Enter the Dragon 40th Anniversay Ultimate Collector’s Edition Blu-ray
Posted March 4, 2013 05:15 PM by Webmaster
Warner Bros. Home Entertainment has officially announced that it will release Robert Clouse's Enter the Dragon in a Collector's Edition Giftset on June 11th. The film, which helped bring interest in the Asian martial arts genre to mainstream Western cinema, has been re-mastered for its 40th anniversary, and will now feature new bonus materials.
Bruce Lee was an incredible athlete and mixed martial artist who, despite making a limited number of movies during his short life, became a charismatic megastar and left a permanent mark on cinema and popular culture. Even Time Magazine agreed. They included Lee in the "100 Most Important People of the 20th century" issue (Heroes and Icons 1999*). Enter the Dragon continues to resonate with today's audiences. It was a major theatrical hit 40 years ago, grossing approximately $25 million domestically – the equivalent of almost $180 million in today's box-office. Enter the Dragon has sold more than 450,000 units on DVD and Blu-ray since 2004. In 2004, Enter the Dragon was selected by the Library of Congress for preservation in the United States National Film Registry as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant."
Lee was born in San Francisco on November 27, 1940. As a young boy in Hong Kong, he acted in some 20 films there and first became known in the U.S. in 1966 for his role as sidekick Kato in TV's "The Green Hornet." He also appeared in TV shows like "Ironside" and "Longstreet," with his most notable American role coming in the 1969 movie, Marlowe, starring James Garner. Returning to Hong Kong, Lee starred in a number of successful films for Raymond Chow's Golden Harvest Productions and soon became a superstar in China. His enormous overseas success ultimately reached Hollywood and the attention of filmmaker Fred Weintraub and Warner Bros., who produced Enter the Dragon and tapped the actor to star. Lee died suddenly in Hong Kong, at the age of 32, of a cerebral edema. That was on July 20, 1973, less than a month before the film's August 17 U.S. premiere. Posthumously, Enter the Dragon rocketed him to international superstardom.
Enter the Dragon producer Fred Weintraub, who also wrote the book Bruce Lee, Woodstock, and Me said: "If fans want to hail Bruce as the greatest and most influential martial artist who ever lived, you'll get no argument from me. He was a shining star who streaked across the night sky of our collective awareness in a flash of white hot unsustainable intensity only to burn up in the atmosphere of fame, wealth, and worldwide adulation. Watching him again (this time even better on Blu-ray), you can see why he became the first international superstar from a third world country."
The plot of the Enter the Dragon revolves around outstanding martial arts student Lee (Bruce Lee), who is recruited by an intelligence agency and then uncovers the evil Han's (Kien Shih) white slavery and drug trafficking ring located on a secret island fortress. Along with martial arts champions Roper (John Saxon) and Williams (Jim Kelly), Lee infiltrates the stronghold and enters Han's brutal tournament. Lee and his partners fuse skills in Karate, Judo, Tae Kwon Do, T'ai chi ch'uan and Hapkido, in a now classic fight-to-the-death epic battle, all staged by Lee himself.
Bruce Lee, John Saxon, and Ahna Capri star in Enter the Dragon, which co-stars Bob Wall, and Shih Kien and introduces Jim Kelly. Music is by Lalo Schifrin. Written by Michael Allen, the film was produced by Fred Weintraub and Paul Heller in association with Raymond Chow. Robert Clouse directed.
Special Features:
Commentary by producer Paul Heller
New Featurette No Way As Way
New Featurette The Return to Han's Island
New Featurette Wing Chun: The Art that Introduced Kung Fu to Bruce Lee
Interview Gallery featuring Lee's wife, Linda Lee Caldwell
I'll stick with the excellent already available BD, thank you very much. At least that one has the fantastic "Bruce Lee: A Warrior's Journey" documentary that is nowhere to be found on this new release, including 45 minutes of previously unreleased footage from Game of Death (in SD but still, it's great to have!).
Great News, I'll have to buy...The Green Hornet series and Dragon-Bruce Lee Story blurays next pretty please,
In one of Bruce Lee books...Letters of A dragon? released in the late 90's...his calendar had a guest appearance on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson!(that would've been great)
In his own words(20 min.)is a must see(also on youtube)
Any fan of his should read "Bruce Lee: Fighting Spirit " best "bio" I have read...has interesting stories you'll probably never read about anywhere else.
I'll still hold on to the original Blu-ray release, as the documentary "Bruce Lee: A Warrior's Journey" appears to be missing on the new release just like the re-release. I will definitely double dip for the new transfer, though...
"Enter the Dragon" has been remastered yet again (for like the 3rd or 4th time), but we apparently get nothing for "The Road Warrior," and are not even sure whether or not the upcoming re-release of that film will see so much as a lossless audio track ? Some things I'm not sure I'll ever understand...anyway, happy to hear this for die-hard "Enter the Dragon" fans, but personally I'll be sticking with my 2007 Blu-ray, which has plenty to offer as it is.
I have the BD & kept my old DVD to have ALL the special features. PQ was good (4/5) rated on this site. How much better could they make the remastered edition? 5/5? worth a double (triple?) dip? Maybe they will add lossless audio? Then again, sound design in the 1970s is not great. Love the film though!
So... no deleted scenes... no mention of the 1973 theatrical cut... no mention of theatrical mono... the return of that dated-when-it-first-came-out Paul Heller commentary track. Yep, all of my hopes are solely on the transfer :-/
I agree, pretty lackluster special features for a supposed "Ultimate Collector's Edition!" I bet they'll include a bunch of plastic props which you'll look at once and then put in a closet somewhere
The original release was the first blu-ray I bought. I'll be interested to see how this new release compares visually. I thought the original release looked pretty damn good considering the age and budget.
They just had to change the iconic cover art and logo!I will upgrade if it includes lossless sound,but I'm still keeping the original blu-ray for it's cover art!
If they had to go an change the cover art, that's actually pretty unique art... never seen artwork that references the final battle sequence. As a purist, it would've been nice to have the classic "Deadly Three" poster, but that is definitely interesting artwork in its place.
"Please Please Please keep the original WB Saul Bass Logo Intact Please! "
Agreed. First of all they shoud keep it because it was there to begin with and they shouldn't mess with film history secondly it's a classic logo that instantly when it's shown before a warner flick gives you that retro feel and(at least for me) puts you in the right frame of mind. It's a beautiful logo, I love that 70's stylish tech feel!
@PeterTHX - I don't have a list. I usually make one when I upgrade a film to BD & compare with list of features &/or actually looking on the BD vs. DVD. If there is no missing content; commentary, feature, alternate cut, etc. I give away or sell the DVD copy. In this case I moved the BD to a double case & included my old DVD so there must have been at least one DVD item not on the BD.
? Some things I'm not sure I'll ever understand...anyway, happy to hear this for die-hard "Enter the Dragon" fans, but personally I'll be sticking with my 2007 Blu-ray, which has plenty to offer as it is. 
