John-Saxon Movie Reviews

Bruce Lee was great. The story is a little corny (It is no Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon) but it is action packed. Jim Kelly was also good and John Saxon shows some passable martial arts skills. The final fight sequence in the maze of mirrors shows some spectacular directing and camera work. It is a shame that Lee died so soon after just beginning to hone his acting skills.

Bruce Lee shines in this action-packed, story-thin adventure! As with most martial arts movies, the fight scenes are the best parts, but in this film the supporting cast are exceptional. John Saxon and Jim Kelly provide light relief from the intense atmosphere, and Shih Kien sizzles as the menacing Han. Samo Hung makes an early appearance, getting fully beaten down by Bruce, and watch out for Jackie Chan getting his neck snapped by Lee near the end!

This is a quality production by Warner Brothers, and has aged well. Unfortunately English copies of the film are without the amazing nunchaku scene, and this greatly detracts from the movie. Apart from this, all is good, especially Bruce's anihilation of O'Hara and the brilliantly choreographed final fight in the "Hall of Mirrors". A MUST SEE.

It's almost pointless writing a review about a movie that almost everyone has seen, but in the event you haven't, this is the kung fu grand-daddy of them all. Sure, there were plently of martial arts films from Hong Kong prior to ETD, but none like this, and ETD was the springboard for just about all of the martial arts films and stars that followed. With John Saxon, Jim Kelly, Bolo Yeung, and Bruce Lee himself, this is the foundation of all modern martial arts films. The fight between Lee and Bob Wahl is by itself, reason to watch this film. Watching Lee in any of his scenes really makes one appreciate his dedication to his arts. Just a last note, Lau Kar-Leung, whom Jackie Chan fought underneath the train in Druken Master II, said of Bruce Lee words to the effect that Bruce Lee's on screen martial arts is the only real martial arts that have ever been put on film (see Cinema of Vengance). Lau's own Kung Fu lineage comes directly from the real life Wong Fei-Hung, so presumably, the man knows what he's talking about. If you like martial arts or kung fu movies, you can't miss this one if you havent already seen it.

You can enjoy this with the kids and everyone. Good clean funny entertainment, that will make you laugh and remember a more innocent time.

This is by far one of my favorite Jimmy Stewart movies of all time. The scene with him bird watching is funny. Our dog is named Bumpa because of this movie. I thoroughly think that any avid older movie fan should get this one.

This is an enjoyable movie, with some very funny scenes and lines. One of my favorite lines takes place in the scene when Jimmy Stewart's shy daughter is at a dance, being the wallflower, and none of the boys ask her to dance. He asks Fabian to ask his daughter to dance (for a $5.00 fee). While they are dancing, Maureen O'Hara (his wife in the movie) asks "How did you find that boy?" and Jimmy Stewart answers "I yelled out 'Joe' to a group of boys. There is always at least one Joe in a group!"

Ok, let's get it out of the way...yes this has a slightly "Trapped in Paradise" (the movie with Nichols Cage, John Lovitz, etc.) feel to it. Criminal with a good heart gets stuck somewhere during the holidays. But whereas the folks in "Trapped in Paradise" were hospitable to a sickening level, the family in "The Ref" are absolute bickering nightmares.

Enter Leary planning the rip-off. He gets stuck with this married couple (with one son) who fight, tooth and nail, over every excruciating detail of life. They are already in therapy and in part their troubles stem from the wife's former infidelity. Kevin Spacey plays the bitter husband who is equally as harsh towards his unfaithful wife. But Leary's involvement in the two...I won't give away how it comes about or how it ends...but let's just say it is absolutely priceless.

If you know Leary's style and attitude, just place it in the context of him having to deal with two [people] who are, presumably, deep down good people. His wit and delivery are impeccable. You will love it!

Defintiely get this DVD if you are at all thinking about it. I had not even seen it until I purchased it on DVD and I was so glad that I went ahead and made the purchase. I wager you will as well.

I have a toddler son and very little time to sit down and watch an entire movie. EXCEPT for The Ref. TBS shows this movie a lot, for which I am eternally grateful. Even with the "choice" language suctioned out, I still have to put my head between my knees to keep from passing out due to laughter everytime I see this movie. This movie is the film equivelant of a good shot of Bushmill's whiskey: strong and dry, the humor evaporates on your tongue and leaves you wanting more. Denis Leary is a cat burglar who kidnaps a bickering couple (Kevin Spacey and Judi Davis) to help him escape the cops after a bungled burglary. Little does he know that he has the couple from hell as his hostages... Other reviewers have done a great job explaining the plot, so I won't repeat. This could have easily veered off into stale stereotypes that would bring enough chuckles to not be a complete disaster, but not the home run that it is. Leary, Spacey, Davis, etc. (not to mention Ted Demme, the director), however, conspire to make this a slyly intelligent comedy, with subtle hilarious comments on marriage, in-laws, suburbia, parenthood, good and evil, and all the other grown-up dilemmas that most everyone deals with. I own approximately 5 videos of my own (3 of them are workout videos), and would gladly pay full price to replace my copy of The Ref if need be. This movie is inexplicably not on most reviewer's "Best of..." lists for reasons that escape me. Shame on them! Again, I cannot urge you strongly enough to buy this video. Without a doubt, this is Denis Leary's finest hour as a comedic actor.

As far as Holiday films go - this is the first of over 30 Holiday movies I watch every year at this time. It is funny and witty and amazingly well performed by everyone. Some may be offended by it - but those who can take it for what it is worth it is hysterical.

Dennis Leary (Ice Age, Stand Up COmic, A Bug's Life) is a small time burgler that meats his match in a home with a unique security system. That system fubbles his robbery and then leads him in frustration to meet Judy Davis (Life with Judy Garland, The Reagans, Deconstructing Harry) in a convienence store.

She plays the disgruntled wife the amazing Kevin Spacey (K-PAx, Pait Forward, American Beauty, A Bug's Life) who in himself is dissapointed in his life and marrage and more.

From there Dennis's character relazies he hijacked his Parents and all the relatives that go with it. On the road through this kidnapping all the characters learn about their lives, true feeligns and what is it to be true to each other.

Their son is also cleverly played by Robert J. Steinmiller, Jr. (The Ref, Rudy) who also learns a valuable lesson about his soon-to-be divorced parents.

Dennis, Judy and Kevin are amazing on screen. They dry humor and black comedy about real important human issues makes this fun, educational and extreemly humorous.

Coupled with the amazing performance of Chrstine Baranski (Happy Family, How The Grinch Stole Christams, The Birdcage) and the ever amazingly annoying mother-in-law played by Gylnis Johns (Marry Poppins, Superstar),

This movie has performances that shine with every cast member. No one is week, uninteresting or unbelievable. Directed by the late Ted Demme (Blow, Snith, Beautiful Girls) this has to be my favorite film of his.

Fun for the whole family (Under 13 watch with Mom and Dad)this film is fun for the Holidays. Check it out. I bought it. 11-30-03

My ONLY complaint about this video is that it is so long. Two videos is a little bit much in my opinion.

The positives are that this video is typical of all Teletubbie videos. There are short segments that provide good stopping points with little shows between the Teletubbies shows. They are fun and gentle and encourage hugs and respect. They are fun.

My young daughter, who is 2 still likes Teletubbies. My son, who is 4, has recently outgrown the Teletubbies. So that might provide potential buyers of an age range (0-3/4) when buying this video.

Enjoy.

Tubbies ride on Thomas and friends comming in second in popularity. I dug the snow. My two year old son and I kept remarking, It's snowing again! Dipsy finaly discovers the joy of sliding. Christmas celebrations in different countries is cute. You can't go wrong with lot's of big hugs.

This video conveys a peaceful and loving atmosphere. Even when it is snowing, the sun is shining. There are great segments of different countries and Christmas traditions. It is "too cute for words." The children loved it! They danced, clapped and sang along. Even the babies enjoyed watching the snow fall and pointed to the snowman. Older kids were curious about the different languages spoken. Best for ages 0 to 2 when broken into smaller viewing segments.

What makes the Teletubbies so enjoyable for young children is their predictability. The opening section of this video is just that, predictable. The Teletubbies all gather together with their favorite things- but uh oh... someone has lost something. Each Teletubbie loses his/her favorite thing, as each items is found, they gather together again, only to find someone else has lost his/her favorite thing. And so it goes, until every favorite item has been lost and been found.

The ship segment is my favorite segment: nice music and great graphics. My children both enjoy this segment. The boy, Ned riding his bike is very fun and reminds my son of how he enjoys riding bikes.

I know there is controversy on the Teletubbies. However, I think they are cute and harmless. Surely they don't teach anything negative, they teach hugs and fun and sharing and caring, if they teach anything at all. Mainly I use this video (and all others and TV) as a time for my kids to wind down at the end of the day or just prior to nap. A short time to just sit and turn off their brains for a few minutes.

Enjoy.

As others note, the "Ned" video (a little boy getting ready to go for a bike ride) is great, and the splashing-pool video is fun, too. But I've had the same experience as another parent -- my son is terrified by the ships sequence (which is only a few minutes long -- but we have to fast-forward through it).

My two boys, ages 35 and 21 months just never seem to tire of Teletubbies. We have numerous videos and this one is very well liked. Sometimes I think they are starting to out grow the novelty of Tubbies, but they always eventually start asking for Teletubby videos "again, again"! Teletubbies are very consistent, just what babies and toddlers desire and thrive on. This volume, like all others, has everything you expect from the television series format. The tubbies are always entertaining, kind, friendly, and love to have fun. What more desirable personality traits could any parent hope for in thier children?

A milestone in the history of chop-socky, Enter the Dragon made quite a splash on its release in 1973 as a fast-moving, hard-hitting martial arts thriller. It is still well-regarded today in some circles (vide infra), although it has a little less zip than today's hyperkinetic, ultra-glossy and meticulously choreographed onscreen thrill rides. The movie opens with a demonstration fight scene between Bruce Lee and a rather tubby and unmenacing Sammo Hung. After this prelim it settles into about an hour of mostly action-free exposition and set-up. One of the most notable features of old 70s movies is their slow pace. Today somebody says "I'm leaving" and next shot, they're in their car. Or in LA. Back then, they'd get off the couch, walk to the door, open it, leave, close it from the outside, close the screen door, go down the walk to their car, fish for their keys, etc, etc. Of course, back in the day, if you weren't watching a movie you were probably on your front porch whittling, or at a pinochle party, so folks probably figured that pace was plenty fast enough. Anyway, BL gets filled in by our man on HM's secret service, Braithwaite (Geoffrey Weeks - in his only screen role). The historically-minded may recall that in the 1970s Hong Kong was actually controlled by Britain, hard as that may be to imagine now. Characters like Braithwaite are even harder to imagine. If they weren't preserved on film we'd have trouble believing they ever existed. The man is actually a gem. Even the name is excellent. Braithwaite. Whatever happened to those old names? Carruthers. Protheroe. Montague-Smythe. Why don't we see these names in movies anymore? Anyway, to continue - there's a bad guy, Mr Han, and he's holding a martial arts tournament and BL has to enter and blah blah. The rubber ducky is that Mr Han's lustful flunkies killed BL's sister, as shown in a flashback sequence most notable for its bad choreography, where the hapless sister has to fall and make several pointless detours for the sole purpose of allowing her bumbling pursuers to catch up. Trapped at last she chooses death over dishonour at the hands of a fearsome New Zealander (Bob Wall).
The various martial arts contenders finally assemble, and a white-bread bunch they are, too. Jim Kelly is actually the worst, that is the nicest, of the lot. If he put on a blonde wig you'd think he was Doris Day. They sail off to meet evil Mr Han (Shih Kien), a classic Bond villain - a forty-something turtlenecked playboy with a taste for the finer things in life and his own private island, complete with subterranean power plant, chemical labs and dungeon, as well as a retinue of nubile bodyguards and a totally supercilious attitude which is ultimately stripped aside to reveal a rat-like viciousness. Also, he's missing a hand, which means he can conveniently slot into his wrist any standard vacuum cleaner attachment, or, should the need arise, stabbing blades.
After a bit of intrigue and snooping around the island we finally - finally! - get down to brass tacks, with BL decisively kicking incompetent hench-bottom in numbers. The action sequences are pretty decent. But what really marks them out is how amazing BL looks without a shirt. And with little slash marks even better. That's the payoff for being a martial arts pro. This is not something that even today's modern iron-pumping method stars can easily imitate. Six months with a personal trainer are not going to make you look like this. BL at the tournament and the brawl at the end. None of it is very violent. These guys sometimes stomp on each other, but all you actually see is the winner from the midsection up. You see him jump up and land. Then for extra brutality he makes a twisting motion, which presumably deforms the broken body of his opponent into an irretrievable wreck. I jump on you, see? Then I twist. You're finished. The other thing that makes the fight scenes truly memorable are BL's battle squeaks of "Wuuuuuuuuuuu...ahhhh!" which sound kind of like Curly Howard being dubbed into Chinese. Or Jim Carey imitating Bruce Lee. This is one part of BL's legacy that does not seem to have survived in current martial arts films. That and the psychotic grimaces he makes after every blow. In the end general mayhem erupts and BL sets off after Han, finally cornering him in the hall of mirrors. Presumably a circus setting for the finale would have been too much of a plot stretch, to say nothing of the extra production costs it would have incurred.
The other entertaining aspect of the film are the priceless little period details that remind us fondly of a bygone time. Like the giant golf-cart phone (and the restrained comedy of the golf course shakedown scene is excellent, by the way); or Kelly's massive headphones, not to mention his huge wing collars and his burgundy suit; or Braithwaite's dinner-plate sized glasses.
Overall, a historic martial arts document and a precious reminder of BL's star quality. A must for martial arts fans and cultists. General viewers may find it just a teensy bit slow. Another fine movie, however, which fans may wish to check out is the entertaining Game of Death, which, incidentally, has the added bonus of accounting for the origin of Uma Thurman's jumpsuit in Quentin Tarantino's recent masterpiece Kill Bill.

This entertaining mix of James Bond espionage and great kung-fu staged by the martial arts master Bruce Lee. While the ridiculous dubbing, plot and Bruce Lee's acting are campy, the fight sequences are the real star in this movie. Great action sequences and martial arts. Spectacular Martial Arts and a star vehicle for Bruce Lee. A landmark inside its genre; Kung-Fu movies and a great action movie, but not much else. Extras: watch for then stuntman Jackie Chan in the lab fight, he's the one that got his neck broken by Bruce Lee. From a scale of 1-10 I give this film a 7!

This is a martial arts masterpiece. Bruce Lee finally being given the chance to prove himself in a big movie. His Hong Films were good if you forget the tacky sets, story lines and the cheesy acting. This however is a classic. Some big name martial artists worked on this film and you can tell. You'd never believe that Jim Kelly didn't know any martial arts before this film.

The only bad point in the film is Roper but as usual you have to put an American in a film so that Amercians will watch it. But Jim Kelly on his own would have been better.

The fight scenes are fantastic, apparently they had to slow the film down in Bruce's fight scene with Bob Wall so that the camera could pick up his quick hand movements.

The nunchaka scene is awesome, banned in England in 1986 and cut from the film because some fool killed someone with nunchaka's copying Bruce Lee. It is good to see the scene that I remembered seeing as a kid and being better than I remembered.

If you only buy one Bruce Lee film in your life buy this one you won't be disappointed.

A milestone in the history of chop-socky, Enter the Dragon made quite a splash on its release in 1973 as a fast-moving, hard-hitting martial arts thriller. It is still well-regarded today in some circles (vide infra), although it has a little less zip than today's hyperkinetic, ultra-glossy and meticulously choreographed onscreen thrill rides. The movie opens with a demonstration fight scene between Bruce Lee and a rather tubby and unmenacing Sammo Hung. After this prelim it settles into about an hour of mostly action-free exposition and set-up. One of the most notable features of old 70s movies is their slow pace. Today somebody says "I'm leaving" and next shot, they're in their car. Or in LA. Back then, they'd get off the couch, walk to the door, open it, leave, close it from the outside, close the screen door, go down the walk to their car, fish for their keys, etc, etc. Of course, back in the day, if you weren't watching a movie you were probably on your front porch whittling, or at a pinochle party, so folks probably figured that pace was plenty fast enough. Anyway, BL gets filled in by our man on HM's secret service, Braithwaite (Geoffrey Weeks - in his only screen role). The historically-minded may recall that in the 1970s Hong Kong was actually controlled by Britain, hard as that may be to imagine now. Characters like Braithwaite are even harder to imagine. If they weren't preserved on film we'd have trouble believing they ever existed. The man is actually a gem. Even the name is excellent. Braithwaite. Whatever happened to those old names? Carruthers. Protheroe. Montague-Smythe. Why don't we see these names in movies anymore? Anyway, to continue - there's a bad guy, Mr Han, and he's holding a martial arts tournament and BL has to enter and blah blah. The rubber ducky is that Mr Han's lustful flunkies killed BL's sister, as shown in a flashback sequence most notable for its bad choreography, where the hapless sister has to fall and make several pointless detours for the sole purpose of allowing her bumbling pursuers to catch up. Trapped at last she chooses death over dishonour at the hands of a fearsome New Zealander (Bob Wall).
The various martial arts contenders finally assemble, and a white-bread bunch they are, too. Jim Kelly is actually the worst, that is the nicest, of the lot. If he put on a blonde wig you'd think he was Doris Day. They sail off to meet evil Mr Han (Shih Kien), a classic Bond villain - a forty-something turtlenecked playboy with a taste for the finer things in life and his own private island, complete with subterranean power plant, chemical labs and dungeon, as well as a retinue of nubile bodyguards and a totally supercilious attitude which is ultimately stripped aside to reveal a rat-like viciousness. Also, he's missing a hand, which means he can conveniently slot into his wrist any standard vacuum cleaner attachment, or, should the need arise, stabbing blades.
After a bit of intrigue and snooping around the island we finally - finally! - get down to brass tacks, with BL decisively kicking incompetent hench-bottom in numbers. The action sequences are pretty decent. But what really marks them out is how amazing BL looks without a shirt. And with little slash marks even better. That's the payoff for being a martial arts pro. This is not something that even today's modern iron-pumping method stars can easily imitate. Six months with a personal trainer are not going to make you look like this. BL at the tournament and the brawl at the end. None of it is very violent. These guys sometimes stomp on each other, but all you actually see is the winner from the midsection up. You see him jump up and land. Then for extra brutality he makes a twisting motion, which presumably deforms the broken body of his opponent into an irretrievable wreck. I jump on you, see? Then I twist. You're finished. The other thing that makes the fight scenes truly memorable are BL's battle squeaks of "Wuuuuuuuuuuu...ahhhh!" which sound kind of like Curly Howard being dubbed into Chinese. Or Jim Carey imitating Bruce Lee. This is one part of BL's legacy that does not seem to have survived in current martial arts films. That and the psychotic grimaces he makes after every blow. In the end general mayhem erupts and BL sets off after Han, finally cornering him in the hall of mirrors. Presumably a circus setting for the finale would have been too much of a plot stretch, to say nothing of the extra production costs it would have incurred.
The other entertaining aspect of the film are the priceless little period details that remind us fondly of a bygone time. Like the giant golf-cart phone (and the restrained comedy of the golf course shakedown scene is excellent, by the way); or Kelly's massive headphones, not to mention his huge wing collars and his burgundy suit; or Braithwaite's dinner-plate sized glasses.
Overall, a historic martial arts document and a precious reminder of BL's star quality. A must for martial arts fans and cultists. General viewers may find it just a teensy bit slow. Another fine movie, however, which fans may wish to check out is the entertaining Game of Death, which, incidentally, has the added bonus of accounting for the origin of Uma Thurman's jumpsuit in Quentin Tarantino's recent masterpiece Kill Bill.

This entertaining mix of James Bond espionage and great kung-fu staged by the martial arts master Bruce Lee. While the ridiculous dubbing, plot and Bruce Lee's acting are campy, the fight sequences are the real star in this movie. Great action sequences and martial arts. Spectacular Martial Arts and a star vehicle for Bruce Lee. A landmark inside its genre; Kung-Fu movies and a great action movie, but not much else. Extras: watch for then stuntman Jackie Chan in the lab fight, he's the one that got his neck broken by Bruce Lee. From a scale of 1-10 I give this film a 7!

This is a martial arts masterpiece. Bruce Lee finally being given the chance to prove himself in a big movie. His Hong Films were good if you forget the tacky sets, story lines and the cheesy acting. This however is a classic. Some big name martial artists worked on this film and you can tell. You'd never believe that Jim Kelly didn't know any martial arts before this film.

The only bad point in the film is Roper but as usual you have to put an American in a film so that Amercians will watch it. But Jim Kelly on his own would have been better.

The fight scenes are fantastic, apparently they had to slow the film down in Bruce's fight scene with Bob Wall so that the camera could pick up his quick hand movements.

The nunchaka scene is awesome, banned in England in 1986 and cut from the film because some fool killed someone with nunchaka's copying Bruce Lee. It is good to see the scene that I remembered seeing as a kid and being better than I remembered.

If you only buy one Bruce Lee film in your life buy this one you won't be disappointed.

A milestone in the history of chop-socky, Enter the Dragon made quite a splash on its release in 1973 as a fast-moving, hard-hitting martial arts thriller. It is still well-regarded today in some circles (vide infra), although it has a little less zip than today's hyperkinetic, ultra-glossy and meticulously choreographed onscreen thrill rides. The movie opens with a demonstration fight scene between Bruce Lee and a rather tubby and unmenacing Sammo Hung. After this prelim it settles into about an hour of mostly action-free exposition and set-up. One of the most notable features of old 70s movies is their slow pace. Today somebody says "I'm leaving" and next shot, they're in their car. Or in LA. Back then, they'd get off the couch, walk to the door, open it, leave, close it from the outside, close the screen door, go down the walk to their car, fish for their keys, etc, etc. Of course, back in the day, if you weren't watching a movie you were probably on your front porch whittling, or at a pinochle party, so folks probably figured that pace was plenty fast enough. Anyway, BL gets filled in by our man on HM's secret service, Braithwaite (Geoffrey Weeks - in his only screen role). The historically-minded may recall that in the 1970s Hong Kong was actually controlled by Britain, hard as that may be to imagine now. Characters like Braithwaite are even harder to imagine. If they weren't preserved on film we'd have trouble believing they ever existed. The man is actually a gem. Even the name is excellent. Braithwaite. Whatever happened to those old names? Carruthers. Protheroe. Montague-Smythe. Why don't we see these names in movies anymore? Anyway, to continue - there's a bad guy, Mr Han, and he's holding a martial arts tournament and BL has to enter and blah blah. The rubber ducky is that Mr Han's lustful flunkies killed BL's sister, as shown in a flashback sequence most notable for its bad choreography, where the hapless sister has to fall and make several pointless detours for the sole purpose of allowing her bumbling pursuers to catch up. Trapped at last she chooses death over dishonour at the hands of a fearsome New Zealander (Bob Wall).
The various martial arts contenders finally assemble, and a white-bread bunch they are, too. Jim Kelly is actually the worst, that is the nicest, of the lot. If he put on a blonde wig you'd think he was Doris Day. They sail off to meet evil Mr Han (Shih Kien), a classic Bond villain - a forty-something turtlenecked playboy with a taste for the finer things in life and his own private island, complete with subterranean power plant, chemical labs and dungeon, as well as a retinue of nubile bodyguards and a totally supercilious attitude which is ultimately stripped aside to reveal a rat-like viciousness. Also, he's missing a hand, which means he can conveniently slot into his wrist any standard vacuum cleaner attachment, or, should the need arise, stabbing blades.
After a bit of intrigue and snooping around the island we finally - finally! - get down to brass tacks, with BL decisively kicking incompetent hench-bottom in numbers. The action sequences are pretty decent. But what really marks them out is how amazing BL looks without a shirt. And with little slash marks even better. That's the payoff for being a martial arts pro. This is not something that even today's modern iron-pumping method stars can easily imitate. Six months with a personal trainer are not going to make you look like this. BL at the tournament and the brawl at the end. None of it is very violent. These guys sometimes stomp on each other, but all you actually see is the winner from the midsection up. You see him jump up and land. Then for extra brutality he makes a twisting motion, which presumably deforms the broken body of his opponent into an irretrievable wreck. I jump on you, see? Then I twist. You're finished. The other thing that makes the fight scenes truly memorable are BL's battle squeaks of "Wuuuuuuuuuuu...ahhhh!" which sound kind of like Curly Howard being dubbed into Chinese. Or Jim Carey imitating Bruce Lee. This is one part of BL's legacy that does not seem to have survived in current martial arts films. That and the psychotic grimaces he makes after every blow. In the end general mayhem erupts and BL sets off after Han, finally cornering him in the hall of mirrors. Presumably a circus setting for the finale would have been too much of a plot stretch, to say nothing of the extra production costs it would have incurred.
The other entertaining aspect of the film are the priceless little period details that remind us fondly of a bygone time. Like the giant golf-cart phone (and the restrained comedy of the golf course shakedown scene is excellent, by the way); or Kelly's massive headphones, not to mention his huge wing collars and his burgundy suit; or Braithwaite's dinner-plate sized glasses.
Overall, a historic martial arts document and a precious reminder of BL's star quality. A must for martial arts fans and cultists. General viewers may find it just a teensy bit slow. Another fine movie, however, which fans may wish to check out is the entertaining Game of Death, which, incidentally, has the added bonus of accounting for the origin of Uma Thurman's jumpsuit in Quentin Tarantino's recent masterpiece Kill Bill.

This entertaining mix of James Bond espionage and great kung-fu staged by the martial arts master Bruce Lee. While the ridiculous dubbing, plot and Bruce Lee's acting are campy, the fight sequences are the real star in this movie. Great action sequences and martial arts. Spectacular Martial Arts and a star vehicle for Bruce Lee. A landmark inside its genre; Kung-Fu movies and a great action movie, but not much else. Extras: watch for then stuntman Jackie Chan in the lab fight, he's the one that got his neck broken by Bruce Lee. From a scale of 1-10 I give this film a 7!

This is a martial arts masterpiece. Bruce Lee finally being given the chance to prove himself in a big movie. His Hong Films were good if you forget the tacky sets, story lines and the cheesy acting. This however is a classic. Some big name martial artists worked on this film and you can tell. You'd never believe that Jim Kelly didn't know any martial arts before this film.

The only bad point in the film is Roper but as usual you have to put an American in a film so that Amercians will watch it. But Jim Kelly on his own would have been better.

The fight scenes are fantastic, apparently they had to slow the film down in Bruce's fight scene with Bob Wall so that the camera could pick up his quick hand movements.

The nunchaka scene is awesome, banned in England in 1986 and cut from the film because some fool killed someone with nunchaka's copying Bruce Lee. It is good to see the scene that I remembered seeing as a kid and being better than I remembered.

If you only buy one Bruce Lee film in your life buy this one you won't be disappointed.

A milestone in the history of chop-socky, Enter the Dragon made quite a splash on its release in 1973 as a fast-moving, hard-hitting martial arts thriller. It is still well-regarded today in some circles (vide infra), although it has a little less zip than today's hyperkinetic, ultra-glossy and meticulously choreographed onscreen thrill rides. The movie opens with a demonstration fight scene between Bruce Lee and a rather tubby and unmenacing Sammo Hung. After this prelim it settles into about an hour of mostly action-free exposition and set-up. One of the most notable features of old 70s movies is their slow pace. Today somebody says "I'm leaving" and next shot, they're in their car. Or in LA. Back then, they'd get off the couch, walk to the door, open it, leave, close it from the outside, close the screen door, go down the walk to their car, fish for their keys, etc, etc. Of course, back in the day, if you weren't watching a movie you were probably on your front porch whittling, or at a pinochle party, so folks probably figured that pace was plenty fast enough. Anyway, BL gets filled in by our man on HM's secret service, Braithwaite (Geoffrey Weeks - in his only screen role). The historically-minded may recall that in the 1970s Hong Kong was actually controlled by Britain, hard as that may be to imagine now. Characters like Braithwaite are even harder to imagine. If they weren't preserved on film we'd have trouble believing they ever existed. The man is actually a gem. Even the name is excellent. Braithwaite. Whatever happened to those old names? Carruthers. Protheroe. Montague-Smythe. Why don't we see these names in movies anymore? Anyway, to continue - there's a bad guy, Mr Han, and he's holding a martial arts tournament and BL has to enter and blah blah. The rubber ducky is that Mr Han's lustful flunkies killed BL's sister, as shown in a flashback sequence most notable for its bad choreography, where the hapless sister has to fall and make several pointless detours for the sole purpose of allowing her bumbling pursuers to catch up. Trapped at last she chooses death over dishonour at the hands of a fearsome New Zealander (Bob Wall).
The various martial arts contenders finally assemble, and a white-bread bunch they are, too. Jim Kelly is actually the worst, that is the nicest, of the lot. If he put on a blonde wig you'd think he was Doris Day. They sail off to meet evil Mr Han (Shih Kien), a classic Bond villain - a forty-something turtlenecked playboy with a taste for the finer things in life and his own private island, complete with subterranean power plant, chemical labs and dungeon, as well as a retinue of nubile bodyguards and a totally supercilious attitude which is ultimately stripped aside to reveal a rat-like viciousness. Also, he's missing a hand, which means he can conveniently slot into his wrist any standard vacuum cleaner attachment, or, should the need arise, stabbing blades.
After a bit of intrigue and snooping around the island we finally - finally! - get down to brass tacks, with BL decisively kicking incompetent hench-bottom in numbers. The action sequences are pretty decent. But what really marks them out is how amazing BL looks without a shirt. And with little slash marks even better. That's the payoff for being a martial arts pro. This is not something that even today's modern iron-pumping method stars can easily imitate. Six months with a personal trainer are not going to make you look like this. BL at the tournament and the brawl at the end. None of it is very violent. These guys sometimes stomp on each other, but all you actually see is the winner from the midsection up. You see him jump up and land. Then for extra brutality he makes a twisting motion, which presumably deforms the broken body of his opponent into an irretrievable wreck. I jump on you, see? Then I twist. You're finished. The other thing that makes the fight scenes truly memorable are BL's battle squeaks of "Wuuuuuuuuuuu...ahhhh!" which sound kind of like Curly Howard being dubbed into Chinese. Or Jim Carey imitating Bruce Lee. This is one part of BL's legacy that does not seem to have survived in current martial arts films. That and the psychotic grimaces he makes after every blow. In the end general mayhem erupts and BL sets off after Han, finally cornering him in the hall of mirrors. Presumably a circus setting for the finale would have been too much of a plot stretch, to say nothing of the extra production costs it would have incurred.
The other entertaining aspect of the film are the priceless little period details that remind us fondly of a bygone time. Like the giant golf-cart phone (and the restrained comedy of the golf course shakedown scene is excellent, by the way); or Kelly's massive headphones, not to mention his huge wing collars and his burgundy suit; or Braithwaite's dinner-plate sized glasses.
Overall, a historic martial arts document and a precious reminder of BL's star quality. A must for martial arts fans and cultists. General viewers may find it just a teensy bit slow. Another fine movie, however, which fans may wish to check out is the entertaining Game of Death, which, incidentally, has the added bonus of accounting for the origin of Uma Thurman's jumpsuit in Quentin Tarantino's recent masterpiece Kill Bill.

This entertaining mix of James Bond espionage and great kung-fu staged by the martial arts master Bruce Lee. While the ridiculous dubbing, plot and Bruce Lee's acting are campy, the fight sequences are the real star in this movie. Great action sequences and martial arts. Spectacular Martial Arts and a star vehicle for Bruce Lee. A landmark inside its genre; Kung-Fu movies and a great action movie, but not much else. Extras: watch for then stuntman Jackie Chan in the lab fight, he's the one that got his neck broken by Bruce Lee. From a scale of 1-10 I give this film a 7!

This is a martial arts masterpiece. Bruce Lee finally being given the chance to prove himself in a big movie. His Hong Films were good if you forget the tacky sets, story lines and the cheesy acting. This however is a classic. Some big name martial artists worked on this film and you can tell. You'd never believe that Jim Kelly didn't know any martial arts before this film.

The only bad point in the film is Roper but as usual you have to put an American in a film so that Amercians will watch it. But Jim Kelly on his own would have been better.

The fight scenes are fantastic, apparently they had to slow the film down in Bruce's fight scene with Bob Wall so that the camera could pick up his quick hand movements.

The nunchaka scene is awesome, banned in England in 1986 and cut from the film because some fool killed someone with nunchaka's copying Bruce Lee. It is good to see the scene that I remembered seeing as a kid and being better than I remembered.

If you only buy one Bruce Lee film in your life buy this one you won't be disappointed.

This is one of the most factual movies I have seen. It tells it
from the people who were there and lived through it. All of the
actors were superb.

Please understand that I just finished the book, Palestine and Israel, by Quigly, which I highly recommend on this fine vendor. When I say fantasy, I refer to the White Knights of the Israeli Military so, so effectively making the world safe for goodness, etc. This movie will quickly win your willing suspension of disbelief about the goodness, and of course, those folks are nothing if not effective, and you will get to wallow in it as you view this captivating and exhilarating movie. It's been one of my favorites for a long, long time.

This movie was a good report of the actal raid that occured in 1976.An airline jet had been hijacked and commandered to Entebbe
Uganda.All of the Jewish passengers were held hostage by the
German terrorists.Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin put together a
daring raid to rescue the prisoners who were being held by the
terrorists.Under the dark of night the Israeli special forces
swept into Entebbe and pulled off a stunning rescue mission.The hostages were freed with only one Israeli casualty.The Israeli
citizens were flew home to safety.This was a corageous stand and
attack on terrorism.All of this occured on the 200th birthday
of America. An excellent movie.