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“Best Athlete in History”: Fans Can’t Get Enough of Bruce Lee’s Stunts in 1973 Movie as Rare Image of Him Resurfaces

Published 03/23/2023, 5:31 AM EDT

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The man could fight and the man could act. Bruce Lee changed the way the audience looked at martial arts movies. Enter the Dragon is one of the most popular movies by Bruce Lee not only because of the tragedy surrounding it. On-screen fights up until then were never produced with so finesse and expert execution. Even 50 years after its release, Enter the Dragon still remains one of the greatest martial arts movies ever made.

Bruce Lee’s stunts, his domineering on-screen presence, and his philosophy surrounding martial arts made him a global icon and legend. His influence is still felt today in the world of martial arts and action movies. One of his rare images from the 1973 movie resurfaced recently, and fans didn’t miss the chance to remember their favorite martial artist.

Enter the Dragon: Lee’s magnum opus

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The release and the subsequent success of Enter the Dragon were marred by one thing and one thing only. The icon Lee died in Hong Kong three weeks before the film’s premiere in 1973. His untimely demise was probably one of the reasons for the international acclaim. Nonetheless, there were, and still are, other reasons to fall in love with this amazing piece of cinema. Jackie Chan, in fact, had a cameo in Enter the Dragon. Towards the end of the movie, during the big fighting scene in the cave, Lee and Chan briefly fought.

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There were also some macabre happenings during the shoot. For instance, production was stopped for a short while when the corpse of a young woman was found near the set. Not only this, but the extras picked fights with Lee. In some scenes, more than 400 fighters were required. Some of the extras hired to be the fighters were from rival Hong Kong gangs, and they tried to usurp Lee. However, they were immediately taught a lesson by Lee.

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Indeed, Lee was a stalwart of martial arts, a pioneer who created his very own style of fighting, called Jeet Kune Do. But after legendary movies such as Enter the Dragon (1973), Game of Death (1978), The Orphan (1960), and many more, Lee became a behemoth in the film industry as well. But Enter the Dragon still remains Lee’s magnum opus and a fan-favorite because of a very poignant reason.

A still from Enter the Dragon delights Bruce Lee fans

The official Bruce Lee Instagram page, run by his daughter Shannon Lee, recently posted a still of Lee performing a stunt on the sets of Enter the Dragon. The post induced a wave of nostalgia among Lee fans. A fan called Lee “The best athlete in history 🔥”. Another wrote that Lee would be “the dragon forever 🐉🎋😍😍”. Someone also called Lee the “🐐 and LEGENDARY legend🌹🌹”.

 

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A post shared by Bruce Lee (@brucelee)

A fan repeated a famous quote by Lee and commented, “Do not be tense, just be ready, not thinking but not dreaming, not being set but being flexible – Bruce Lee 🐉🐉”. There was a string of comments celebrating the greatness of the Little Pheonix. Fans wrote:

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“Bruce lee the one and only legend 👏👏🙌🙌😍😍😮😮🔥🔥”

“IT IS UNIQUE AND UNREPEATABLE”

“So great bruce 🔥🔥🙌🙌❤️❤️❤️😍😍”

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Watch This Story: Relive the Iconic On-Screen Fights of the GOAT Bruce Lee From His Collection

Enter the Dragon is a special movie, both for Lee and his fan following. Which is your favorite Bruce Lee movie?

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Written by:

Apoorva Behl

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Apoorva Behl is a US Sports author for EssentiallySports. She has a Master's degree in Law from the Indian Law Institute, New Delhi. Besides being a lawyer, she has a passion for reading and a penchant for writing.
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Edited by:

Jahnabi Choudhury