The making of Bruce Lee film Enter the Dragon, martial arts movie that launched a thousand fight clubs
- Enter the Dragon, released days after Bruce Lee’s death in 1973, made him an international star and became a martial arts film classic
- Actors, producer, director and others talk about the challenges of shooting the film without much money, and its lasting impact
The production of Enter the Dragon, the 1973 smash hit that posthumously made Bruce Lee an international superstar, was fraught with problems. A low budget of US$500,000 – half of which came from Warner Brothers in the US and half from Golden Harvest – meant that the producers had to scrimp on everything from equipment costs to cast and crew salaries.
The film was shot in Hong Kong by American director Robert Clouse using a part-American, part Hong Kong crew, and there was initially friction between the two groups, although this dissipated as the production progressed.
Lee realised that he was on the cusp of international stardom, and although he considered the film to be something of a B-movie, he felt that it would act as his calling card in Hollywood. Consequently, Lee wanted things to be done his way – and that didn’t always go down well with the film’s American producers.
Problems initially flared up when Lee demanded the firing of screenwriter Michael Allin. Lee felt the dialogue did not represent Chinese people in the best light, but the writer refused to take Lee’s suggestions for changes to the script seriously.
Below, those involved in the production tell their stories.