Bruce Lee is probably one of those people who will never be forgotten. His legacy is simple invicible, staying alive in movies like this. Enter the Dragon is the epitome of martial arts movies, a genre bogged down by so many cheap low budget knock offs that it's downright disgusting. Here is the pinnacle on DVD yet again, this time in a 2-disc form for the first time.
Han, a rich, mysterious man invites a group of the worlds best fighters to his island to compete in a tournament. Here, he trains hundereds of students in the martial arts and completes some rather shaky buisness deals involving illegal drugs. Bruce Lee gets caught up not only in the tournament, but has been hired by the British government to figure out exactly what Han is doing on the island.
I'm not a big fan of martial arts movies. I've seen a few in my time, but I always end up with the same opinion of them: "That wasn't Enter the Dragon." The acting here is rather weak and story is just put in place to start up the action, but everyone here was recruited due to their fighting skills first. It shows in every frame. The choreographed battles are on an epic scale, light years ahead of anything that has been put on the screen to date. This is certainly Bruce Lee's best, though almost every film he starred in was thoroughly enjoyable (and available in a seperate DVD box set). If you a fan of any type of action film and have yet to see this masterpiece, now is a better time than ever. (**** out of *****)
Enter the Dragon is presented in widescreen, roughly 2.35:1. This is proclaimed to be an all new digital transfer according to the case. It's certainly believeable. A comparison to the 25th anniversary set reveals brighter (and sharper) colors, less grain, and minimal compression issues. Even more of the scratches have been fixed and only a minute few still remain. This is the best this movie has ever looked and the few minor issues will only bother nit-pickers. (****)
The remixed 5.1 soundtrack is nice, though only the soundtrack really finds it's way into the rear speakers. The fight sequences usually stay in the center, though a few stereo effects creep their way in. The voices sound a bit cleaner than the previous release, but that's the only noticeable difference. This is one of those tracks that won't blow you away, but it's still the best way to hear the movie. (***)
Article comments
1 - HW Saxton Jr.
Great review Matt P. I've picked this up
already but haven't had the chance to
watch it yet. Now I know what to look
forward to.A lot of people consider this
the "Citizen Kane" of chop socky movies.
I agree. I love this genre too by the
way.Can't really explain why but I guess
sometimes the brain just craves junk
food.
There is a documentary out right now
called "Red Trousers" which is about the
making of flicks such as this.It's more
interesting than many of the actual
movies are.