The Way of the DragonWho would win in a fight between Bruce Lee and Chuck Norris? It's the kind of question lots of kids and/or martial arts enthusiasts must have asked at least once; and for one cinematic moment in Bruce Lee's The Way of the Dragon, you get the answer. Tang Lung (Bruce Lee) is summoned to Rome to aid the lovely Chen Ching-hua (Nora Miao) and her uncle in resolving a conflict between their restaurant and the aggressive attempts on the part of a local crime syndicate to acquire the place by extortion and intimidation. When the syndicate proves to be unreasonable, Tang Lung is forced to defend both his countrymen and himself from their repeated assaults.
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By the time The Way of the Dragon was released in 1972, Bruce Lee was already a kung fu movie star and martial arts legend, having made his name in a variety of films, as well as the television show, "The Green Hornet", where he played the iconic Kato. The Way of the Dragon, however, marked the first attempt by the enterprising entertainer at not only starring in the picture, but also writing and directing the movie as well. Bruce Lee would also go on to develop The Game of Death and Enter the Dragon, although these films were released posthumously, due to the untimely passing of Bruce Lee in 1973. What The Way of the Dragon embodies is the first inklings of things to come from a man who no doubt would have excelled as a renaissance man of movies and more. And as an initial effort on the part of the star to operate from behind the camera as much as in front of it, some of the jokes occasionally fall flat--such as the oddly placed toilet humor early on--and some of the plot wobbles a bit. But as any master of martial arts (such as Bruce Lee) would no doubt tell you, no one starts an expert, and the heart of Bruce Lee's efforts is felt in the film. Undoubtedly, the greatest strengths of The Way of the Dragon are felt in the fight scenes, intricately choreographed and deadly authentic demonstrations of martial arts--executed by real martial artists cast in the film.
The first taste of the action to come occurs when a group of thugs come to rough up the restaurant, and when the staff--who have been training in karate--challenge the thugs to a fight outside (only to find themselves on the losing side), Tang steps in and delivers a speedy demonstration of his mastery of kung fu. The gangsters are provoked, and make increasingly frequent attempts to eliminate this new element from the equation; but Tang prepares for their inevitable assault, both training the members of the staff in kung fu, and fashioning wooden darts which he conceals in his tunic, tossing with unerring accuracy to disarm gangsters who hide behind a gun. One of the most exciting scenes is where Tang defends the restaurant against the syndicate, who are emboldened after taking hostages. It involves Bruce Lee displaying an awe-inspiring routine with a pair of nunchaku, swatting away the amateur street fighters as easily as flies, leading to a hilarious moment when the cowardly lead thug acquires one of the nunchucks, and ends up smacking himself with it. As tensions rise, the syndicate grows more desperate, eventually recruiting three martial artists for hire from abroad to beat Tang at his own game. Enter Colt (Chuck Norris), his student, Bob (Robert Wall), and the otherwise unnamed Japanese hapkido expert, played by Hwang In-Shik. They are commissioned to eliminate Tang, although the assignment properly belongs to the notorious Colt. Brought in near the end of the film, their introduction and the subsequent fight scenes are the true climax of The Way of the Dragon, with the confrontation between Tang and Colt being the pièce de résistance, a tense and relentless fight in the ancient Colosseum of Rome (even with a kitten as an impromptu referee), giving us an answer to our opening question.
In addition to being an action film, The Way of the Dragon begins virtually as a comedy, strengthened by star Bruce Lee's natural charisma and likability. Finding himself surrounded by Europeans at the airport, dressed in his kung fu outfit, he is out of place and he knows it. Tang doesn't read any English (or Italian, for that matter), and finds himself struggling in these moments to understand the strange new land he finds himself in. Chen tries to show him around so he is more comfortable, occasionally leading to funny and awkward encounters, such as when Tang misunderstands the friendliness of a beautiful woman he meets at a park. In a way, The Way of the Dragon echoes Carol Reed's The Third Man, as Tang is a foreigner who gets wrapped up in a local conflict, struggling to understand the ways of his new surroundings, getting involved helping a girl. There is surprisingly little exposition about Tang at all, save that his uncle in Hong Kong sent him to help, and that he is from the "country" in Hong Kong, as opposed to the city--although he is acquainted with what the slums of Hong Kong are like when he makes a comparison for Chen. He speaks of the restaurant business he likely regards as his day job back home, but it is easy to tell that his real enthusiasm is for martial arts and action. The big difference between a true martial artist like Tang and those who use their skills for intimidation like Colt is in the preference not to fight. For the most part, it is also clear that even when pressed, Tang would prefer a peaceful resolution, but accepts that when called upon, one must act, as hesitation means giving up the advantage and showing a lack of commitment. The big difference between Tang and Colt is that Tang fights for something he believes in: camaraderie and friendship; and having a heartfelt motivation in any struggle is what makes all the difference.
Recommended for: Fans of an exciting martial arts film by arguably the greatest martial arts star of all time. There is something engaging about the determination of a creator to make the film as a signature representation of one's talents.
The first taste of the action to come occurs when a group of thugs come to rough up the restaurant, and when the staff--who have been training in karate--challenge the thugs to a fight outside (only to find themselves on the losing side), Tang steps in and delivers a speedy demonstration of his mastery of kung fu. The gangsters are provoked, and make increasingly frequent attempts to eliminate this new element from the equation; but Tang prepares for their inevitable assault, both training the members of the staff in kung fu, and fashioning wooden darts which he conceals in his tunic, tossing with unerring accuracy to disarm gangsters who hide behind a gun. One of the most exciting scenes is where Tang defends the restaurant against the syndicate, who are emboldened after taking hostages. It involves Bruce Lee displaying an awe-inspiring routine with a pair of nunchaku, swatting away the amateur street fighters as easily as flies, leading to a hilarious moment when the cowardly lead thug acquires one of the nunchucks, and ends up smacking himself with it. As tensions rise, the syndicate grows more desperate, eventually recruiting three martial artists for hire from abroad to beat Tang at his own game. Enter Colt (Chuck Norris), his student, Bob (Robert Wall), and the otherwise unnamed Japanese hapkido expert, played by Hwang In-Shik. They are commissioned to eliminate Tang, although the assignment properly belongs to the notorious Colt. Brought in near the end of the film, their introduction and the subsequent fight scenes are the true climax of The Way of the Dragon, with the confrontation between Tang and Colt being the pièce de résistance, a tense and relentless fight in the ancient Colosseum of Rome (even with a kitten as an impromptu referee), giving us an answer to our opening question.
In addition to being an action film, The Way of the Dragon begins virtually as a comedy, strengthened by star Bruce Lee's natural charisma and likability. Finding himself surrounded by Europeans at the airport, dressed in his kung fu outfit, he is out of place and he knows it. Tang doesn't read any English (or Italian, for that matter), and finds himself struggling in these moments to understand the strange new land he finds himself in. Chen tries to show him around so he is more comfortable, occasionally leading to funny and awkward encounters, such as when Tang misunderstands the friendliness of a beautiful woman he meets at a park. In a way, The Way of the Dragon echoes Carol Reed's The Third Man, as Tang is a foreigner who gets wrapped up in a local conflict, struggling to understand the ways of his new surroundings, getting involved helping a girl. There is surprisingly little exposition about Tang at all, save that his uncle in Hong Kong sent him to help, and that he is from the "country" in Hong Kong, as opposed to the city--although he is acquainted with what the slums of Hong Kong are like when he makes a comparison for Chen. He speaks of the restaurant business he likely regards as his day job back home, but it is easy to tell that his real enthusiasm is for martial arts and action. The big difference between a true martial artist like Tang and those who use their skills for intimidation like Colt is in the preference not to fight. For the most part, it is also clear that even when pressed, Tang would prefer a peaceful resolution, but accepts that when called upon, one must act, as hesitation means giving up the advantage and showing a lack of commitment. The big difference between Tang and Colt is that Tang fights for something he believes in: camaraderie and friendship; and having a heartfelt motivation in any struggle is what makes all the difference.
Recommended for: Fans of an exciting martial arts film by arguably the greatest martial arts star of all time. There is something engaging about the determination of a creator to make the film as a signature representation of one's talents.