Written by Old Bluffer 28th Jun 2005

Often shamelessly copied, but never bettered, Enter the Dragon's island tournament to discover the best martial artist never fails to entertain.

Lee is unfazed that his scarred opponent appears to have brought a plank of wood with him - after all, "boards don't hit back!"
The contest is organised by Han (q.v.), who is possibly the best Hong Kong villain ever, and his current favourite champion is a Caucasian thug called O'Hara*. Lee has already been warned of this brute's atrocities but just in case we are in any doubt that we are about to witness an archetypal Cantonese Drubbing, we are reminded that Lee's sister was forced to stab herself in the heart with a shard of glass, to avoid being raped by O'Hara. In fact it was during this encounter that he gained his vivid facial scar. So, with the scene perfectly set, the two contestants square up in a classic opposing forearm fighting stance and the match starts.





From the outset, we can see that this isn't even going to be a contest. Lee administers a stinging opening backhand slap before O'Hara can even blink. Shaken and humiliated, O'Hara resumes the stance, wary now that he knows Lee's speed. It makes no difference though, as Lee contemptuously lashes him across the face with the exact same move.

Having established he has reactions sharper than a page of Oscar Wilde witticisms rolled up into a point and dipped in lemon juice**, Lee starts to unleash his Power Moves. This is no stylised demonstration of Gung-Fu either, each blow he lands rocks the Westerner and leaves him visibly mangled.
O'Hara tries a few cumbersome attacks but Lee is clearly so far above his skill level that within moments he is beaten into inevitable defeat.


Lee is just showing off here, and O'Hara evidently doesn't enjoy being made mock of.

Han declares the bout over, but O'Hara obviously can't grasp the concept that he has lost and tries to continue when Lee's back is turned, shaming Han in the process. Lee smashes him to the ground again, and this time O'Hara's mind has clearly unhinged (unsurprising considering the severe battering he's taken), and he picks up some bottles to kill his tormentor with. With the benefit of hindsight, this probably wasn't the smartest of decisions.


When you see Bruce Lee coming towards you with this expression you should probably think about apologising.


Note O'Hara has crumpled near some bottles, brought along to the bout by thirsty fight fans.

Cue the slowmotion camera, which always indicates that not only is a death coming up, but that the audience will be able to savour it over a prolonged sequence, lovingly crafted by the director so as to maximise the bloodthirsty carnage.
Amidst broken glass, shattered bones and copious amounts of blood, Lee gives his trademark Death Cry, announcing to all and sundry that he has exacted murderous vengeance.


Yes, O'Hara has smashed two perfectly good bottles of beer, and Bruce is infuriated at the wastage.

The stunned spectators are left looking on in awe, and Han, ever the pithy orator, ends the day's bouts with a single statement, laced with understated meaning: "O'Hara's treachery has dis-graced us." (Translation: "I never should have let that no good scarfaced Gwai-Lo loser represent my school, but if you think beating him makes you some kind of bad-ass, then wait till the end of the film and I'll cut you into ribbons with my Claw Hand!")


O'Hara is dead, but one of Han's minions belabours the point by making the International Sign For "He's Snuffed It".

One especially nice thing about the choreography of this fight is that it avoids a lot of the usual Kung Fu cliches. For a start, O'Hara never even lands a single blow - in most encounters, there would be some token exchange of damage.
Also, each strike that Lee delivers is brutally effective - there is none of the rapidfire light blows that many martial arts scenes use. In fact, only one strike fails to send O'Hara crashing to the floor - and that one breaks his arm!


Review note - this death received a 5% "geek bonus" by providing sound effects for Way of the Exploding Fist on the C64 and the bone-crunching headbutt sample in International Karate + on the Amiga!

* The official credit spells this "OHarra" - but we're using the more usual Irish spelling.
** with thanks to Messrs Elton and Curtis for the quote