Enter the Dragon
| Enter the Dragon | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Hong Kong film poster | |||||||||||||||
| Traditional Chinese | 龍爭虎鬥 | ||||||||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 龙争虎斗 | ||||||||||||||
| Literal meaning | Dragon Fights, Tiger Struggles | ||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||
| Directed by | Robert Clouse | ||||||||||||||
| Written by | Michael Allin | ||||||||||||||
| Produced by | |||||||||||||||
| Starring | |||||||||||||||
| Cinematography | Gilbert Hubbs | ||||||||||||||
| Edited by |
| ||||||||||||||
| Music by | Lalo Schifrin | ||||||||||||||
Production companies |
| ||||||||||||||
| Distributed by |
| ||||||||||||||
Release dates |
| ||||||||||||||
Running time | 102 minutes | ||||||||||||||
| Countries |
| ||||||||||||||
| Languages |
| ||||||||||||||
| Budget | $850,000 USD | ||||||||||||||
| Box office | $400 million USD | ||||||||||||||
Enter the Dragon (Chinese: 龍爭虎鬥) or fully titled as Enter the Dragon: The Deadly Three is a 1973 martial arts film directed by Robert Clouse and written by Michael Allin. The film stars Bruce Lee, John Saxon, Ahna Capri, Bob Wall, Shih Kien, and Jim Kelly. Enter the Dragon was Bruce Lee's final completed film appearance before his death on 20 July 1973 at the age of 32. An American-Hong Kong co-production, the film was premiered in Hong Kong on 26 July 1973, six days after Lee’s death, and in Los Angeles on 19 August 1973.
Enter the Dragon was estimated to have grossed over $400 million worldwide (equivalent to an estimated $2 billion adjusted for inflation as of 2022) against a budget of $850,000. It is the most successful martial arts film ever and is widely regarded as the greatest martial arts films of all time. In 2004, it was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant". Among the first films to combine martial arts action with spy film elements and the emerging blaxploitation genre, its success led to a series of similar productions combining the martial arts and blaxploitation genres. The film's themes have generated scholarly debate about the changes taking place within post-colonial Asian societies following the end of World War II.
Enter the Dragon is also considered one of the most influential action films of all time, with its success contributing to mainstream worldwide interest in the martial arts as well as inspiring numerous fictional works, including action films, television shows, action games, comic books, manga, and anime.