Enter The Dragon 4K Ultra HD

In "Enter The Dragon," Bruce Lee, in his last complete film, plays a martial arts expert determined to take down the ruthless gang leader, Han, who was responsible for the death of his sister. Recruited by an intelligence agency, he poses a student and attends a tournament at a remote island fortress. His goal is to gather evidence that will prove Han’s involvement with drug trafficking and prostitution. With one man focused on crime and the other bent on revenge, the two engage in the now-classic fight-to-the-death finish. They both enter a mirrored maze and deadly battle. Only one will exit. (Gary Reber)

Special features include commentary with Producer Paul Heller, an introduction with Lee's widow Linda Lee Cadwell (SD 2.:11) and a Movies Anywhere digital copy.

The 2.35:1 Extended Version (102:00) 2160p HEVC/H.265 4K Ultra HD HDR10 picture, reviewed on a VIZIO Quantum X P85QX-JI UHD/HDR display, was photographed on Eastman 35 mm film stock in anamorphic Panavision® using the Arriflex 35 IIC camera system and sourced from a 4K Digital Intermediate scanned from the original 35 mm camera negative. The picture is quite stunning at times considering its age. It has been cleaned up considerably with generally a very smooth grain structure. Color fidelity is excellent with vivid hues that are warm and rich, including earth tones. Primaries pop, especially reds and the white uniforms of Han's followers and Lee's navy blue jumpsuit. Hues also exhibit generally nuanced shadings, which enhance the realism of the locations and settings. Flesh tones are at times exaggerated with reddish-brown color. HDR Contrast is generally well balanced with deep black levels, revealing shadows and natural white levels. Resolution is quite good such as in the aerial photography and wide shots such as those of tournament fighters and other participants. Closeups of facial features are detailed such as skin pores, lines and hair. Clothing reveals textures. Object textures and structures are realistic though bit soft generally. Both the Theatrical and Extended versions are included separately. Overall, this is a very fine presentation and serves as the new home theatre reference. (Gary Reber)

The Dolby Atmos/Dolby TrueHD 7.1-channel was repurposed from the original optical monaural and previous Blu-ray 5.1 sound elements. Lalo Schifrin's percussive orchestral score is the highlight of the soundtrack. Fidelity is good for its age. The score occupies a wide and deep soundstage that aggressively extends to the surrounds for envelopment that is dynamic and exciting. The fight scenes are enhanced with crackling transients as the fighters hit each other with smacks. But there is a noticeable lack of deep bass throughout, and the LFE channel is definitely underutilized. Dialogue is intelligible and at times well integrated spatially.

The Immersive Sound element is comprised primariiy of the extension to the height layer of the orchestral score. There are a few aggressive sound effects such as jet airplane flyovers in an early scene, some accentual effects such as shattering glass, and the occasional nuanced grunts and screams, and fighting smacks, thumps and object destruction, as well as other minor atmospherics including crowd applause at the competition.

Included in the release is original monaural mix in DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0., sounds virtually identical to the lossless LPCM 1.0 monaural mix included on The Criterion Collection's Blu-ray, albeit split over two channels.

Overall, this is a well crafted repurposed holosonic® soundtrack that will thrill fans. (Gary Reber)