It seems that about every five years there is another release of “Enter the Dragon” (Warner, $49.99) and there is nothing wrong with that.
Each time we get either a technically improved version and/or additional bonus features. We get both with this 40th anniversary Blu-ray edition available June 11, along with an envelope with some nifty little patches and photo cards.
Production values , writing, and acting in the movie have always been very cheesy, as you would expect for what is essentially an Asian import from the early 1970s, But Bruce Lee’s martial arts skills continue to amaze and impress, and the story itself is fun enough to keep you engaged even if the dialogue and situations have you smerking much of the time.
And the resolution and clarity comes off remarkably well in the hi-def Blu-ray format, better than most films of the 1970s, though the film’s age and some film grain is unavoidably evident.
The three new bonus features this time include a featurette produced by Lee’s heirs in which people such as Sugar Ray Leonard, George Takai, and others describe the impact Lee’s philosophies had on their careers and lives, and a couple others taking viewers to the location where Han’s Island was filmed, and another analyzing the Wing Chun form of martial arts used by Lee in the movie.
Gratefully, the Blu-ray also includes previous making-of featurettes from the 1993 and 2003 editions, among others, as well as a fairly interesting audio commentary by producer Paul Heller, who even dials up the writer on a speaker phone while doing his commentary so he can include his anecdotes as well. Heller also points out his own cameo as a radio operator.
The biggest pleasant surprise in the bonus section is the comprehensive and fascinating feature-length 87-minute 1993 documentary “Curse of the Dragon,” which entertainingly covers Lee’s life and career.
— By Scott Hettrick