Product Details

• Actors: Bruce Lee, Chuck Norris, Nora Miao, Ping-Ao Wei, Chung-Hsin Huang
• Directors: Bruce Lee
• Writers: Bruce Lee
• Producers: Bruce Lee, Raymond Chow
• Format: Color, NTSC
• Language: English, Italian
• Rated: R (Restricted)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: 20th Century Fox
• VHS Release Date: May 21, 2002
• Run Time: 90 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (88 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 6300250164
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #181,657 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Bruce Lee wrote and directed Return of the Dragon, his third film, a mix of hard-edged kung fu and goofy humor. Once again he plays the country boy who travels to a foreign land, in this case Italy, where his restaurant-owning cousins face trouble from the local syndicate. Their strong-arm tactics have driven customers away and now threaten the family, but Lee refuses to buckle under their pressure and takes them on in a series of impressive confrontations. The film ends with a memorable showdown with world-champion karate artist Chuck Norris in the Roman Colosseum (though much of it is staged in a rather cheap studio set), a brutal, almost inhuman battle that revels in the intense punishment taken by the combatants. Norris is one of Lee's best opponents and a marvelous physical contrast: brawny and hairy, using power and blunt karate moves while lean, wiry Lee counters with speed, gymnastic prowess, and balletic grace. The mix of comedy and kung fu comes off as camp at times, but that's hardly the reason to see the film. When Lee gets into action, whether he's taking on a gang of knife-wielding thugs or dueling Norris to the death, he becomes the total focus. Originally titled The Way of the Dragon, this film was renamed in the wake of Enter the Dragon to cash in on that movie's popularity. --Sean Axmaker

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

26 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars American DVD release only, not the movie., July 2, 2005

By 

Joseph P. Ulibas "Captain Couth" (Florin, CA, USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Return of the Dragon (DVD)

Retrun of the Dragon was the American re-cut and badly dubbed version of Bruce Lee's classic Way of the Dragon. Believe it or not this movie was Lee's highest grossing film in Hong Kong. He made this movie especially for that market. That's why it's so different than the others. But the DVD is bad. Go out and get the import disc title Way of the Dragon. The movie is a lot longer, it's uncut and in cantonese with english sub-titles and the movie is correctally matted at 2.50.1. You'll see it like you never have before!

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Sifu Lee at his best, July 5, 2008

By 

Rat8bug "Dark Knight" (Michigan) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Way Of The Dragon (DVD)

Bruce Lee never reached his prime in film making; dying before his time. The Way of the Dragon, is a loosely put together story, with fight scenes used as glue along the way. This film was out of stock for years, but this re-mastered version is worth the wait; being much clearer in both audio and video. The tour of the City of Rome Italy is beautiful. But I must admit, the face-off fight between Chuck Norris and Bruce is classic. This is the main reason to get this film. It shows how adaptable Lee's Jeet Kune Do fighting style was. Bruce used Mohammad Ali like foot work and feinting to wear down his opponent, then attacked with his lightening speed and power. This is a must have for all Martial Arts fans.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Bruce Lee's best, July 20, 2001

By 

S. Haldar "life's meaning" (Seattle, WA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Return of the Dragon (DVD)

This is perhaps the best martial arts (from a basic, pure karate perspective) movie, from the man who had started the whole martial arts revolution on screen and made it a household name. There are probably many martial artists who are, and were better than Bruce Lee, but no one compares to him when it comes to understanding the arts and how to project it on screen. His sense of choreographing fight scenes is still unmatched in the world of cinematic martial arts. This is the one simple reason what makes 'Return of the Dragon' the best of Lee's movies. The climatic battle scene with Chuck Norris remains the best-choreographed karate demonstration on screen, so far. He was perhaps the only true movie martial artist who could take of his shirt and have the male audience want a body like him. Like, 'Enter the Dragon', this movie didn't have a host of big-name martial arts stars like Jim Kelly, Yang Ze, and others. It had a relatively unknown Chuck Norris (to the rest of the world) after his reign as a seven-time US Karate champion, but the movie did make Norris a household name. Return of the Dragon remains Lee at his best, without all the glamor and high budget extravaganza of Enter the Dragon. If you like Bruce Lee, and martial arts, the buck stops here.