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The Way of the Dragon

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The Way of the Dragon

The Way of the Dragon (originally released in the United States as Return of the Dragon) is a 1972 Hong Kong martial arts comedy film co-produced and directed by Bruce Lee, who also stars in the lead role. This is Lee's only complete directorial film and the last one to be released during his lifetime, as he died less than seven months after its release. The film co-stars Nora Miao, Robert Wall, Wei Ping-ou and Chuck Norris.

The Way of the Dragon was released in Hong Kong on 30 December 1972, and in the United States in August 1974. The film went on to gross an estimated US$130 million worldwide (equivalent to approximately $920 million adjusted for inflation), against a budget of $130,000. It was the highest-grossing Hong Kong film until Lee's next film, Enter the Dragon, in 1973.

The film is primarily set in a restaurant in Rome. The owners are being harassed by a local crime boss, and request help from a relative in Hong Kong. The help arrives in the form of a young martial artist. The conflict between the restaurant staff and the gangsters soon escalates.

In Rome, Chen Ching-hua and her uncle Wang experience trouble with their restaurant from a crime boss who wants their property. When Chen refuses to give it up, the boss sends gangsters there to scare away the customers. Appealing to an uncle in Hong Kong, Chen receives help in the form of a young martial artist Tang Lung. On his first arrival, Tang is disoriented by his new surroundings and appears to be a country bumpkin. Disappointed, Chen asks what help he can be, but Tang confidently assures her that he is capable enough. At the restaurant, Tang learns that the staff have begun to learn karate, much to the annoyance of Quen, an employee who favors kung fu. Tang advises Quen to be open-minded and make use of anything that works.

Before long, the gangsters appear at the restaurant and threaten the customers away while Tang is using the bathroom. Upset by Tang's poor timing, the staff question his skill and the usefulness of his style. When the gangsters later return, the staff engage the thugs in a fight, only to be beaten. However, Tang single-handedly defeats them, causing the staff to decide to train under him. Uncle Wang warns them that the gangsters will seek revenge, but Tang vows to protect the restaurant. Chen and Tang grow closer and she takes him on a tour of Rome, though Tang is unimpressed by the city.

Ho, the crime boss's subordinate, returns with armed men and takes the restaurant staff hostage. Ho gives Tang a ticket to Hong Kong and tells him to go back. However, when his men escort Tang outside, Tang fights back and defeats the thugs with his two nunchakus, followed by the help of the restaurant staff. Tang warns Ho not to return and the thugs leave the restaurant. The staff celebrate their victory, but the gang boss threatens to have Tang killed unless he leaves by Chinese New Year. Uncle Wang urges Chen to convince Tang to leave. When Tang refuses to abandon the restaurant, an assassin tries to kill him from a nearby rooftop with a sniper rifle. Already fidgety from nearby fireworks, Tang survives the attempt. He then tracks down and defeats the assassin after tricking him into wasting his ammunition. When he returns to the apartment, he finds that Chen is gone. Assuming that Ho has kidnapped her, Tang goes to the boss' headquarters with the restaurant staff, defeating his men. Tang issues a final warning to the boss to leave the restaurant alone. The staff again celebrate, but a telegram for Tang cuts this short when they learn that he has been summoned back to Hong Kong. Tang assures them that he will not leave until the situation is resolved.

Ho hires two Japanese and European karate masters to challenge Tang, as well as a world-class martial artist named Colt. He then leads some of the restaurant staff to an isolated spot under the pretence of a truce, where the two martial artists ambush them. They initially defeat the staff until Tang intervenes. Ho lures Tang away to fight Colt at the Colosseum. Left behind, Uncle Wang knifes the two remaining members of the staff as he wants to sell the restaurant to the crime boss and return to Hong Kong as a rich man. In a decisive ten-minute battle, Tang disables Colt and reluctantly kills him after Colt refuses an offer of mercy. Tang then chases after Ho out of the Colosseum. As Tang and Ho return to the ambush site, the mob boss arrives and shoots both Ho and Uncle Wang. Led by Chen, the police arrest the boss as he tries to kill Tang. With the matter finally resolved, Tang returns to Hong Kong, where Quen tells Chen that Tang is a loner who will never settle down.

Bruce Lee formed his own production company, Concord Production Inc., with Golden Harvest founder Raymond Chow, and The Way of the Dragon was the company's first film. As well as acting as its producer, Lee also wrote the script, directed the film and played percussion on the soundtrack.

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