Friday, January 31, 2014

Men of the Dragon - Jared Martin (1974) - Palm Villa, Tai Tam

It wasn't just the various plot lines and characters that were pinched from Enter the Dragon, there is also a moment in Men of the Dragon when Martin and Ito go and see there wise master at his serene retreat in the countryside. The following will be more obvious to ETD fans but the fact is that the location used was none other than Palm Villa - the same place that doubled as Han's training grounds in Enter the Dragon.

Appalling quality screen grabs aside, you can see the upper garden with the tree and its doorway that Bruce Lee walks out of at the end of Enter the Dragon (the bit when he gives the thumbs up sign to John Saxon). Look carefully and I would venture that the gold lion statue by the door is the same one seen in Enter (and coincidentally, it is standing in the very same place.

It's quite possible some of the props were left lying around after the completion of Enter the Dragon in 1973, and it's not too far beyond the realms of possibility that the Men of the Dragon guys filmed there not long after...anyway, I'll let you be the judge.


 Anyone who has read and understood my previous ramblings on this location (I do mumble quite frequently, so it's understandable if you didn't) will know that this tree (seen above) is the same tree that Lee magically leaps up into when he is about to be discovered by Han's guards on one of his night time recces in Enter, but that was pretty much all we saw of the place in that film. However, the arched stone doorway was seen quite a bit because it fronted the main fighting area. Here is a reminder where you can also see the gold dragon and all the black suits piling through the gap.


Sadly. that's all we get to see of the place in Men of the Dragon which is a big shame when you consider how iconic it has turned out to be.

7 comments:

Alex said...

hey im looking for the scene where bruce lees sister in the film is chased, do you know the location of it? there is a modern building there now but not sure what the area is it pops up in this clip at 1:28 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=48YoZ3x8liI thanks

Phil said...

The building you mention is Kingsford Terrace, built on the old Golden Harvest studio site.

Alex said...

thanks so much! would you add it to the enter the dragon sequence its the flash back scene in the film when she runs away from the thugs! Thanks again Phil!

Phil said...

No problem. I used to have a post on another blog about that scene but I guess it got lost in the move. If I get the chance to later in the summer I will wander over and grab some pictures of the place. Cheers, Phil

AP said...

The fim was shown on TV on the 20th of March 1974 so maybe shot 3-6 months before. Did they jump on a plane straight after seeing 'Enter The Dragon' Would love to know the back story to this film.

Pip the Troll said...

I guess EtD was finished by April 73, and perhaps most scenes for the tournament even earlier...March?...so it wouldn't surprise me if they were filming in the summer of 73. I'll have to watch again but I can't remember what the weather was like on the film, that may give another clue.

Pip the Troll said...

...although judging by my screen caps, the weather looks cooler, so you could be right - maybe autumn of '73.

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