Crime

Enter the Dragon proved to be the last film which Bruce Lee fully completed before his death. It was his entry into Hollywood and was a huge international hit, a Hong Kong and Hollywood co-production featuring a mix of talent from both countries, and shot in Hong Kong directed by the American Robert Clouse, who would ultimately go on to direct Game of Death in 1978.

Thankfully, this is a much better film overall than Game of Death was and I think it's a classic. It shows Bruce at his best instead of exploiting him. It really made Bruce Lee and martial arts more widely known in the West. While it wasn't the first international martial arts hit, it still broke new ground. Enter was the first kung-fu film produced by a major Hollywood studio, made in association with Warner Brothers, Golden Harvest and Bruce Lee's own production company.

I really enjoy this film for many reasons, and while there are some brilliant fight scenes which I will discuss in due course, it's hard for me not to think of the James Bond film, Dr. No, as both stories are quite similar, with the criminal on a mysterious island base. Han even has an artificial hand.

Interestingly, Shih Kien spoke no English on set and his dialogue was overdubbed by the actor Keye Luke.

Enter the Dragon has the kind of plot that audiences of the time would recognise with the structure of a Hollywood movie.

Two other competitors on the island side with Bruce Lee - Roper (John Saxon) and Williams (Jim Kelly), American fighters on the run from the mob and police.

Sporting a very 70's afro, Jim Kelly (who was a US karate champion) is a good fighter and his scenes are certainly impressive - however it is Bruce Lee himself who is the main attraction in my opinion.

Besides Bruce, the film does feature an impressive cast of Hong Kong stars, including Bolo Yeung as one of Han's guards. Bob Wall (who would later turn up in Game of Death) plays a fighter called O Hara, who fights Bruce at the tournament.

Also watch for appearances by Angela Mao Ying and a very young Sammo Hung, who Bruce faces off against in a tournament bout in the opening scene. It's striking to see how skinny Bruce looks in this scene (he had lost a lot of weight when this scene was shot, actually after the rest of filming was finished) next to Sammo.

The scene in the underground bunker (basically Bruce kicking six shades out of what amounts to almost a whole army of guards by himself) is outstanding, with lightning fast moves - this is a master at work, and our attention is always focused on him. The display of martial arts is terrific. He uses a staff to fight with and - in a brief demonstration, nunchaku again.

I also love the scene where Bruce fights about 100 people in Han's army which is amazing. He is so powerful, and thrilling to watch.

It's actually a real shame that Bruce doesn't fight in the film himself more, but as with his Hong Kong oeuvre, he choreographed all his own fights.

The famous "Hall of Mirrors" fight to the death with Han at the climax, is absolutely fantastic and the filmmakers must have worked very hard on this scene to make sure no equipment was visible. Bruce not only shows he could fight but could also use his brain to outwit an enemy. The mysterious, slightly spooky music and reflections in the mirror build tension.

The music in the film is good, but especially the main theme by Lalo Schifrin, surely one of the iconic themes of cinema. It's a mixture of Lee's familiar fighting yells, and Chinese instruments and then it changes to a funky bassline, maybe showing how the movie itself brings together Asian and Western culture, something that Bruce himself certainly wanted to do through his films.

It is interesting that in this film, as well as being an exciting thriller, Bruce brought gravitas and wanted to educate the audience in some way, by explaining about his philosophy of martial arts and Jeet Kune Do, in a scene with his master, the abbot played by Roy Chiao. This scene was originally missing from the theatrical release but has been restored since 1998.

Annoyingly however, Bruce is dubbed by journalist John Little doing an impersonation which does sound odd to me and definitely stands out.

Bruce did get to see the finished movie before he died, and I'm sure he dubbed the scene, so as to why his real voice wasn't used, sadly I don't know the answer.

There are some good extras on this Blu Ray which were previously on the 2 disc DVD edition of the film - a commentary by producer Paul Heller and writer Michael Allin, documentaries and trailers. The main documentary is called Curse of the Dragon and runs for almost 90 minutes, featuring some interviews with James Coburn, Chuck Norris and Kareem Abdul Jabbar among others, who knew and worked with Bruce.

I recommend not watching the trailers until you've seen the movie. I thought the 1080p transfer was decent, not spectacular but as good as it could be, considering the film is almost 40 years old and quite low budget, with an estimated cost of just $850,000.

Even though the story is a simple one, this is an iconic movie and it's so sad Bruce didn't get to make any more after this one. I'm sure he would have gone on to develop as an actor.

What would prove to be Bruce Lee's last film is a patchy affair, with only a handful of good scenes. This is because between 1972 (when Bruce shot initial scenes) and the eventual release in 1978, not only had Bruce left production to make Enter The Dragon (in 1973) for Warner Brothers, but the proposed storyline Bruce had in mind underwent drastic changes resulting in a film that is mostly an exploitative mess. The film had already been pre-sold to the Japanese market on the basis of existing footage, so the makers had to come up with a complete Game of Death somehow.

Because Bruce was no longer alive, filming was completed using a variety of doubles, including Yuen Biao (for the more acrobatic stunts) and Korean actor Kim Tae Jung. The film also uses shots from some of Bruce's older films.
In Bruce's original storyline, a martial artist (Bruce) was to fight his way to the top of a pagoda, each floor guarded by a master of a different martial arts style. However, the complete film bears little resemblance to this.

Kim Tae Jung is certainly a decent screen fighter in his scenes, but he doesn't have the super fast speed or sheer power of Bruce.

The music and score, however, is excellent and very classy. The title music sounds like it came from a James Bond movie (John Barry composed the music for the film, after all). Even the title sequence itself, with images of the cast appearing on playing cards, dominoes and chess pieces feels rather Bond-like. I liked the repeated use of the score, it added to the atmosphere of the film.
But as a whole the film doesn't feel like a Hong Kong martial arts movie because of its story and structure, its' much more like an international film.

I didn't find the acting very strong. Despite being an Oscar winner (apparently), Dean Jagger doesn't look convincing at all playing the mob boss Dr. Land, looking much too old. Colleen Camp looks nice but is hardly stretched in the role of Billy Lo's girlfriend Ann, a local singer. Maybe I'm more critical of ropey acting here as the film is in English, and Hong Kong cinema shows a different style of acting.

The film can be rather tasteless in places, particularly in a scene showing a supposed "fake" funeral of Billy Lo (Bruce/Kim Tae Jung) - the filmmakers actually used footage of the real Bruce Lee's actual funeral. With newspapers declaring "Billy Lo Is Dead" and mourners lining the streets, this unfortunately mirrors exactly what happened in real life with Bruce Lee's death. I feel this is in very poor taste and insensitive to the Lee family.

Having said that, beneath the mediocrity and rather naff acting, there is still some excitement to be had. My favourite scene not involving the real Bruce, is the fight in the locker room between Kim Tae Jung and karate champion Bob Wall. This is a fantastic fight, and very well choreographed by Sammo Hung. Apparently, when director Robert Clouse was finished shooting for the day, Sammo was allowed to come back and shoot the action to his standard, which is why he shares directing credit on the Asian prints of Game of Death.

Another couple of scenes are quite interesting, in which the Billy Lo character disguises himself first with a beard and dark glasses, and then as an old man to stay one step ahead of the mafia. In one of his earlier films, Fist of Fury (1972), Bruce Lee disguises himself as an old man and a telephone repair man when he tries to find out who killed his master.

The last act of Game of Death is definitely the best, in which we see Bruce's original vision for the film and his scenes (originally shot in 1972) are brilliant and worth waiting for.

On one floor of the pagoda, we see the real Bruce Lee (in the famous yellow tracksuit) fight his student Dan Inosanto in an amazing one-on-one nanchuku fight, Korean Grandmaster Ji Han Jae on the ascending floor (who was using Korean martial arts), and then finally above him, Kareem Abdul Jabbar.

As well as being another of Bruce's own students, he was a former basketball player and towered over Bruce at 7' 2". In the film, Kareem plays a fighter who has no specific style of his own (similar to Bruce's own philosophy of Jeet Kune Do). This fight is amazing, if a bit unusual. Bruce had to think "outside the box" to defeat a much larger, taller opponent, and it's surprising how he does it!

This section of footage shows, to my mind, how Game of Death would have been a far better film had Bruce been alive. I loved the real Bruce's scenes. It's just such a shame that most of the rest of the film is quite poor.
As the credits roll, Colleen Camp sings Will This Be the song I'll Be Singing Tomorrow? (also composed by John Barry), over a montage of clips of Bruce in action from earlier classic films. I have to say, the juxtaposition of melancholy music, and images showing him in his prime felt tinged with sadness and tragedy. There will never be another Bruce Lee.

There are lots of extras on this 2 disc DVD set - the main extra on the first disc is a commentary by Hong Kong cinema writer Bey Logan, which is an interesting, and at times even funny listen.

The second has interviews with cast members and people involved with the film, theatrical trailers (the Cantonese and American trailers) and promo spots for other Bruce Lee films, but the most interesting extra is a feature called "Game of Death Revisited".

It's a 40 minute edit of the pagoda fight sequence, put together in the way Bruce intended (according to his original script notes). It has scenes not shown in the 1978 version of the movie - the fights are longer, with extra dialogue (Bey Logan doing an uncanny impression of the Little Dragon), and characters, and this footage was thought lost for over 20 years in the Golden Harvest vaults. It's great to watch and gives new insight into what the film might have been like. I love the rock version of the Game of Death theme.

I loved this film, which surprised me! I'm not Guy Richie's biggest fan -actually hated Lock, Stock & Two Smoking Barrels - so was extremely sceptical when I heard that he was directing the new Sherlock Holmes film - but it just goes to show what happens when the story's right and the actors are spot on.

And weren't they just!! Robert Downey Jr was superb! Perfectly cast as Holmes and it was refreshing to see Watson played as more of a clued in & active participant -rather than a fumbling oaf as in previous regenerations - which was down to Jude Law.

In some ways, they've reduced Holmes down to a Victorian version of James Bond - and I should be really incensed at that. But the trouble is they've done such a damn fine job!!! Holmes is ever the enigma -here we see a man who can not function without Watson, and the relationship between the two is so hazy and although it's never stressed or hinted, there's a frisson between the two that is unmistakable (the phrase, like an old married couple, springs to mind.)

The action and fight scenes are well staged and nicely break up the film without being too distracting or erroneous. There are also lots of in-jokes for those people that have actually read some of the books, without being at the expense of those who haven't.

In short, I couldn't find anything about this film that I didn't like. There will be a sequel - one that the arch-fiend Moriatey will no doubt appear in. And I must admit... I can't wait!!

For me, this is the best adaptation of any of Thomas Harris' books. I remember reading Red Dragon as a teenager and being hooked, freaked and exhilarated at the same time. When I saw Manhunter a couple of years later those feelings became intensified - this was before Silence of the Lambs and way before Hannibal Lecter became a household name, and the part was played by Brit, Brian Cox.

What made this film so successful for me was manifold: The portrayal of Dollarhyde -the serial killer: This was a man that you felt sympathy for. The fact that the film devoted almost half it's run time to him and his love affair with the blind girl, Reba McLane is a testament to the strength of the story, characterisation and acting capability of Tom Noonan. If Francis Dollarhyde was a one dimensional character then this story could not have worked.

Brian Cox as Hannibal Lecter. I've heard and read plenty of reviews saying that his portrayal as not being as good as Anthony Hopkins. All I can say is that for me, Brian Cox is a far superior Lecter than Hopkins. Don't get me wrong - I have absolute admiration for Hopkins and think that he is a fine actor, but I feel he played Lecter too literally. In Silence of the Lambs, the first time you see him you know, without a doubt, that this is an evil man. When you see Brian Cox, you think that there must be some mistake - the man he portrays is a very amiable, chatty, up-beat kind of guy. You can understand why he was such a successful psychiatrist. It's not until he starts talking to Will Graham -the FBI Investigator, called into investigate the serial killings- and asking him leading questions (like "Dream much, Will?" or "Do you know why you caught me, Will?") that you see something more menacing behind the joviality. This is a subtle performance that rewards countless viewings and acts as a complete contrast to the Dollarhyde character.

And finally, Michael Manns direction: At heart, Mann is a technical director. His shot compositions are coolly calculated but no less effective. Manhunter has a detached feel to it that actually helps intensify the atmosphere of the film. This is a film where there is no black and white - just subtle shades of grey; where Will Graham is only a few steps away from the mind-set of the very serial killers that he's trying to catch. Every shot of this film is deliberate and really pushes the narrative forward whilst framing the action and characters perfectly. Each line of dialog is deliberate and calculated in a way that David Lynch would perfect in his later films.

To me, this is a far superior film than both Red Dragon and Silence of the Lambs. It doesn't offer any easy answers, and the characters are far more subtle. I also love the music in the film -my favourite scene being the climatic use of Iron Butterfly's "In a Gadda Da Vida". Manhunter gets better with each viewing and firmly ranks as one of my favourite films!

This is the benchmark for all detective thrillers should be based against. Razor sharp script & plot; honed and polished acting with exemplary performances by Jack Nicholson; Faye Dunaway and John Huston. This film keeps you guessing with its many winding turns - the final twist of the knife is devastating and the last line of dialog just hangs in the air: "Forget it, Jake - it's Chinatown." This film was made during the Sharon Tate / Charles Manson massacre and there is a feeling of creeping darkness and despair perpetuating the narrative. It's about the corruption of innocence where the truth is just another murky grey area and the final truth is often too much to bare.

There is a feeling of detachment as well, as if the audience are just observers in the drama, just like the private eye Jake Gittes so we are actually implicated in the murder and intrigue and, at the end, are just as helpless to make things right as Gittes.

This is a fascinating film, one of the few thrillers that can be called brilliant and is certainly one of the films you need to see before you die!