Enter the Dragon (1973)
92%RT Audience Score: 91%
Awards & Nominations: 1 win
Badass to the max, Enter the Dragon is the ultimate kung-fu movie and fitting (if untimely) Bruce Lee swan song.
Enter the Dragon is the ultimate kung fu movie that will have you whooping and hollering from start to finish. It’s a classic corny action flick that never gets boring and is visually stunning. Bruce Lee is at his charismatic best as he takes on an evil overlord in a martial arts tournament. Sure, there are some flaws, like Lee having to share screen time with other battlers, but the formidable kung-fu sequences make up for it. Overall, Enter the Dragon is a ripping entertainment that’s perfect for a movie night with friends.
Production Company(ies)
Large Lab
Distributor
Warner Bros. Pictures
Release Type
Theatrical
Filming Location(s)
Aberdeen Harbour, Aberdeen, Hong Kong, China
MPAA / Certificate
Rated R for martial arts violence and brief nudity
Year of Release
1973
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Color:Color
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Sound mix:Mono (original release)
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Aspect ratio:2.39 : 1
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Runtime:1h 39m
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Language(s):English, Cantonese
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Country of origin:United States, Hong Kong
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Release date:Release Date (Theaters): Jan 1, 1973 Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Jun 30, 1998
Genre(s)
Action/Adventure
Keyword(s)
Enter the Dragon, Bruce Lee, martial arts, kung-fu, action, adventure, Robert Clouse, directed by, Michael Allin, written by, Paul M Heller, Fred Weintraub, produced by, R rating, box office, Dolby SR, DTS, Mono, SDDS, Dolby A, Dolby Digital, Scope, 2.35:1, Lee, John Saxon, Jim Kelly, Ahna Capri, Angela Mao, Bob Wall, reviewed by, Alan R Howard, Chris Cabin, William Paul, Peter Travers, Dave Kehr, Howard Thompson, James Kendrick, Tom Meek, Mike Massie, Nicholas Bell, Matt Brunson, Enter the Dragon photos, Warner Bros Pictures
Worldwide gross: $68,064
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $506,943
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 2,737
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 55,283
US/Canada gross: NA
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): NA
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): NA
US/Canada opening weekend:
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): NA
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): NA
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): $850,000
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): $6,330,830
Production budget ranking: 1,832
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): $3,409,152
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): -$9,233,039
ROI to date (est.): -95%
ROI ranking: 1,992
John Saxon – Roper
Jim Kelly – Williams
Ahna Capri – Tania
Angela Mao – Su Lin
Bob Wall – Oharra
Director(s)
Robert Clouse
Writer(s)
Michael Allin
Producer(s)
Paul M. Heller, Fred Weintraub
Film Festivals
Awards & Nominations
1 win
Academy Awards
All Critics (55) | Top Critics (13) | Fresh (52) | Rotten (3)
A whoop-and-holler entertainment, which is to say that it’s a lavish, corny action movie, not boring for a second and as outrageously wry as it is visually appealing.
August 17, 2018
Alan R. Howard
Hollywood Reporter
TOP CRITIC
Director Robert Clouse works the material for efficiency and optimum thrill, while providing a buoyant visual style to the action.
August 26, 2013 | Rating: 3/4
Chris Cabin
Slant Magazine
TOP CRITIC
Enter the Dragon is the first classy Kung Fu movie specially designed for Western audiences, and that’s not to be confused with first-class.
January 18, 2013
William Paul
Village Voice
TOP CRITIC
If kung fu is now the standard badass language, Enter the Dragon — featuring Lee’s great slow-burn stare — is the first grammar lesson.
August 14, 2007 | Rating: 3/4
Peter Travers
Rolling Stone
TOP CRITIC
Ripping entertainment overall, with just enough meat for amateur sociologists.
March 1, 2007
Dave Kehr
Chicago Reader
TOP CRITIC
On an adventure level, the performances are quite good. The one by Mr. Lee, not only the picture’s supermaster killer but a fine actor as well, is downright fascinating.
May 9, 2005 | Rating: 5/5
Howard Thompson
New York Times
TOP CRITIC
Lee wanted to ensure that Enter the Dragon was not just a banal Hollywood production that exploited kung fu for action thrills, but was rather a vehicle for both himself as a performer and his philosophical worldview
March 8, 2021 | Rating: 3/4
James Kendrick
Q Network Film Desk
Lee is at his charismatic best in this spy thriller wrapped up in a martial arts tournament hosted by an evil overlord. It’s a film I could rewatch perhaps every other week.
February 2, 2021 | Rating: 3.5/4
Tom Meek
Cambridge Day
The fact that Lee has to share screentime with two other battlers continues to minimize his impressiveness – especially when it comes to Saxon, who is quite unconvincing.
August 29, 2020 | Rating: 7/10
Mike Massie
Gone With The Twins
Although it features all the period trappings of misogynist tendencies evidenced in the film’s closest cousins, the rampant exploitation films of the 1970s, the formidable kung-fu sequences are the greatest feature.
August 26, 2020
Nicholas Bell
IONCINEMA.com
What action!
August 8, 2020 | Rating: 3.5/4
Matt Brunson
Film Frenzy
Iconic and record shattering in every way, there’s no doubt that Enter The Dragon is the film most Bruce Lee fans immediately associate with him and which largely introduced him as a superstar and cultural icon in the western world.
August 5, 2020
Ed Travis
Cinapse…
Plot
Enter the Dragon revolves around 3 main characters; Lee, a man recruited by an agency to investigate a tournament hosted by Han, since they believe he has an Opium trade there. Roper and Williams are former army buddies since Vietnam and they enter the tournament due to different problems that they have. It’s a deadly tournament they will enter on an island.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
Bruce Lee’s performance in Enter the Dragon is described as “downright fascinating” by critic Howard Thompson.
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