The Way of the Dragon
![Watch film The Way of the Dragon — Official Arrow Trailer [Dubbed]](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/72giNDkKhSE/sddefault.jpg)
All actors and roles (10)
All team (20)
Short description
The Way of the Dragon follows Tang Lung, a young martial artist who travels from Hong Kong to Rome at the request of a family friend. A Chinese restaurant there is under pressure from local gangsters who want the property, and the owner's relatives have asked for help. Tang's modest appearance leads the restaurant staff to doubt he will be of much use, and he has to adjust to unfamiliar European customs. When he fights off the gangsters' men, the boss brings in outside martial arts specialists to deal with him.
Bruce Lee directed the film and wrote the screenplay, with Raymond Chow Man-Wai producing alongside him. It was the first film Lee directed, and he also stars as Tang Lung. Nora Miao plays Chen Ching Hua, the family friend whose restaurant is at stake, while Wei Ping-ao, Huang Tsung-Hsun and Robert Wall appear in supporting roles. Chuck Norris plays Colt, an American fighter brought in against Tang.
Released in late 1972, the film is a Hong Kong, Italian and Chinese co-production between Concord Productions and Orange Sky Golden Harvest. Its worldwide box office came to about 27 million dollars. On TMDB it holds a rating of 7.4 out of 10 from more than 1,300 votes, while a critics' rating stands at 6.5 out of 10 from 15 reviews, so audiences rate it somewhat higher than critics do.
What's left behind the scenes
- The film was shot without sound. The entire soundtrack was created during editing.
- The film features not only original music, but also music by Ennio Morricone, written for Sergio Leone's Westerns.
- For its American release, the film was titled “Return of the Dragon” to capitalize on the success of another Bruce Lee film, “Enter the Dragon” (1973), which was released slightly earlier.
- The scene of Bruce Lee's fight with Chuck Norris in the Colosseum was filmed on a soundstage at Golden Harvest Studios.
- Developing the fight between Bruce Lee and Chuck Norris’s characters took 45 hours. Describing the characters’ movements in this scene alone occupied nearly a quarter of the script.
- Few members of the film crew had international passports or work visas, which meant they could only work in Rome for a maximum of three weeks. All the necessary footage was shot in two weeks.
- Bruce Lee instructed Chuck Norris to gain weight so that he would appear as a more formidable opponent in the final scene.
- According to those involved in the filming, permission to film at the Colosseum was not obtained, so several scenes were quickly shot there without the knowledge of the Italian authorities.
- As part of preparing for his directorial debut, Bruce Lee read about ten books on all aspects of filmmaking.
- Filming took place from May 4th to June 29th, 1972 in Italy and Hong Kong.
- For its American release, the film was titled "Return of the Dragon" to capitalize on the success of another Bruce Lee film, "Enter the Dragon," which had been released earlier.
Similar movies
Auditions in India
Casting calls in USA
Castingi w Polsce
Кастинги в Україні
