Enter the Dragon—Warner Brothers (HD DVD)

Video: 3
Audio: 3
Extras: 5

There’s something inherently fascinating about watching someone who is unquestionably the best at what they do. Bruce Lee was just incredible to watch, and, regardless of the quality of the films he was in, they are worth watching just to marvel at his greatness. Enter the Dragon, ostensibly about a martial-arts competition put on by one bad dude, is really just a showcase for one of the greatest athletes the world has ever seen.

The 2.40:1 image is all across the map. A lot of grain and dirt on the negative mar the early scenes. Certain scenes show some detail, while others are downright soft. By the end, the image evens out, but it’s still pretty mediocre. The Dolby Digital Plus track is equally unimpressive. I guess the best description is, “It is as it was.” The ADR (dubbed) scenes are even more obvious, and the music often sounds practically muddled.

The extras are plentiful, although they’re not in HD. They include commentary by the producer, an interview with Lee’s widow, a 1973 featurette called “Backyard Workout with Bruce,” a making-of documentary, a story about the Lee family curse, and a 100-minute documentary on Lee that features footage he shot before he died that would have been his next movie. These were available on the 2004 two-disc special-edition DVD.

There are some great extras if you’ve never seen them, and the HD DVD looks better than the DVD, but not by much.

X