The Coliseum, Rome, Italy - Way of the Dragon (1972)
Posted by: 
manchanegra
N 41° 53.403 E 012° 29.560
33T E 291984 N 4640608
Way of the Dragon (also known as Return of the Dragon in the US) is a 1972 martial arts film.
The Coliseum was used as a scenario for the movie final fight between Tang (Bruce Lee) and Colt (Chuck Norris)
Waymark Code: WMBZ7P
Location: Lazio, Italy
Date Posted: 07/07/2011
Views: 82
Way of the Dragon (also known as Return of the Dragon in the US) is a 1972 martial arts film written, produced, directed by and starring Bruce Lee.
Tang Lung (Bruce Lee) is sent from Hong Kong to Rome to help his friend's niece Chen Ching Hua, and family friends, whose restaurant is being targeted by the local Mafia, which has been trying to force them to sign a contract handing over ownership of the restaurant to the Mafia boss. After their offers to purchase the restaurant are repeatedly turned down, the gangsters resort to intimidation. Tang fends off the local gangsters and wins Chen's admiration, who had initially looked down on him for his naïvety. Tang had earlier been reluctant in putting all his savings into a bank and had even unknowingly gone home with a prostitute while touring Rome with Chen; he had further frustrated her by not being able to understand the Italian and English languages. After the thugs are defeated the first time, Tang becomes friends with the other workers and teaches them Chinese boxing; they, in turn, combine them with their skills in Karate to help Tang fight off the gangsters.
The Mafia boss sends a gunman to kill Tang, but Tang defeats him by throwing wooden darts and fracturing his neck. The angry boss then takes a personal trip to the restaurant with his thugs to force Chen to sign the contract. Although they are armed with guns, Tang manages to defeat them after the boss forbids them to use the guns. Tang uses a wooden pole and a pair of Nunchakus during the fight. He warns the boss that he will take firm action against him if he continues to harass his friends. The boss later responds by warning Chen he will have Tang killed if he stays in Rome. However, Tang refuses to leave, even after being told of the mafia's intentions by Chen and Uncle Wang. The boss then sends a sniper (the gunman who now wears a neck brace) to kill Tang at Chen's apartment, but he fails again. Chen is kidnapped by the boss and compelled to sign the contract at his headquarters, but Tang and his friends appear and rescue her once more.
The Mafia boss hires foreign martial artists, two of whom have trouble communicating with each other, to challenge Tang Lung. Tang defeats them with help from his friends in the countryside near the Colosseum. However, when two of his friends (the only fighters on both sides still conscious) sit down for a rest, Uncle Wang kills them both, revealing that he would receive a large sum of money if he persuaded Miss Chen to sell the restaurant. Meanwhile, Tang has a final showdown inside the Colosseum with the Karate fighter Colt (Chuck Norris), the best of the hired fighters, and the only one able to fully communicate with him despite the language barrier. Colt is winning at first and is beating Tang up badly, but Tang eventually gets the upper hand since he is faster and more fluid and tires Colt out with his quick attacks. Tang wins the fight, but Colt wounded as he may be will not go down until he is dead, and, because it is a battle to the death (and after he's reminded of this), he reluctantly kills Colt by snapping his neck. He covers the body with Colt's white Gi to show his respect and admiration after the fight. As he is still overwhelmed with guilt, he hears the mafia boss's assistant. Tang angrily chases him down to the countryside only to find everyone there (other than himself, Wang, and the assistant) has been killed (Wang stabbing the others as they lay unconscious). There, the assistant tries to stall Tang while Wang is going to stab and kill him with a knife from behind. The mafia boss arrives and shoots his assistant and Wang in the heart, but he fails to shoot Tang as he takes cover behind the tree. The police arrive just in time to arrest the mafia boss. The final scene takes place in the graveyard, where Tang and Chen pay respects to the fallen. Tang bids farewell to Chen and leaves Rome alone as the credits begin to roll.
From Wikipedia
Movie or TV Show: Way of the Dragon
Year Released or First Aired: 1,972.00
IMDB Link: [Web Link]
|
Visit Instructions:New logs for waymarks must include a photo of the location. The photo should try and match, to the extent possible, the original present-day photo posted for the waymark.