Even though Bruce Lee directed Way of the Dragon, he was deeply dissatisfied with the movie. Released in 1972, Way of the Dragon was the actor’s third kung fu film. The iconic martial arts film is renowned for its legendary final showdown between Lee and Chuck Norris.
For Lee, Way of the Dragon was a project unlike any of the other three films that Lee completed as a martial arts actor. After starring in The Big Boss and Fist of Fury, Lee tried his hand at filmmaking and convinced Golden Harvest – the studio who made his first two kung fu movies – to greenlight Way of the Dragon, which saw him serve as the star, the director, and the writer. Filling all three roles gave Lee a level of creative control that he didn’t have with The Big Boss, Fist of Fury, or Warner Bros.’ Enter the Dragon. The decision to entrust Lee with this much responsibility proved to be a fruitful one, as it was a record-breaking box office success in Hong Kong and a hit in the United States.
Andre Morgan, who worked as a producer for Golden Harvest, revealed in an interview found on Way of the Dragon’s DVD extras that Lee actually didn’t like the film. This was expanded on in Bruce Lee: A Life by Matthew Polly, which explained that when looking back at the finished product, Lee reached the conclusion that its quality was lacking. Unfortunately, Way of the Dragon’s production values didn’t meet his expectations. In his opinion, the movie wouldn’t please Western audiences, who were accustomed to much better Hollywood films.
According to Morgan, Lee was so disappointed that there was a “big scream” when Lee found out that Golden Harvest founder Raymond Chow arranged for a Western release of Way of the Dragon. Lee’s reaction seemingly stemmed from his hopes for what Way of the Dragon would do for his career. What he wanted was to make a film that would leave a favorable impression on Hollywood so that he could finally star in an American movie. Based on Morgan and Polly’s comments, Lee didn’t believe Way of the Dragon was capable of impressing Hollywood. Polly wrote in his book that Lee’s frustrations resulted in him making Game of Death, which he felt would be a much deeper, philosophical martial arts movie and just a better film in general.
As it turns out, Lee never even needed Way of the Dragon or Game of Death to get a Hollywood role. Before Way of the Dragon could hit theaters in Hong Kong, Lee received an offer from Warner Bros. to star in its Enter the Dragon movie. His performance in his first kung fu film, The Big Boss, proved to be enough to earn the attention from Hollywood Bruce Lee had always wanted.