492176_6349 603_n.jpg

http://a8.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/217440_10150214472114363_135964689362_8492169_2010 368_n.jpg

[sanjuro_ronin]

Bob still looks like Bob, but what happened to Jim ??

[Lucas]

he'll be 66 in may....he cut his hair.....old jim kelly would have been perfect for live action afro samurai.... :(

[sanjuro_ronin]

he'll be 66 in may....he cut his hair.....old jim kelly would have been perfect for live action afro samurai.... :(

He looks real thin...last time I saw him was in undercover brother, I don't remember him looking so...frail...

[Lucas]

OH...your right that movie was funny as hell too....hmm...maybe he got sick, i sure hope it isnt the big C...

[GeneChing]

Actually, Kelly looked pretty good. He was skeptical of me because he thought at first that I was from some other magazine, one that published an article that was critical of him and he hasn't forgiven that. He was very engaging, once he realized I was from Kung Fu Tai Chi. Kelly probably looks thin in that shot because I look so fat. :o

Wall was friendly too, although his booth was right in between Elvira's, and she drew a huge line of fans, and Lee Meriweather's, who also had large following (both ladies are still fine lookers, btw). Wall was fawning to me over what a great person Bruce Lee was, and I called him on it, asking about that old controversy about the bottle breaking fight scene in ETD. Wall then gave me a blow-by-blow of what happened. In fact, that's exactly what he's describing in this photo:
http://a3.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc6/217033_10150214472254363_135964689362_8492170_4923 025_n.jpg

[JamesC]

Wall was friendly too, although his booth was right in between Elvira's, and she drew a huge line of fans, and Lee Meriweather's, who also had large following (both ladies are still fine lookers, btw). Wall was fawning to me over what a great person Bruce Lee was, and I called him on it, asking about that old controversy about the bottle breaking fight scene in ETD. Wall then gave me a blow-by-blow of what happened. In fact, that's exactly what he's describing in this photo:
http://a3.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc6/217033_10150214472254363_135964689362_8492170_4923 025_n.jpg

I've never heard of this. Anywhere I can get the low down on this story?

[YouKnowWho]

Maybe one of you can remember the form Bruce Lee performed in the movie Enter the dragon? It seems to be a form from a north style that was common in Hong Kong. I think I saw a thread in this forum but can not find it. Thanks a bunch.

Mig

In the following clip, Bruce Lee did a 3 jumping kick combo at 0.26.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4SxXBMt-YTQ (at 0.26)

That kicking combo is called 三不落地(San Bu Luo Di) or 五鳳齊飛(Wu Feng Qi Fei) in the 华拳(Hua Quan) 3rd Road.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=avn8dVzZ_b8 (at 0.18)

The reason it's called 三不落地(San Bu Luo Di) because you jump 3 times. In all 3 jumps one of your feet is always in the air.

- jump front kick,
- jump back heel kick,
- jump inside (or outside) crescent kick.

It's also called 五鳳齊飛(Wu Feng Qi Fei) because you make 5 slap sounds in this combo (Bruce Lee didn't do the slap sound).

- right fist hit left hand,
- right hand hit the instep of right foot,
- right hand hit the bottom of the left foot,
- right hand hit left hand,
- right (or left) hand hit the outside (or inside) edge of the right foot,

Bruce Lee ended this kicking combo with inside crescent kick. The outside crescent kick is more commonly used. Not sure about the combat value for this kicking combo but if you can still do this combo when you are 80 years old, you body should still be in good shape. IMO, it's a good "exercise for health" for your daily training.

[GeneChing]

Just search "Bob Wall Bruce Lee" on the web and you'll find it. In a nutshell, there was an accident in the fight scene and rumors flew about who got hurt, how badly, and so on. Lee is such an icon that any fight mishap causes controversy. When I spoke to Wall last Friday, he said it was just an accident, that they had done 5 or 6 takes and on the last one, Lee cut himself on the broken bottle because he closed to quickly. Wall was very courteous about it all. Most would blame the media for blowing the controversy up out of proportion, which was the way of print publishing back then perhaps, but Wall sort of shrugged it all off to me. He was quite the gentleman during our little chat.

Bruce Lee vs. Bob Wall (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DcWycnQ4mBw)

[TenTigers]

the five sounds kicking is also a common drill used in Chinese Opera. Bruce Lee's dad was an opera star, so he probably learned it from him when he was younger.
Many of the so-called "Bruce Lee-isms" were actually drawn from opera-the flashing eyes glare, the head snap is called Mein, or the face, which all opera players learn.

[Jimbo]

Other "Bruce Lee mannerisms" in the movies were heavily borrowed from Japanese samurai movies. You can see that he adapted stuff, for example, quickly striking opponents, and then he freezes before the opponents slowly fall down in a delayed reaction. He simply changed the Japanese cinematic sword fighting style to cinematic empty-hand/nunchaku/stick fighting.

BL was known to have been a fan of samurai movies early on; he even copied Zatoichi poses/expressions during a Shaw Brothers photo session. It's clear he got the basic idea for the Kung Fu series from the Zatoichi series.

[Scott R. Brown]

I used to train that kick combination in my younger days. Ark Wong taught something similar to it in his 5 Animals Style.

[mrakbaseball]

https://www.change.org/petitions/warner-bros-search-their-archives-for-unseen-bruce-lee-footages-from-enter-the-dragon-2

[GeneChing]

Let me know if any of you go to see it.


Classic Hollywood: Remembering Bruce Lee and martial arts films (http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/moviesnow/la-et-mn-kung-fu-classic-hollywood-20130415,0,3323499.story)
His 1973 film 'Enter the Dragon' helped usher in the martial arts epic. The academy's 'Stephen Chin Collection' honors the genre.

“Enter the Dragon” (1973) stars Bruce Lee as a master martial artist who wants revenge on the gang that killed his sister. (Stephen Chin Collection)

By Susan King, Los Angeles Times
April 15, 2013, 5:00 a.m.

Forty years ago, the cinematic landscape was undergoing a seismic shift. Young Turk filmmakers such as George Lucas, Martin Scorsese, Francis Ford Coppola, William Friedkin and Terrence Malick were exploring unique and challenging themes. The black exploitation film was not only thriving but also enjoying crossover appeal.

But probably no one in Hollywood was prepared for the martial arts mania that erupted the summer of 1973 when Warner Bros. released the kung fu epic "Enter the Dragon," starring the legendary Bruce Lee, who died at 32 shortly before the U.S opening. "Enter the Dragon" was the first kung fu film produced by a major Hollywood studio and heralded an influx of kung fu films from Hong Kong — several starring Lee clones such as Bruce Li, Bruce Lai and Dragon Lee.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences' exhibition, "Kick Ass!: Kung Fu Posters From the Stephen Chin Collection," captures that time when movie audiences had an insatiable appetite for the nonstop action, breathless pacing and astonishing stunts depicted in these films.

"There was an intensity, realism, dynamism and energy to this stuff that no one had ever seen before," said Chin, a producer and screenwriter who donated his collection to the academy in 2011.

That influence continued into such contemporary films as Ang Lee's Oscar-winning "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon," Quentin Tarantino's "Kill Bill" martial arts thrillers and the animated "Kung Fu Panda."

Academy curator Ellen Harrington noted that the martial arts genre "burst into peoples' consciousness. It was a real cultural moment. And the posters are an incredibly important part of the way these movies were publicized. The art is incredibly dynamic, full of action."

The 80 pieces in the exhibition — Chin's collection numbers more than 800 — includes U.S. and international posters from martial arts films such as 1978's "Enter the Fat Dragon" with Sammo Hung. There's also martial-arts-related skateboards, kung fu manuals, lunch boxes and even a bottle of Hai Karate cologne ("Be careful how you use it," was the ad slogan).

The academy is opening the exhibition with a 40th anniversary screening of "Enter the Dragon."

Bruce Lee, who choreographed and staged the dazzling fights, plays a martial arts expert who, in his quest to seek revenge on the gang that killed his sister, enters an exhaustive martial arts competition sponsored by the gang's kingpin. John Saxon and Jim Kelly also star in the fast-paced film that includes martial-arts superstars Jackie Chan and Hung in early roles.

Saxon and Bob Wall, who also appeared in the film, producers Paul Heller and Fred Weintraub, cinematographer Gil Hubbs, screenwriter Michael Allin and Bruce Lee's daughter, Shannon Lee, will be on hand to discuss the charismatic actor.

Weintraub, who knew Lee, was told that if he came up with a script, Lee would be open to doing the movie. Lee was impressed with Allin's first draft and flew to Los Angeles to meet with him and the producers.

"I had a lot of story conversations with Bruce and I did a rewrite according to his notes," Allin recalled. But later the two had a falling out while they were on location in Hong Kong.

Despite difficulties with the legend, Lee was "very good at what he did," said Allin. "He was an angel in terms of his skill. Warners thought he was going to be a really big deal."

Lee was certainly a really big deal to Chin, who grew up in Toronto. "When I was a kid, I was constantly bullied and beaten up for being Chinese," he said.

But Chin's bullying days were over when Lee entered the cinematic landscape.

"It was a profound transformation," said Chin. "For me as a kid, to go from being mocked to being admired was amazing."

Among the highlights of the exhibition, which continues through August, are a U.S. six-sheet poster of "Enter the Dragon" and an oversized Italian poster for "Five Fingers of Death."

'Enter the Dragon'
Where: Samuel Goldwyn Theater, 8949 Wilshire Blvd., Beverly Hills
When: 7:30 p.m. Wednesday
Admission: $5
'Kick Ass! Kung Fu Posters From the Stephen Chin Collection'
Where: The Academy Grand Lobby Gallery, 8949 Wilshire Blvd., Beverly Hills
When: Thursday-Aug. 25, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesdays-Fridays; noon-6 p.m. weekends
Admission: Free
Information: http://www.oscars.org

[GeneChing]

Enter to win ENTER THE DRAGON 40TH ANNIVERSARY ULTIMATE COLLECTOR’S EDITION (http://www.kungfumagazine.net/index_ENTER_THE_DRAGON_40TH_ANNIVERSARY_ULTIMATE_C OLLECTOR.html)! Contest ends 6:00 p.m. PST on 06/27/13. Good luck everyone!

[GeneChing]

See our ENTER THE DRAGON 40TH ANNIVERSARY ULTIMATE COLLECTOR’S EDITION winners (http://ezine.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?t=66211) thread.

[IronFist]

I'd cut and paste but just click the link instead:

http://movies.yahoo.com/blogs/movie-talk/enter-dragon-turns-40-didn-t-know-bruce-175002143.html

[PalmStriker]

Thanks for the link-up IronFist! Great read! Good to know how things are going with the family. Anyone who has had members pass away untimely can identify with the BruceGuanDao legacy. :) I feel his rage: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pYnLVM0AEiE

[GeneChing]

Musicians prepare to battle like Bruce Lee at Institute of Contemporary Arts (http://www.theguardian.com/culture/2015/oct/14/bruce-lee-enter-the-dragon-institute-of-contemporary-arts)
Experimental installation Enter the Dragon combines music and martial arts in project inspired by iconic mirror scene in 1973 Hollywood film

https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/034cf3ed6e48eb54e894fb8bb5dc7771f1623dff/0_411_5976_3580/master/5976.jpg
Zhang Ding says the ICA’s Enter the Dragon installation will involve 26 musicians, bands, producers and DJs. Photograph: Graeme Robertson for the Guardian
Hannah Ellis-Petersen
Wednesday 14 October 2015 07.08 EDT Last modified on Wednesday 14 October 2015 11.11 EDT

The Institute of Contemporary Arts is to host a two-week installation during which live bands will perform in a hall of mirrors inspired by the Bruce Lee film Enter the Dragon.

The “mutating sound sculpture”, brainchild of Chinese artist Zhang Ding, will involve 26 musicians, bands, producers and DJs. Each night two of them will play on opposite sides of the London gallery. The artists will each play their own songs to an audience of 100 before gradually collaborating in a live improvisation.

Musicians taking part in the installation, also called Enter the Dragon, include Bo Ningen, the Japanese acid punk band, the electronic musician Tapes, Vision Fortune, the experimental drone duo, and producer Lord Tusk.

Ding said he was inspired by his passion for martial arts and music: “I was very interested in martial arts films and I started to think about how I could bring together music and martial arts. Like in music, in martial arts there are different styles and schools, and so I wanted to find a way to bring this old eastern philosophy of communication when fighting, but between bands instead – they are competing but also drawing on each other. And so I wanted to find a point where western and eastern people are familiar, which is why I chose Bruce Lee’s Enter the Dragon.”

Ding visited several music venues across London in his search for emerging talent for the project. The ICA also worked with Hackney-based station NTS Radio, associate artists at the gallery. NTS advertised an open submission for musicians through its website and also linked up with several UK and international NTS-associated musicians to ensure the project included a variety of new talent.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uTBfxjbtqhk
Man in the mirror: Bruce Lee in Enter the Dragon

Matt Williams, the show’s curator, said: “Each performance is going to be so unique so it’s all very much an experiment – none of us know what’s going to happen.”

Ding, who has made several pieces involving live music including transforming a Shangai art gallery into a nightclub, said the ICA project was as much about watching the audience as the improvising bands. “The most important thing is they feel like this is a party,” he said. “By doing this project, I have almost given up the identity of the artist; it involves everyone putting themselves into the installation – I was just the starting point, the person who will lead the audiences and the musicians into the space – what they do when they ‘enter the dragon’ is up to them.”

Tabitha Thorlu-Bangura, from NTS radio, who helped compile the programme of artists, said there had been a wide variety of submissions, with musicians “energised by the prospect of something this experimental and a little bit different”.

Thorlu-Bangura said she was looking forward to seeing Bill Kouligas perform with Amnesia Scanner; British-born, Berlin-based house music producer Heatsick v London-based music producer Lukid; and electronic musician Tapes against R&B singer Throwing Shade, a pairing she predicted would be “weird but great”.

https://i.guim.co.uk/img/static/sys-images/Guardian/Pix/pictures/2015/6/24/1435163810960/Throwing-Shade-007.jpg
R&B singer Throwing Shade, who will perform with electronic musician Tapes. Photograph: Spike Morris

The installation highlights the ICA’s increasing interest in the amalgamation of music and contemporary art. In recent months, the gallery has collaborated with artists such as Björk’s producer Arca, who played his first live show in the gallery, and techno DJ Evian Christ, as well as hosting nights by Boiler Room and the London-based label Blackest Ever Black.

“I arrived here five years ago and the ICA was in a very difficult period of its life financially, and we had to scrap the music programme because it just wasn’t viable,” Williams said. “So we started working with associate artists, like band Factory Floor and now NTS, to develop a relationship with musicians and find ways to put on gigs, but also make it a visual experience. Now we are seeing a real explosion of those collaborations between art and emerging music, not just at the ICA but in galleries across the country.”

• Enter the Dragon, in collaboration with K11 Art Foundation, runs until 25 October. Tickets are available here.

sounds like an intriguing project.

[GeneChing]

Enter The Legend: 'Dragon' Turns 45 (https://www.npr.org/2018/08/17/639343899/the-lasting-influence-of-bruce-lees-enter-the-dragon-which-turns-45)
Download Transcript (https://www.npr.org/templates/transcript/transcript.php?storyId=639343899)
August 17, 2018 4:53 AM ET
Heard on Morning Edition
JUSTIN RICHMOND

https://media.npr.org/assets/img/2018/08/24/gettyimages-607431140_wide-551a9ccd460922742eb0af495056793f34197aba-s800-c85.jpg
Bruce Lee on the set of Enter the Dragon.
Sunset Boulevard/Corbis via Getty Images

When the seminal martial arts film Enter the Dragon premiered in August 1973 — 45 years ago this weekend — it was exactly what Bruce Lee had been waiting for: A starring role in a Hollywood production.

Kung fu meets blaxploitation, and all action, Enter the Dragon was a hit at the box office. It grossed over $20 million in the United States, even beating out a Steve McQueen film, and was Warner Brothers' top grossing film internationally that year.

It sparked an explosion of martial arts movies — which until then had largely only existed in Hong Kong. It was supposed to make Bruce Lee a star.

"Enter the Dragon was really a very precious project for him," says Shannon Lee, Bruce's daughter. "And the one that he had been waiting for."


What Bruce Lee wanted to do was to create a heroic Asian male character, but it simply didn't exist.

Matthew Polly

But a month before the film's premiere, he died. Instead of becoming a star, he became a legend.

Before martial arts films, Lee was a child actor in Hong Kong.

He played mostly dramatic roles. One film, The Orphan, actually made him a bit of a celebrity there — his performance was compared to James Dean's in Rebel Without a Cause.

But any fame he had quickly disappeared when he left Hong Kong for the U.S., where he moved when his family felt he was getting in too much trouble at home. Lee, who had been a martial arts student since his early teens, decided to make a living as an instructor.

He didn't plan on acting but was discovered by a TV producer. William Dozier, who produced the popular Batman TV series, cast Bruce Lee as sidekick Kato in The Green Hornet.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xFBxFrq7byk
YouTube

The Green Hornet debuted on ABC on Sept. 9, 1966. Oddly enough, the original Star Trek series, featuring George Takei as Sulu, premiered the same week. Both shows were significant for casting Asian-American males in prominent roles on TV.

That was far from the norm.

"Up until The Green Hornet, it really was pretty much a wasteland as far as Asian-American continuous representation on television," says Jeff Yang, a writer and host of the podcast They Call Us Bruce.

The Green Hornet didn't catch on like the Batman series and was canceled after only a year. After a few more guest spots on TV and a movie, Lee was ready to play a new type of character — one that didn't yet exist for Asian males in Hollywood.

https://media.npr.org/assets/bakertaylor/covers/b/bruce-lee/9781501187629_custom-1d04f3f182e50cddf5239330287a575e1da00bf7-s400-c85.jpg
Bruce Lee
A Life
by Matthew Polly
Hardcover, 640 pages purchase

"What Bruce Lee wanted to do was to create a heroic Asian male character," says Matthew Polly, author of the new biography Bruce Lee: A Life. "But it simply didn't exist. There were only two types of roles — Fu Manchu, the villain, and Charlie Chan, the model minority. And both of these characters were played by white actors in multiple films during the '50s and '60s."

It was about this time Lee caught a lucky break.

He went back to Hong Kong to visit family and was greeted at the airport by producers eager to cast him. It had been over a decade since his last role in Hong Kong, but The Green Hornet had been playing there — except there it was called The Kato Show. Lee was again a star.

He decided to make martial arts films for Hong Kong audiences. He made three: The Big Boss, Fist of Fury and Way of the Dragon. All were hits in Hong Kong. So Lee reached out to a producer he knew at Warner Brothers.

Which is where Enter the Dragon, well, enters. A co-production between Lee's Hong Kong studio, Golden Harvest, and Warner Brothers, it was the first martial arts film produced by an American studio. Lee was finally the heroic Asian star of a Hollywood movie. And he kicked butt.

Lee died a month before the film's release in the U.S. and didn't get to see the lasting influence it would have.


Without 'Enter the Dragon' most of the video games that we associate now with martial arts — certainly all of the television shows and films that have come afterwards ... would not be the same.

Jeff Yang

"Without Enter the Dragon most of the video games that we associate now with martial arts — certainly all of the television shows and films that have come afterwards ... would not be the same," Yang says.

"You know, we take for granted now that Hollywood action movies, they have martial arts, they have fight choreography, they do all this amazing stuff," says Phil Yu, the writer behind the site Angry Asian Man. "Before then we hadn't really seen martial arts in that context in a Hollywood film."

Lee's influence stretched beyond the screen. The Wu-Tang Clan's first album, one of the landmarks of hip-hop, was called Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) in honor of Lee's last film.

"Man, I used to bang my hands on the wall trying to get iron palms, scrape my hands with beans," says the RZA. "I got stretch marks on my shoulders because of kung fu things I was trying to do."

Forty-five years after his death, Lee still turns up all over popular culture — just this week, Quentin Tarantino announced a new actor in his upcoming 1969 period piece, Once Upon A Time In Hollywood. The role? Bruce Lee.

THREADS:
Enter the Dragon (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?26150-Enter-the-Dragon)
Bruce Lee: A Life by Matt Polly (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?65795-Bruce-Lee-A-Life-by-Matt-Polly)
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?70864-Once-Upon-a-Time-in-Hollywood)

[GeneChing]

Prop Store - Ultimate Movie Collectables - London - Los Angeles

https://images.propstore.com/737879-t1.jpg
Lot 140 - Entertainment Memorabilia Live Auction - Hans (Shih Kien) Knife Hand
Enter the Dragon (1973) (https://propstore.com/featured/enter-the-dragon-1973/lot-140-entertainment-memorabilia-live-auction-hans-shih-kien-knife-hand/)
FEATURED
Stock #128934

In Auction Now

This lot will be sold on Tuesday, 1st December (day 1 of the auction.) Lots 1-463 will be sold on day 1 (lots 464-913 will be sold on day 2). The auction will begin at 2:00 pm GMT. Lots are sold sequentially so there is no preset ending time. A live streaming broadcast of the auction will be available on auction days.

Han's (Shih Kien) knife hand from Robert Clouse's martial arts film Enter The Dragon. The villainous crime lord Han had several different weaponised attachments to replace his severed hand, and he used his knife hand in the climactic fight against Lee (Bruce Lee), inflicting the iconic scars. Lee wanted the villain to have a unique and terrifying weapon, with this hand designed by Lee's student and friend George Lee. This piece was exhibited at a 2014 SENI show at the London Soccerdome, alongside many other pieces of Lee memorabilia. It is one of two metal sets known to exist, and another wooden set was also used during the fight.

The weapon is made of metal with four real, sharpened knives attached to a metal block. It features a removable handle, allowing it to be held by Kien and his double during filming. There is some wear from age and production use, including some scuffing and scratches on the main block. It comes with a letter of authenticity signed by George Lee. Dimensions: 43.5 cm x 7.5 cm x 6 cm (17 1/2" x 3" x 2 1/2")

Estimate: £10,000 - 15,000 M

Certificate of Authenticity This item comes with a Prop Store Certificate of Authenticity.

This item is on consignment and is sold under the margin scheme for collector's items; no VAT is due.

Threads
Bruce Lee Memorablia auctions (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?67541-Bruce-Lee-Memorablia-auctions)
Enter the Dragon (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?26150-Enter-the-Dragon)

[GeneChing]

Want to make a Kung Fu movie? READ Mandy Chan and the Thrills of Martial Arts Filmmaking (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/ezine/article.php?article=1582) by Emilio Alpanseque

http://www.kungfumagazine.com//admin/site_images/KungfuMagazine/images/ezine/5433_Mandy-Chan_Lead.jpg

threads
Enter-the-Dragon (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?26150-Enter-the-Dragon)
Sammo-Hung (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?55110-Sammo-Hung)
Donnie-Yen-Uber-Awesome-!! (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?58046-Donnie-Yen-Uber-Awesome-!!)

[GeneChing]

Cool cats. READ Shaolin Jazz on ENTER THE DRAGON (https://www.kungfumagazine.com/ezine/article.php?article=1657) by Gene Ching

http://www.kungfumagazine.com//admin/site_images/KungfuMagazine/images/ezine/3955_Shaolin-Jazz_Lead.jpg

Enter-the-Dragon (https://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?26150-Enter-the-Dragon)
Kung-Fu-Music (https://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?36569-Kung-Fu-Music)

[GeneChing]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5RGju9NuoOU

[GeneChing]

IN THEATERS AUG 13 & AUG 16
https://images.fathomevents.com/image/upload/w_360,dpr_1.5,f_auto,q_auto/fl_attachment/v1670440059/Events/2023/1742/Enter_the_Dragon_1000x1480_FE_Website.jpg.jpg
Fathom's Big Screen Classics
Enter the Dragon 50th Anniversary (https://www.fathomevents.com/events/Enter-the-Dragon-50th-Anniversary)
Bruce Lee explodes onto the screen in the film that rocketed him to international superstardom, Enter The Dragon. Recruited by an intelligence agency, martial arts student Lee (Lee--Fists of Fury, The Chinese Connection) participates in a brutal tournament at a remote island fortress in an attempt to gather enough evidence to convict the international drug-trafficker responsible for the murder of Lee's sister. In the now-classic fight-to-the-death finish, two men enter a mirrored maze, but only one will exit...NOTE: Though uncredited, future superstars Chuck Norris, playing a messenger, and Jackie Chan, as Oharra's henchman, appear in this 1973 martial arts spectacular.

I might just have to check this out - I'd love to see it on the big screen one more time. :cool:

[YinOrYan]

I might just have to check this out - I'd love to see it on the big screen one more time. :cool:

Another Bruce Lee thing to check out: https://vrscout.com/news/ar-murals-bring-bruce-lee-to-life-in-ny-la/

[GeneChing]

Enter to win a Enter the Dragon 4K Ultra HD Edition (https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfwPOCJiswK-b_Tjxa9IEbb4r-CR4v2ATWl3Nqj9bEVNFvXtQ/viewform)
Contest ends 8/17/2023.

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/m40X--JYCPayQNpsPtfcVsRmr0JqZVU0m-sB0ZIKIQTKL-nIyey9vI5T-c0l5-ZzBkoy8NN7tigl0wmfSiqNtkIBkZla8Hv3FIXKjFb-Zn53pBEuwdWfcfToGNgOQK5I6Q=w740

[GeneChing]

My latest feature for Den of Geek: The Hong Kong Kung Fu Movies You Need to Watch Next If You Already Love Bruce Lee (https://www.denofgeek.com/movies/hong-kong-kung-fu-movies-if-you-already-love-bruce-lee/)

https://www.denofgeek.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/bruce-lee.jpg?resize=768%2C432

This was tasked for in regards to EtD's 50th next week.

[GeneChing]

The Many Ways Bruce Lee’s Enter the Dragon Changed Martial Arts Movies Forever (https://www.denofgeek.com/movies/enter-the-dragon-changed-martial-arts-movies-forever/) ~ My Latest Feature for Den of Geek

https://www.denofgeek.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/Bruce-Lee-Shirtless-in-Enter-the-Dragon.jpg?resize=768%2C432

[GeneChing]

WINNERS-Enter-the-Dragon-4K-Ultra-HD-Edition (https://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?72586-WINNERS-Enter-the-Dragon-4K-Ultra-HD-Edition)