Way of the Dragon (traditional Chinese: 猛龍過江; literally, "The Fierce Dragon Crosses the River"; also known as Return of the Dragon in the U.S.) is a 1972 Hong Kong martial arts-action film directed by Bruce Lee. It was the third major film starring the martial arts legend. In addition to directing the film, Bruce Lee has the leading role and is also the scriptwriter. Unlike his other films, all of which are action-dramas, Way of the Dragon is essentially an action comedy. Tang Lung is sent from Hong Kong to Rome to help his friend's niece Chen Ching Hua and some family friends whose restaurant is being targeted by the local Mafia, which has been trying to force them to sign a contract handing over ownership of the restaurant to the Mafia boss. After their offers to purchase the restaurant are repeatedly turned down, the gangsters resort to intimidation. Tang fends off the local gangsters and wins Chen's admiration, who had initially looked down on him for his innocence. Tang had earlier been reluctant in putting all his savings into a bank and had even unknowingly gone home with a prostitute while touring Rome with Chen. The Mafia boss sends a gunman to kill Tang, but Tang defeats him by throwing wooden darts and fracturing his neck. The angry boss then takes a personal trip to the restaurant with his thugs to force Chen to sign the contract. Although they are armed with guns, Tang manages to defeat them after the boss forbids them to use the guns. Tang uses a Bō and a pair of Nunchakus during the fight. He warns the boss that he will take firm action against him if he continues to harass his friends. The boss then sends a sniper (the gunman who now wears a neck brace) to kill Tang at Chen's apartment but he fails again. Chen is kidnapped by the boss and compelled to sign the contract at his headquarters, but Tang and his friends appear and rescue her once more. The Mafia boss hires foreign martial artists who have trouble communicating with each other to challenge Tang Lung. Tang defeats them with help from his friends in the countryside near the Colosseum. Tang has an iconic final showdown inside the Colosseum with the Karate fighter Colt ,he wins and kills Colt, but he covers the body with Colt's white Gi to show his respect and admiration after the fight. The Mafia boss is finally arrested while the other villains are killed. Tang leaves Rome alone after bidding farewell to Chen.  Bruce Lee flexing his muscles. [edit] Trivia - Bruce Lee's character Tang Lung has different names in the U.S. dubbed version. Ho calls him Li Lung in one scene.
- Robert Wall worked with Bruce Lee in Enter the Dragon.
- Bruce Lee played the percussion instruments for the film's music. The film's music score is by Joseph Koo, who provided the music score for the Cantonese Dubbed version of The Big Boss.
- Bruce Lee whistles to the tune of Siu Lei Fei Dou (小李飛刀) in a few scenes. The song is composed by Joseph Koo as the main theme song for a Wuxia TV series.
- This film was released in Hong Kong on December 30, 1972. Filming started earlier within the year after Bruce Lee completed Fist of Fury. After completing Way of the Dragon, Lee then went on to film the fight scenes for Game of Death, which was put on hold due to Warner Bros. offering Lee a lead role in Enter The Dragon.
- Way of The Dragon was released in the U.S. after Enter The Dragon was released.
- National Review political columnist John Derbyshire appears in the film briefly as one of the Mafia thugs.[1]
- The film was featured in 2009 Knowledge Generation Bureau advertisements in which two men were arguing over who killed who in the film and another texts KGB to get the answer to stop a fight.
- The current U.S. DVD version, originally available in the Bruce Lee Ultimate Collection, from Twentieth Century Fox differs in two ways from the previous Fox release. First, the running time is 99 minutes rather than 88 minutes, and secondly, when the title screen for Way Of The Dragon appears, there is a subtitle that says A.K.A. Return Of The Dragon. This is due to the fact that the source material for the current DVD release is the Fortune Star digital remasters.
[edit] DVD releases Universe (Hong Kong) - Aspect Ratio: Widescreen (2:35:1) letterboxed
- Sound: Cantonese (Dolby Digital 5.1), Mandarin (Dolby Digital 5.1)
- Subtitles: Traditional, Simplified Chinese, English, Japanese, Indonesian, Malaysian, Thai, Korean, Vietnamese
- Supplements: Star files, Trailer, Trailers for The Big Boss, Enter the Dragon, Game of Death, Legacy of Rage
- All regions, NTSC
Mega Star (Hong Kong) - Aspect Ratio: Widescreen (2:35:1) letterboxed
- Sound: Cantonese (Dolby Digital 5.1), Mandarin (Dolby Digital 5.1)
- Subtitles: Traditional, Simplified Chinese, English, Japanese, Malaysian, Korean, Thai, Spanish
- Supplements: Bruce Lee Museum (Text of Lee's biography, Synopsis for all 5 of his films, Explanation of The Way of Intercepting the Fist), Trailer, Trailers for The Big Boss, Fist of Fury, Enter the Dragon, Game of Death
- Region 3, NTSC
Fortune Star - Bruce Lee Ultimate DVD Collection (Hong Kong) - Released: April 29, 2004
- Aspect Ratio: Widescreen (2:35:1) anamorphic
- Sound: Cantonese (DTS 5.1), Cantonese (Dolby Digital 5.1), Cantonese (Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono), Mandarin (DTS 5.1), Mandarin (Dolby Digital 5.1)
- Subtitles: Traditional, Simplified Chinese, English
- Supplements: Original trailer, New trailer, Still photos, Slideshow of photos, Celebrity interviews, Unseen footage, Game of Death outtakes, Enter the Dragon alternate opening credits, 32-page booklet
- Region 3, NTSC
Fox (America) - Released: May 21, 2002
- Aspect Ratio: Widescreen (2:35:1) letterboxed
- Sound: English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono)
- Subtitles: English
- Supplements: None
- Region 1, NTSC
Fox - Bruce Lee Ultimate Collection (America) - Released: October 18, 2005
- Aspect Ratio: Widescreen (2:35:1) anamorphic
- Sound: Cantonese (Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono), Mandarin (Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono), English (DTS 5.1), English (Dolby Digital 5.1)
- Subtitles: English
- Supplements: Original trailer, New trailer, Celebrity interviews, Bonus trailers, Still photos, Slideshow of photos
- Region 1, NTSC
Hong Kong Legends Collector's Edition (United Kingdom) - Released: June 11, 2001
- Aspect Ratio: Widescreen (2:35:1) anamorphic
- Sound: Cantonese (Dolby Digital 5.1), English (Dolby Digital 5.1)
- Subtitles: English
- Supplements: Animated biography showcase, Trailers, Rare photo archive, Interviews with Andre Morgan, Russell Cawthrone, Jon Benn, Anders Nielsen
- Regions 2/4, PAL
Hong Kong Legends 2-Disc Platinum Edition (United Kingdom) - Released: July 14, 2003
- Aspect Ratio: Widescreen (2:35:1) anamorphic
- Sound: Cantonese (Dolby Digital 5.1), English (Dolby Digital 5.1)
- Subtitles: English
- Supplemnts: Disc 1: Commentary by Bey Logan and John Benn, Introduction to the film by Robert Lee, Bruce Lee's younger brother Disc 2: Introductions to special features by Bey Logan, Interview gallery: "Double Edged Sword: An Interview with Robert Wall," "Memories of the Master: An Interview with Pat Johnson, " "Warriors Immortal: An Interview with Master Hwang In-Shik," "A Dragon Remembered: An Interview with Robert Lee," Trailer galley: Original trailer, UK Campaign trailer, Original UK trailer, teaser, TV spot, HKL TV spot, Bonus trailers, Production photo gallery, Info Library: "Way of the Dragon - A retrospective, Bruce Lee screen test, Bruce Lee, Chuck Norris, Bob Wall, Nora Miao biographies, The Hong Kong Connection: "Inside Way of the Dragon: An Interview with Chaplin Chang, Louis Sit," "Artist and Warrior: An Interview with Tony Lau Wing,"
- Region 2, PAL
[edit] Blu-ray Disc Release Kam & Ronson (Hong Kong) - Released: October 15, 2009 [2]
- Aspect Ratio: Widescreen 2:35:1
- Sound: Cantonese (DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1), Cantonese (Dolby True HD 7.1), Mandarin (Dolby Digital EX 6.1), Thai (Dolby Digital EX 6.1)
- Subtitles: Traditional Chinese, English, Thai
- Region A
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