Member JohnnieFreeze Posted July 14, 2018 Member Share Posted July 14, 2018 A couple things wrong with ETD..Lee shouldve fought Bolo, and it shouldve been Lee and Williams kicking a$$ in the end...but thats American Hollywood politics for you. Other than these points, Bruce was about as close to perfect in this role (with what he had to work with) as you can get. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member reason108 Posted July 14, 2018 Member Share Posted July 14, 2018 I wish that Lee would have completed Game of Death before he passed. But, ETD made him a legend. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member JohnnieFreeze Posted July 14, 2018 Member Share Posted July 14, 2018 14 hours ago, reason108 said: I wish that Lee would have completed Game of Death before he passed. But, ETD made him a legend. A completed G.O.D may have been his best movie. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member saltysam Posted September 8, 2018 Member Share Posted September 8, 2018 (edited) I watched this for the millionth time today, it dawned on me how daft it was that Lee, who was supposedly infiltrating the island as an undercover agent and lying low, instantly draws attention to himself by refusing to wear the official tournament uniform 🙂 Edited September 8, 2018 by saltysam 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Rodolphe Dux Posted September 8, 2018 Member Share Posted September 8, 2018 (edited) I used to practice Jeet Kune Do, and my master always told me that ETD was the most accurate movie regarding that martial art. I don’t know if it’s overrated but it had and still has a huge influence on martial arts world (especially in the west), nobody can deny that. Personally I enjoy TWOFTD even more, I can watch that coliseum fight forever. Edited September 9, 2018 by Rodolphe Dux 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member saltysam Posted September 8, 2018 Member Share Posted September 8, 2018 Bruce Lee is a legend and was a genius. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Killer Meteor Posted September 8, 2018 Member Share Posted September 8, 2018 4 hours ago, saltysam said: I watched this for the millionth time today, it dawned on me how daft it was that Lee, who was supposedly infiltrating the island as an undercover agent and lying low, instantly draws attention to himself by refusing to wear the official tournament uniform 🙂 I find it funny that Bruce objected in real life to the yellow karate gis, which were probably inspired by his yellow tracksuit. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Koravec Posted September 9, 2018 Member Share Posted September 9, 2018 Its not overrated at all. It was probably the biggest budget kung fu film made up to that point and for a while after right? 🤔 Its has a mystery vibe, and feel of a spy film all based around kung fu. Its brilliant and they managed to bring in other big stars into the picture and make me care about them too; Black Belt Jones, Bolo. The fight scenes are over the top, original, and highly scenic. Its all a major gimmick. Which I love about it! The gimmicky originality is (often) what makes for the most entertaining and memorable martial arts movies. Just as many of our favorite films are heavy on this aspect; 5 Deadly Venoms, 18 Bronzemen, Crippled Avengers/Masters, etc. And Bruce Lee himself was big on the idea of a movie revolving around a simple gimmicky idea too, most prominently shown in Game of Death, (going up floor to floor to fight bosses). The film wasnt just another 'vs' movie, knockoff, or ripoff. If anythig a tribute to other genres by means of exploitation. Now if this movie had started a trend of big budget hollywood American actor mashups then yeah I would probably despise it too, but thats not the case. Idk this is how I always looked at it. Not my favorite Bruce Lee movie and I always overlooked watching it because of how popular and overblown it felt to me. Silly to me now that i think of it, I need to give it another rewatch sometime. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Fist of the Heavenly Sky Posted September 9, 2018 Member Share Posted September 9, 2018 I don't think ETD is "overrated" in a literal sense. It clearly has some genuine effort going for it, and I also dig the b-movie and spy flair it carries. The core issue is that it's not a Bruce Lee movie by any stretch of the imagination. There really isn't anything about his character that actually stands out besides his fighting skills. As previously stated, it is John Saxon and Jim Kelly who actually take over the spotlight, and rightfully so, since they exhibit actual charisma and life into their characters. While I don't think a love scene between Lee and Betty Chung in ETD would've been necessary, it certainly would've helped "flesh" out Lee's character and give him some much needed emotional impact. His revenge quest doesn't do much of anything at all for the viewer, because his sister didn't get much airtime and all, and indeed, we don't know almost nothing at all about Lee's character, other than that he's a Shaolin monk and a prolific writer. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member DarthKato Posted September 20, 2018 Member Share Posted September 20, 2018 I don't really think its overrated. It has become iconic at this point, and I imagine that its some people's in West first introduction to these types of films. Almost like a "Baby's first Kung-Fu Movie"' type thing. So its going to be special to a lot of folks. Personally, I like it. But, of the Bruce Lee films, I think Fist of Fury(1972) and Way of the Dragon(1972) are my favorites. The revenge plot of FoF works far better and WoTD had some awesome fights(Bruce Lee VS Chuck Norris! Heck Yeah!) and some actual comedic elements in it(!). 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Phantom Dreamer Posted November 19, 2018 Member Share Posted November 19, 2018 Weintraub told Matthew Polly that the inspiration for the movie came from an unproduced screenplay called "Kelsey." It was about a white fur trapper in North Dakota, his black army buddy, and a Chinese mercenary named Lee. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Fist of the Heavenly Sky Posted November 19, 2018 Member Share Posted November 19, 2018 1 hour ago, Phantom Dreamer said: Weintraub told Matthew Polly that the inspiration for the movie came from an unproduced screenplay called "Kelsey." It was about a white fur trapper in North Dakota, his black army buddy, and a Chinese mercenary named Lee. Is said screenplay available for reading anywhere on the internet? Are there any more sources to this? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Phantom Dreamer Posted November 19, 2018 Member Share Posted November 19, 2018 (edited) 1 hour ago, Fist of the Heavenly Sky said: Is said screenplay available for reading anywhere on the internet? Are there any more sources to this? Polly tweeted that back in May, just prior to the release of Bruce Lee: A Life. Basically, Polly is the only person I have read or heard mention a "Kelsey" screenplay. Polly has also brought it up on a few podcast interviews. Perhaps Weintraub mentioned it in his last book, but I have not read it. If it was mentioned, it would surely have been brought up earlier than May. Edited November 19, 2018 by Phantom Dreamer 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member DragonClaws Posted November 19, 2018 Member Share Posted November 19, 2018 Dont quote me, but I think George Tan brought up the subject of Kelsey, in an online interview, I know he's now snce vanished, from the scene. He also a questionable character, when dealing with fans money. However, the guy knew his BL stuff, and at least appeared to try and filter out the BS. Most of his interviews, are no longer appear online, unless anyone saved some?. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator Karlos Posted November 19, 2018 Moderator Share Posted November 19, 2018 I honestly love EtD with all my tired old heart. And not just because I recently received a backrub from Mao Ying. 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Phantom Dreamer Posted November 19, 2018 Member Share Posted November 19, 2018 11 hours ago, Fist of the Heavenly Sky said: Is said screenplay available for reading anywhere on the internet? Are there any more sources to this? Polly said it isn't available online and he has one of the few copies in existence. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Phantom Dreamer Posted January 2, 2019 Member Share Posted January 2, 2019 Something to ponder 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member DragonClaws Posted August 24, 2019 Member Share Posted August 24, 2019 (edited) Raymond Chow & Bruce Lee on the set of Enter The Dragon (1973), I'm not sure who the other three guy's are?. Edited August 24, 2019 by DragonClaws 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member ShawAngela Posted August 24, 2019 Member Share Posted August 24, 2019 Enter the dragon is one of my favourite Bruce Lee's movies, together with Fist of fury. I think that I already watched them at least twice or thrice each. Big boss is ranked third and The way of the dragon is the less favourite of mine, maybe because there is too much comedy in it, even if I love Bruce's humor in some of his scenes in his movies... It doesn't have the same feeling as the other movies in it. The only thing I love in this movie is the music of the beginning. I watched Game of death only once, so, I have to watch it again in order to comment and compare. I don't know if Enter the dragon is overrated, and I don't even know if it has been commented in France when it was released, but I know that I love it for a lot of reasons : the music, Angela and Bruce and John Saxon too (and even Shih Kien. The first time I saw the movie, I didn't like him, but when I began to collect movies fro the 60's, I began to appreciate this actor. He was great, and a great martial artist too) and I don't care of any other comments regarding the budget, the way it was filmed, if it could have been better or whatever. It's a pure enjoyment and that's what should be a movie for people who watch it, without looking for " hairs on the eggs " as we say here... 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Killer Meteor Posted August 24, 2019 Member Share Posted August 24, 2019 (edited) For me, Enter is a great cult classic - kung fu, spy movie, Blaxploitation and Fu Manchu rolled into one. It's not the best attempt to merge Western filmaking with Hong Kong martial arts, for me that would be Man from Hong Kong, but it is a terrific example of melting pot cinema. My problem with it is retrospective - for 20 odd years it became the template for too many poor US/HK crossovers that were content to mimic Enter forumla or credits but not even attempt to better it. The likes of Black Belt Jones and The Big Brawl are fun, but are unambitious, and rely on Robert Clouse being used as an audience enticement when his strengths lay elsewhere and not in kung fu. It got worse when he started writing the damn things! Imagine Bruce or Jackie making movies with the likes of Don Siegel! Edited August 24, 2019 by Killer Meteor 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Killer Meteor Posted August 24, 2019 Member Share Posted August 24, 2019 On 7/14/2018 at 1:35 AM, JohnnieFreeze said: A couple things wrong with ETD..Lee shouldve fought Bolo, and it shouldve been Lee and Williams kicking a$$ in the end...but thats American Hollywood politics for you. I'd have preferred to see Williams wounded but able to take part in the finale - maybe blind ala James Nam in King Boxer. The sexual politics are a tad alarming - Kelly gets a whole bevy of women, Saxon gets the token white girl, and poor old Lee gets no-one (it takes a very monkly monk to spend a night knocking out men instead of getting down with Betty Cheung!) Saxon is fun but does come across like your dad on vacation. A bulkier brawler, such as William Smith, would have been a better match against Bolo, and in the subsequent melee. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member saltysam Posted August 24, 2019 Member Share Posted August 24, 2019 I want the quasi-Enter rehash Force:Five on 4K remastered UHD. I have the blu but i want more. Joe Lewis Vs a rampaging bull and Bong Soo Han!! 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Killer Meteor Posted August 25, 2019 Member Share Posted August 25, 2019 Oh yes, the film where Bolo is played by Bam-Bam Rubble! 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member TheKungFuRobber Posted August 25, 2019 Member Share Posted August 25, 2019 (edited) Enter the Dragon isn't that great. I can think of a million better movies. I think I'm gonna go watch Breakfast at Tiffany's again, now that DragonClaws reminded me of it. Loved Mr Yunioshi, hilarious character. Big fan of Mickey Rooney and Blake Edwards, actually. Can name many better martial arts movies than ETD, such as King Boxer, Best of the Best II, Fist of Legend, Legend of the Mountain, Blood and Bone, Where's Officer Tuba, Supercop, Ninja III: The Domination, Wheels on Meals and the entire Lucky Stars series. All those movies are much better than Enter the Dragon, because they actually have uniqueness. Enter the Dragon is the most overhyped movie ever made. It is so boring, it actually makes me want to watch Ninja The Protector. If you need something completely different to watch, I'd recoomend Panna Rittikrai's 1984 film "Born to Fight". It is availible on DVD in the UK on R2 from Rarescope (although OOP) with English subtitles. It is a very interesting early Thai martial arts film. Very brutal choreography. Also check out 'The Association' with Byong Yu. It's a guilty pleasure of mine, but certainly not something to watch with the kids. From the era when Golden Harvest was setting the bar for kung fu movies with proper recorded soundtracks and half decent acting before the Taiwan indies were trying to imitate Ng See Yuen and interjecting awkward Chinese comedy into every peice of crap they churned out. Edited August 25, 2019 by TheKungFuRobber 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Killer Meteor Posted August 25, 2019 Member Share Posted August 25, 2019 THE ASSOCIATION is...diabolical. It doesn't even have an ending! I agree on GH putting decent new music into their films*, which dates back to FIST OF FURY with its specialy composed Joseph Koo songs. It's sad that by the late 70s, Shaws, THE big studio, was like, "just stick some random De Wolfe cues on the damn thing and shove it out!" * Alongside recycled cues. I used to think Koo was a genius until I realised half of his scores were still Ennio Morricone! 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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