| Way of the Dragon | |
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Way of the Dragon movie poster |
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| Traditional | 猛龍過江 |
| Simplified | 猛龙过江 |
| Mandarin | Měng Lóng Guò Jiāng |
| Cantonese | Maang5 Lung5 Gwo3 Gong1 |
| Directed by | Bruce Lee |
| Produced by | Raymond Chow Bruce Lee |
| Written by | Bruce Lee |
| Starring | Bruce Lee Nora Miao Chuck Norris Hwang In-Shik Robert Wall Wei Ping Ao Wang Chung-hsin |
| Music by | Joseph Koo Bruce Lee |
| Cinematography | Tadashi Nishimoto |
| Editing by | Peter Cheung |
| Distributed by | Golden Harvest |
| Release date(s) | Hong Kong: December 30, 1972 |
| Running time | Hong Kong: 99 minutes United States: 88 minutes |
| Country | Hong Kong |
| Language | Mandarin |
| Budget | HK $130,000 |
| Gross revenue | Hong Kong: HK $5,307,351 Worldwide: US $85,000,000 |
Way of the Dragon (Chinese: 猛龍過江; also known in the United States as Return of the Dragon) is a 1972 Hong Kong martial arts action comedy film written, produced, directed by and starring Bruce Lee made his directorial debut.
Contents |
Tang Lung is sent from Hong Kong to Rome to help his friend's niece Chen Ching Hua, and family friends, whose restaurant is being targeted by the local Mafia, which has been trying to force them to sign a contract handing over ownership of the restaurant to the Mafia boss. After their offers to purchase the restaurant are repeatedly turned down, the gangsters resort to intimidation. Tang fends off the local gangsters and wins Chen's admiration, who had initially looked down on him for his naïvety. Tang had earlier been reluctant in putting all his savings into a bank and had even unknowingly gone home with a prostitute while touring Rome with Chen; he had further frustrated her by not being able to understand the Italian and English languages. After the thugs are defeated the first time, Tang becomes friends with the other workers and teaches them Chinese boxing; they, in turn, combine them with their skills in Karate to help Tang fight off the gangsters.
The Mafia boss sends a gunman to kill Tang, but Tang defeats him by throwing wooden darts and fracturing his neck. The angry boss then takes a personal trip to the restaurant with his thugs to force Chen to sign the contract. Although they are armed with guns, Tang manages to defeat them after the boss forbids them to use the guns. Tang uses a wooden pole and a pair of Nunchakus during the fight. He warns the boss that he will take firm action against him if he continues to harass his friends. The boss later responds by warning Chen he will have Tang killed if he stays in Rome. However, Tang refuses to leave, even after being told of the mafia's intentions by Chen and Uncle Wang. The boss then sends a sniper (the gunman who now wears a neck brace) to kill Tang at Chen's apartment, but he fails again. Chen is kidnapped by the boss and compelled to sign the contract at his headquarters, but Tang and his friends appear and rescue her once more.
The Mafia boss' liutenant Ho (Wei Ping Ao) hires foreign martial artists, two of whom have trouble communicating with each other, to challenge Tang Lung. Ho attempts to lure Tang into a trap where the fighters would ambush him, but Tang defeats them with help from his friends in the countryside near the Colosseum. However, when two of his friends (the only fighters on both sides still conscious) sit down for a rest, Uncle Wang kills them both, revealing that he would receive a large sum of money if he persuaded Miss Chen to sell the restaurant. Meanwhile, Tang has a final showdown inside the Colosseum with the Karate fighter Colt (Chuck Norris), the best of the hired fighters, and the only one able to fully communicate with him despite the language barrier. Colt is winning at first and is beating Tang up badly, but Tang eventually gets the upper hand since he is faster and more fluid and tires Colt out with his quick attacks. Tang wins the fight, but Colt wounded as he may be will not go down until he is dead, and, because it is a battle to the death (and after he's reminded of this), he reluctantly kills Colt by snapping his neck. He covers the body with Colt's white Gi to show his respect and admiration after the fight. As he is still overwhelmed with guilt, he hears Ho escaping. Tang angrily chases him down to the countryside only to find everyone there (other than himself, Wang, and Ho) has been killed (Wang stabbing the others as they lay unconscious). There, Ho tries to stall Tang while Wang is going to stab and kill him with a knife from behind. The mafia boss arrives and shoots Ho and Wang in the heart, but he fails to shoot Tang as he takes cover behind the tree. The police arrive just in time to arrest the mafia boss. The final scene takes place in the graveyard, where Tang and Chen pay respects to the fallen. Tang bids farewell to Chen and leaves Rome alone as the credits begin to roll.
Bruce Lee formed his own production company Concord Productions with Golden Harvest founder, Raymond Chow.[3]
The film set a new box office record in Hong Kong.[3] It ranked #95 in Empire magazines "The 100 Best Films Of World Cinema" in 2010.[4]
Stephen Chow will direct and star in a remake version of the film entitled Tai Chi. The film is also rumored to star Jack Black and Anne Hathaway, and began shooting in June 2010. It will be Chow's first American movie.[5]
Universe (Hong Kong)
Fortune Star - Bruce Lee Ultimate DVD Collection (Hong Kong)
Fox (America)
Fox - Bruce Lee Ultimate Collection (America)
Hong Kong Legends - Special Collector's Edition (United Kingdom)
Hong Kong Legends - Platinum Edition (United Kingdom)
Hong Kong Legends - Platinum Edition (Australia)
Kam & Ronson (Hong Kong)
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