Way of the Dragon

"Return of the Dragon" redirects here. It is not to be confused with the Sisqó album Return of Dragon.

Way of the Dragon

Hong Kong film poster
Traditional 猛龍過江
Simplified 猛龙过江
Mandarin Měng Lóng Guò Jiāng
Cantonese Maang5 Lung5 Gwo3 Gong1
Directed by Bruce Lee
Produced by
Written by Bruce Lee
Starring
Music by Joseph Koo
Cinematography Tadashi Nishimoto (西本正)
Edited by Peter Cheung
Production
company
Distributed by
  • Golden Harvest
Release dates
  • 30 December 1972 (1972-12-30)
Running time
 100 minutes
Country Hong Kong
Language Mandarin
Cantonese
English
Budget HK$130,000
Box office HK$5.30 million
(Hong Kong)[1]
US$5.2 million
(US/Canada) (rentals)[2]

The Way of the Dragon (Chinese: 猛龍過江, released in the United States as Return of the Dragon) is a 1972 Hong Kong martial arts action comedy film written, produced and directed by Bruce Lee, who also stars in the lead role. This was Lee's only complete directorial effort. The film co-stars Nora Miao, Chuck Norris, Robert Wall and Hwang In-shik. Way of the Dragon was released in Hong Kong on 30 December 1972.

Plot

In Rome, Chen Ching-hua and her uncle Wang experience trouble with their restaurant from a mob boss who wants their property. When Chen refuses to sell, the mob boss sends gangsters to scare away customers. Appealing to an uncle in Hong Kong, Chen receives help in the form of Tang Lung, a martial artist. Disappointed, Chen asks how he can help her, but Tang confidently assures her that he is capable. At the restaurant, Tang learns that the staff have begun to learn karate, much to the annoyance of Quen, an employee who favors Chinese martial arts. Tang tells Quen that he should be open-minded and incorporate any moves that work. Before Tang can demonstrate his style to them, customers arrive, and the staff change clothes.

Before long, gangsters appear at the restaurant and chase off the customers while Tang is in the bathroom. Angered by Tang's poor timing, the staff question his skill and the usefulness of his style. Later, the gangsters return to harass more customers. Before the staff can engage the gangsters, Wang asks all involved to take their fighting outside. The staff engage the thugs, only to be beaten. However, Tang single-handedly defeats the thugs, and the staff abandon their training to study under him. Wang warns them that the gangsters will now seek revenge and that this victory could make the situation worse. Tang vows to protect the restaurant. Chen and Tang grow closer, and she takes him on a tour of Rome, though Tang is unimpressed.

Ho, the mafia boss's consigliere, returns with armed thugs and takes the restaurant staff hostage while they wait for Chen and Tang to return. Ho gives Tang a ticket back to Hong Kong; when his men escort Tang outside, Tang quickly disarms and overpowers them. When reinforcements from the restaurant arrive to subdue him, he defeats them using a pair of nunchaku. Tang warns Ho not to return, and the thugs leave the restaurant. The staff celebrate their victory, though Wang again urges them to focus more on business than fighting. Meanwhile, the mafia boss threatens to send an assassin to kill Tang unless he leaves by Chinese New Year, and Wang urges Chen to convince Tang to leave.

When Tang refuses to abandon the restaurant, the assassin targets him from a nearby rooftop. On edge from nearby fireworks, Chen and Tang survive the attempt, and Tang races off to confront the assassin, whom he tricks into wasting his ammunition. When he returns to the apartment, he finds Chen gone. Assuming that Ho has kidnapped her, Tang arrives at the mafia boss' headquarters and leads the restaurant staff in a battle, which they win. Tang issues a final warning to the mafia boss, which Ho translates. The staff again celebrate, but a telegram for Tang cuts this short when they learn that he has been summoned back to Hong Kong. Tang assures them that he will not leave without seeing the situation resolved.

Ho hires two martial artists to challenge Tang, Japanese and American karate practitioners who initially refuse to work together. When the mafia boss indicates that money is no issue, Ho also recruits the American's sensei, a world-class martial artist named Colt. Ho leads the restaurant staff to an isolated spot under the pretense of a truce, where the two hired martial artists attack them, and Ho lures Tang away to fight Colt at the Colosseum. After they defeat the martial artists, Wang betrays and kills two of the staff, as he wants to sell the restaurant to the mafia boss and return to Hong Kong.

In a brutal fight, Tang injures and then disables Colt. When Colt refuses an offer of mercy, Tang kills him. The mob boss arrives at the original location as Tang and Ho return, and the boss kills both Ho and Wang. The police arrive and arrest him as he attempts to also kill Tang. As Tang leaves for Hong Kong, Quen tells Chen that Tang is a loner who will never settle down.

Cast

Production

Bruce Lee formed his own production company, Concord Production Inc., with Golden Harvest founder, Raymond Chow.[6]

Reception

Critical

The film holds a 100% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on eight reviews.[7] The film set a new box office record in Hong Kong.[6] It ranked #95 in Empire magazine's list "The 100 Best Films of World Cinema" in 2010.[8] The film won the Golden Horse Award for Best Editing.

Box office

The film grossed HK$5,307,350.50 at the Hong Kong box office, beating previous records set by Lee's own films, The Big Boss and Fist of Fury, making it the highest-grossing film of 1972 in Hong Kong.[1]

Sequel

Main article: Way of the Dragon 2

In 1978 a sequel was released titled Way of the Dragon 2. The film starred Bruce Le and Bolo Yeung.

References

  1. 1 2 "劉偉強談香港電影時代拐點不再讓時裝片孤單". Sina News. 2011-05-11. Retrieved 2015-10-09.
  2. ↑ "All-time Film Rental Champs", Variety, 7 January 1976 p 46
  3. ↑ Berkow, Ira (12 May 1993). "AT DINNER WITH: Chuck Norris; When That 97-Pound Weakling Grows Up". The New York Times. Retrieved 2010-08-08.
  4. ↑ Riccardo Billi played the bank teller in "Way of the Dragon"
  5. ↑ Derbyshire, John (2003-10-15). "Thug (Uncredited)". National Review Online. Retrieved 2008-10-13.
  6. 1 2 Lee, Bruce; Little, John; Little, John R. (15 November 1997). Words of the dragon: interviews 1958–1973. Tuttle Publishing. p. 19. ISBN 978-0-8048-3133-8. Retrieved 15 January 2011.
  7. ↑ "Return of the Dragon (The Way of the Dragon) (1974)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 2015-09-12.
  8. ↑ "The 100 Best Films of World Cinema: 93. The Fourth Man". Empire.
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