Enter the Dragon (40th Anniversary Edition) [Blu-ray]

Enter the Dragon would have been a B-grade James Bond knockoff were it not for the presence of Bruce Lee, whose unheralded combination of physical grace, martial arts skill, and uncanny charisma made him an international star. Sadly, the movie was released after his unexpected death--which only fueled his legendary status. The 40th Anniversary Edition of Enter the Dragon, out on Blu-ray (which makes the movie's stunning room-of-mirrors climax even more eye dazzling), comes packed with extras: warm-hearted featurettes on the making of the movie and a commentary full of fond memories by the movie's producer, Paul Heller; an extensive examination of Lee's career and the mystery surrounding his death; interview footage with Lee and a series of interviews with his widow, Linda Lee Cadwell; a featurette on wing chun, the martial arts discipline that underlies kung fu; a somewhat inexplicable series of philosophical interviews with people like boxer Sugar Ray Leonard and actor George Takei; and more. Also included are some photos and even an iron-on patch, a very 1970s touch. But out of all this material, perhaps the most compelling and even moving extra feature is a compilation of some brief home movies of Lee demonstrating martial arts moves in his backyard. Lee's enthusiasm and focus, sweetly youthful but displaying his mesmerizing physicality, will make his fans feel his loss all the more. --Bret Fetzer

The last film completed by Bruce Lee before his untimely death, Enter the Dragon was his entrée into Hollywood. The American-Hong Kong coproduction, shot in Asia by American director Robert Clouse, stars Lee as a British agent sent to infiltrate the criminal empire of bloodthirsty Asian crime lord Han (Shih Kien) through his annual international martial arts tournament. Lee spends his days taking on tournament combatants and nights breaking into the heavily guarded underground fortress, kicking the living tar out of anyone who stands in his way. The mix of kung fu fighting (choreographed by Lee himself) and James Bond intrigue (the plot has more than a passing resemblance to Dr. No) is pulpy by any standard, but the generous budget and talented cast of world-class martial artists puts this film in a category well above Lee's earlier Hong Kong productions. Unfortunately he's off the screen for large chunks of time as American maverick competitors (and champion martial artists) John Saxon and Jim Kelly take center stage, but once the fighting starts Lee takes over. The tournament setting provides an ample display of martial arts mastery of many styles and climaxes with a huge free-for-all, but the highlight is Lee's brutal one-on-one with the claw-fisted Han in the dynamic hall-of-mirrors battle. Lee narrows his eyes and tenses into a wiry force of sinew, speed, and ruthless determination. --Sean Axmaker