As a very young boy, I had three famous idols. The first was
none other than Muhammad Ali. Back then, I was just taken in by his charisma.
As I grew and learned more about him, he became one of the people I most
admire. The second was O.J. Simpson. Okay, that one didn’t work out too well.
Still, at the time he was a great football player and had a squeaky clean
image. Third was the one and only Bruce Lee. He passed away when I was two
years old. Two or three years after that is when I became aware of him. This was
largely thanks to his most famous movie, Enter the Dragon.
Like with my other heroes I knew nothing of the man, but boy did he make some
cool movies. This one is the coolest of them all.
Throughout my life I’ve returned to EtD
dozens, if not hundreds of times. I know for certain that I’ve watched it at
least once almost every year since I was five. I’d gamble that most of those
years I watched it several times. During my military days, I found a group of
drinking buddies that enjoyed kung-fu flicks. Once a week for a while we’d
gather and watch one. You’d be correct in assuming that I made sure this was
the feature attraction a time or two. Each of my children had at least one
night during their infancy where they were draped across my chest sleeping
while Bruce kicked ass in the background. My nieces and nephews who grew up in
a house where their mom practically nursed them with Steven Seagal movies were
given their first look at a “real” kung-fu movie when they spent the night at
Uncle Dell’s house. All the while, I made sure to tell them that Bruce Lee
would beat the ponytail off of Seagal. No one was safe.
This past year has seen my son start to become a cinephile
in his own right. Aside from the constant rotation of rented, borrowed and
streamed movies in my house, I also have a DVD collection of roughly 700
titles. The boy, now sixteen, has started combing his way through them. About
two weeks ago, he announced to me he was going to watch all of the Bruce Lee
movies. It then dawned on me that I hadn’t watched EtD in
2013. Yes! My son gave me an excuse to keep the streak alive. I gleefully sat
down to watch it with him.
If you’re somehow unaware of what this movie, I’ll give you
the short version. Mr. Han (Shih Kien) has a private island off the coast of
Hong Kong and is hosting a martial arts tournament. “British Intelligence”
suspects that Han is also trafficking drugs and running a prostitution ring
there. They recruit “Mr. Lee”, Bruce – duh, to go in undercover and
investigate. Before actually going though, Mr. Lee finds out that Han’s main
henchman, O’Hara (Robert Wall), is responsible for the death of Mr. Lee’s
sister. Two big subplots run alongside this main narrative. One is about Roper
(John Saxon), a white fighter and playboy type there in part to escape his
gambling debts. The other is about Williams (Jim Kelly), a black fighter just
there for the tourney. He had to deal with some racist cops before boarding his
flight and just happens to be an old friend of Roper’s.
Right from the start, I remember why I keep coming back to
this movie. First of all, everything Bruce Lee does is amazing. The opening
sequence of him beating the crap out of a very young Sammo Hung just sets the
stage for what’s to come. Hung had a pretty successful career as an actor
including a starring role on the American cop series Martial
Law, which ran for a few seasons beginning in 1998. He is now one of
the most revered figures in the history of Chinese cinema and one of the most
sought after fight choreographers in the industry. His work on the Ip
Man movies is astounding. Lee’s one-on-one battle, if you can call
it that, with O’Hara is an epic display of hand speed. The true highlight for
me, though, is his battle with the guards. This is the very pinnacle of movie
martial arts, only equaled by Bruce’s showdown with Chuck Norris in
The Way of the Dragon. Lee choreographed both, by the way.
During this scene one of the guards gets his neck broken. You probably won’t
even look at his face, let alone realize who he is, but its some teenager named
Jackie Chan. He was actually used in a few of Lee’s movies then he did one or
two things you might know.
In addition to Bruce, John Saxon and Jim Kelly also shine.
They add a sense of style and certainly an American sheen to the proceedings.
While our hero is being elevated to a mythical stature, these other two are the
guys we can relate to. They bring humor and they still get it done when it’s
time to throw hands…and feet. Saxon went on to a long career. Kelly’s career in
movies wouldn’t be nearly as long, but he became a Blaxploitation icon. This
movie also introduced me to the great Bolo Yeung. He still scares me a little.
Finally, Shih Kien as Mr. Han is one of the coolest villains ever. I say this
even though I’ve now noticed some inconsistencies with his false left hand. As
the movie progresses he switches it out for something sharper and more heinous
several times. However, when we think it is just a hand we see him move the
fingers.
In the decades since I’ve first seen it, I’ve come to
realize that Enter the Dragon is not only a showcase for
Bruce Lee’s amazing physical skills, but touches on the philosophies he’s
become famous for as well. He waxes poetic on the ways of Jeet Kun Do, the
style of martial arts he actually invented. No, in the movie he never calls it
this, but if you’re familiar with Bruce’s ideas on fighting you’ll recognize it
when he says things like “the greatest technique is to have no technique.”
