Yes, a guilty pleasure. Way of the Dragon is my favourite Bruce Lee film. It’s also a film Bruce wrote and directed himself. Set in Rome (Bruce maybe wanted a holiday) and featuring Chuck Norris, this badly dubbed film is a Kung Fu masterpiece.
Enter the Dragon is possibly a lot better film and also has a rocking score, Way of the Dragon to me is a lot more innocent and childlike and a lot more fun. There are tiny hints of comedy, and even parody that maybe Bruce wasn’t aware of. But, the film works great for me.
I saw this as a very young kid, maybe not even yet a teenager, but scenes and sequences have stayed with me forever. Beware of introducing young children to this film, before you know it they’ll be kicking the cat all around the house.
The trailer is below.
So, 72 films to go…
Matthew Cooper has written for Emmerdale, Eastenders, Hollyoaks and Family Affairs. He was winner of the first ever Lloyds Bank Channel Four Film Challenge and the Oscar Moore Screenplay Prize. His first short film starred a then unknown Ewan McGregor and was picked up by Channel Four when Matthew was 19 years old. He’s been a script writer for hire and filmmaker for hire for over 20 years.