The Way of the Dragon: Difference between revisions

Way of the Dragon
Way of the Dragon
	File:WayofDragon.JPG Way of the Dragon Movie Poster
Directed by	Bruce Lee
Written by	Bruce Lee
Produced by	Raymond Chow; Bruce Lee
Starring	Bruce Lee; Nora Miao; Chuck Norris; Hwang In-Shik; Robert Wall; Wei Ping-Ao; Wang Chung-Hsin
Cinematography	Tadashi Nishimoto
Edited by	Chang Yao Chang
Music by	Joseph Koo; Bruce Lee
Distributed by	Golden Harvest
Release date	December 30, 1972 (Hong Kong)
Running time	99 minutes (Hong Kong); 88 minutes (US)
Country	Hong Kong
Language	Cantonese

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Way of the Dragon (Chinese: 猛龍過江; literally, "The Fierce Dragon Crosses the River"; also known as Return of the Dragon in the U.S.) is a 1972 Hong Kong martial arts action film directed by Bruce Lee. It was the third major film starring the martial arts legend. In addition to directing the film, Bruce Lee has the leading role and is also the scriptwriter. Unlike his other films, all of which are action-dramas, Way of the Dragon is essentially an action comedy.

Plot

Tang Lung is sent from Hong Kong to Rome to help his friend's niece Chen Ching Hua, and some 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 become 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 hires foreign martial artists, two of whom have trouble communicating with each other, to challenge Tang Lung. 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, 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, but Tang eventually gets the upper hand since he's faster and more fluid and Colt is too slow, stiff and rigid. Tang wins the fight, and, because it is a battle to the death (and after he's reminded of this), he reluctantly kills Colt. He covers the body with Colt's white Gi to show his respect and admiration after the fight. As he's still overwhelmed with guilt, he hears the mafia boss's assistant. Tang angrily chases him down to the countryside only to find everyone there (other than himself, Wang, and the assistant) has been killed (Wang stabbing the others as they lay unconscious). There, the assistant tries to stall Tang whilst Wang is going to stab and kill him. The mafia boss arrives and shoots his assistant and Wang, but he fails to shoot Tang as he takes cover behind the tree. The police arrive with Chen, and the mafia boss is arrested. 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.

Cast

Bruce Lee as Tang Long/cantonese Tong Lung (aka "China Dragon")
Nora Miao as Chen Ching Hua
Chuck Norris as Colt
Robert Wall as Fred (aka "Bob")
Hwang In-Shik as Japanese martial artist
Paul Wei Ping-Ao as Ho
Wang Chung-Hsin as (Uncle) Wang
Tony Liu as Tony
Unicorn Chan as Jimmy
Tommy Chen as Tommy
Chin Ti as Ah Quen
Wu Ngan as Ah Chuan
Robert Chen as Robert
John T. Benn as Mafia boss
Malisa Longo as Italian Beauty
Yuen Biao as thug

Trivia

Bruce Lee's character Tang Lung has different names in the U.S. dubbed version. Ho calls him Li Lung in one scene.

Robert Wall worked with Bruce Lee in Enter the Dragon.

Bruce Lee played the percussion instruments for the film's music. The film's music score is by Joseph Koo, who provided the music score for the Cantonese Dubbed version of The Big Boss.

Bruce Lee whistles to the tune of Siu Lei Fei Dou (小李飛刀) in a few scenes. The song was composed by Joseph Koo as the theme song for the 1978 TV series The Romantic Swordsman.

This film was released in Hong Kong on December 30, 1972. Filming started earlier within the year after Bruce Lee completed Fist of Fury. After completing Way of the Dragon, Lee then went on to film the fight scenes for Game of Death, which was put on hold due to Warner Bros. offering Lee a lead role in Enter The Dragon.

Way of The Dragon was released in the U.S. after Enter The Dragon was released.

National Review political columnist John Derbyshire appears in the film briefly as one of the Mafia thugs.^[1]

The film was featured in 2009 Knowledge Generation Bureau advertisements in which two men were arguing over who killed who in the film and another texts KGB to get the answer to stop a fight.

The current U.S. DVD version, originally available in the Bruce Lee Ultimate Collection, from Twentieth Century Fox differs in two ways from the previous Fox release. First, the running time is actually 99 minutes rather than 88 minutes, and secondly, when the title screen for Way Of The Dragon appears, there is a subtitle that says A.K.A. Return Of The Dragon. This is due to the fact that the source material for the current DVD release is the Fortune Star digital remasters.

Home media releases

DVD releases

Universe (Hong Kong)

Aspect Ratio: Widescreen (2:35:1) letterboxed
Sound: Cantonese (Dolby Digital 5.1), Mandarin (Dolby Digital 5.1)
Subtitles: Traditional, Simplified Chinese, English, Japanese, Indonesian, Malaysian, Thai, Korean, Vietnamese
Supplements: Star files, Trailer, Trailers for The Big Boss, Enter the Dragon, Game of Death, Legacy of Rage
All regions, NTSC

Mega Star (Hong Kong)

Aspect Ratio: Widescreen (2:35:1) letterboxed
Sound: Cantonese (Dolby Digital 5.1), Mandarin (Dolby Digital 5.1)
Subtitles: Traditional, Simplified Chinese, English, Japanese, Malaysian, Korean, Thai, Spanish
Supplements: Bruce Lee Museum (Text of Lee's biography, Synopsis for all 5 of his films, Explanation of The Way of Intercepting the Fist), Trailer, Trailers for The Big Boss, Fist of Fury, Enter the Dragon, Game of Death
Region 3, NTSC

Fortune Star - Bruce Lee Ultimate DVD Collection (Hong Kong)

Released: April 29, 2004
Aspect Ratio: Widescreen (2:35:1) anamorphic
Sound: Cantonese (DTS 5.1), Cantonese (Dolby Digital 5.1), Cantonese (Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono), Mandarin (DTS 5.1), Mandarin (Dolby Digital 5.1)
Subtitles: Traditional, Simplified Chinese, English
Supplements: Original trailer, New trailer, Still photos, Slideshow of photos, Celebrity interviews, Unseen footage, Game of Death outtakes, Enter the Dragon alternate opening credits, 32-page booklet
Region 3, NTSC

Fox (America)

Released: May 21, 2002
Aspect Ratio: Widescreen (2:35:1) letterboxed
Sound: English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono)
Subtitles: English
Supplements: None
Region 1, NTSC

Fox - Bruce Lee Ultimate Collection (America)

Released: October 18, 2005
Aspect Ratio: Widescreen (2:35:1) anamorphic
Sound: Cantonese (Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono), Mandarin (Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono), English (DTS 5.1), English (Dolby Digital 5.1)
Subtitles: English
Supplements: Original trailer, New trailer, Celebrity interviews, Bonus trailers, Still photos, Slideshow of photos
Region 1, NTSC

Hong Kong Legends Collector's Edition (United Kingdom)

Released: June 11, 2001
Aspect Ratio: Widescreen (2:35:1) anamorphic
Sound: Cantonese (Dolby Digital 5.1), English (Dolby Digital 5.1)
Subtitles: English
Supplements: Animated biography showcase, Trailers, Rare photo archive, Interviews with Andre Morgan, Russell Cawthrone, Jon Benn, Anders Nielsen
Regions 2/4, PAL

Hong Kong Legends 2-Disc Platinum Edition (United Kingdom)

Released: July 14, 2003
Aspect Ratio: Widescreen (2:35:1) anamorphic
Sound: Cantonese (Dolby Digital 5.1), English (Dolby Digital 5.1)
Subtitles: English
Supplemnts: Disc 1: Commentary by Bey Logan and John Benn, Introduction to the film by Robert Lee, Bruce Lee's younger brother Disc 2: Introductions to special features by Bey Logan, Interview gallery: "Double Edged Sword: An Interview with Robert Wall," "Memories of the Master: An Interview with Pat Johnson, " "Warriors Immortal: An Interview with Master Hwang In-Shik," "A Dragon Remembered: An Interview with Robert Lee," Trailer galley: Original trailer, UK Campaign trailer, Original UK trailer, teaser, TV spot, HKL TV spot, Bonus trailers, Production photo gallery, Info Library: "Way of the Dragon - A retrospective, Bruce Lee screen test, Bruce Lee, Chuck Norris, Bob Wall, Nora Miao biographies, The Hong Kong Connection: "Inside Way of the Dragon: An Interview with Chaplin Chang, Louis Sit," "Artist and Warrior: An Interview with Tony Lau Wing,"
Region 2, PAL

Blu-ray disc release

Kam & Ronson (Hong Kong)

Released: October 15, 2009 ^[2]
Aspect Ratio: Widescreen 2:35:1
Sound: Cantonese (DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1), Cantonese (Dolby True HD 7.1), Mandarin (Dolby Digital EX 6.1), Thai (Dolby Digital EX 6.1)
Subtitles: Traditional Chinese, English, Thai
Supplements: Celebrity interviews
Region A

References

^ Derbyshire, John (2003-10-15). "Thug (Uncredited)". National Review Online. Retrieved 2008-10-13.
^ YESASIA: The Way Of The Dragon (Blu-ray) (Hong Kong Version)

External links

[1] Derbyshire, John (2003-10-15). "Thug (Uncredited)". National Review Online. Retrieved 2008-10-13.

[2] YESASIA: The Way Of The Dragon (Blu-ray) (Hong Kong Version)

[1]

[2]

@@ Line 23: / Line 23: @@
 == Plot ==
-Tang Lung is sent from [[Hong Kong]] to [[Rome]] to help his friend's niece Chen Ching Hua, and some 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 language|Italian]] and [[English language|English]] languages. After the thugs are defeated, Tang become friends with the other workers and teaches them [[Chinese Kung Fu|Chinese boxing]]; they, in turn, combine them with their skills in [[Karate]] to help Tang fight off the gangsters.
+Tang Lung is sent from [[Hong Kong]] to [[Rome]] to help his friend's niece Chen Ching Hua, and some 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 language|Italian]] and [[English language|English]] languages. After the thugs are defeated the first time, Tang become friends with the other workers and teaches them [[Chinese Kung Fu|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 [[Nunchaku]]s 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 [[Cervical collar|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.