Lo Wei had become a major director in martial arts films when he arrived in Thailand to take over the director’s chair for The Big Boss starring Bruce Lee. Lo Wei launched Golden Harvest’s latest superstar. The studio put them back together for Fist of Fury which was also a massive hit. Lo Wei thought they’d be working together again. Bruce Lee decided to direct himself for his third film: Way of the Dragon. Later while Bruce was making his American break through Enter The Dragon; Lo Wei returned to Thailand to make a film with Jimmy Wang Yu (One Armed Boxer & Master of the Flying Guillotine), one of Golden Harvest’s original stars. The Tattooed Dragon is about a farming town that needs to be saved.
A group of thugs are hanging out in the ruins of a temple and counting their loot when a stranger (Jimmy Wang Yu) comes across them. The Stranger snags the money since it was for a charity and proceeds to battle all the goons at once. When one goon rips the back of the Stranger’s shirt, it reveals a tattoo of a Dragon. He is a legend in the area. The Stranger escapes with the cash and finds refuge at a martial arts school. However the goons are on his trail and we get a second massive fight in the opening reel. The Stranger escapes, but is badly hurt. Koon-kit (Mad Mission‘s Samuel Hui) is a duck farmer who also Thai boxes on the side. He’s doing his best to be able to marry his girlfriend (The Flying Tiger‘s Sylvia Chang). But this is an impoverished community so he’s got a while before he can afford a wife. Things get complicated for Koon-kit when his dog discovers the barely conscious Stranger. He recognizes the legendary Dragon tattoo on the Stranger’s back and helps him recover. Turns out the goons are working for a powerful businessman (The Big Boss & Fist of Fury‘s James Tien) with a plan for Koon-kit and the other’s farmers. Turns out they are sitting on land with valuable minerals. In order to trick them out of their deeds, he has his goons set up a casino with an easy way to get gambling cash. Can the Stranger have a third fight in him to stop the farmers from being victims?
The Tattooed Dragon has the same vibe as a Spaghetti Western with Jimmy Wang Yu’s stranger character who comes to town. What’s intriguing is how this doesn’t seem to be Lo Wei making a Bruce Lee film with another actor filling in for Bruce. The Tattooed Dragon is not the Dragon. He takes a lot of hard hits in his fights so that he’s limping away from fights in the opening act. I can’t imagine Bruce lying unconscious by the banks of a river while two other characters talk about what to do with him. This is not Bruce Lee’s brand of Dragon action. While Jimmy Wang Yu plays the hero, Samuel Hui gets a lot of screentime to shine. Lo Wei creates an easy to follow story that lets us focus on action including a bit of Thai kickboxing. There’s not a lot of hidden intrigue beneath the flying fists. That’s not to say this movie is emotionally superficial. Lo Wei unleashes an extreme heartbreaking moment when a wife loses it when the farmer runs off to risk everything at the casino. It’s more painful than any of the fight scenes. Lo Wei reminds people that gambling tables won’t make everyone that puts their money down rich. There’s a noble reason why Jimmy Wang Yu wants to shut down the operation. The Tattooed Dragon is an exciting crowd pleaser.
The Video is 2.35:1 anamorphic. The transfer looks great. You can see all the goons surrounding Jimmy Wang Yu. The Audio is Mandarin LPCM 2.0 mono. There is also an English dub in LPCM 2.0 mono. Both sound good and were created in post production. You’ll hear Jimmy Wang Yu dishing out the chops. The movie is subtitled in English.
Audio Commentary by Frank Djeng & Michael Worth has the duo giving a lot of background on the film and Lo Wei. Frank brings up that Samuel Hui was an extremely popular TV comic in Hong Kong at the time. The audiences didn’t react well to him appearing on screen since Golden Harvest had his voice dubbed.
Audio Commentary by Mike Leeder & Arne Venema has them singing the Golden Harvest theme. They talk about the other films that shot in the area of Thailand. They talk about the texture of the film. There is a discussion of the beer drank in the film and the heat of Thailand. Jimmy Wang Yu’s fighting style gets broken down.
Wei And The Dragon (16:12) has Wayne Wong talk of Lo Wei as an under appreciated director. He gets into the trademark of his films. We hear about Lo Wei’s relationships with Bruce Lee and Jimmy Wang Yu. There are clips from the upcoming three films in Eureka’s Martial Law: Lo Wei’s Wuxia World due in August.
Alternate Opening Credits (2:54) is the English text.
Original Trailer and US Release Trailer (1:12) opens with the action.
Limited Edition Illustrated Booklet with an essay by James Oliver on Golden Harvest.
Eureka! Entertainment presents The Tattooed Dragon: Limited Edition. Directed by Lo Wei. Screenplay by Lo Wei. Starring Jimmy Wang Yu, Samuel Hui, Sylvia Chang, James Tien, Chun Erh, Simon Hsu & Kun Li. Running Time: 99 minutes. Rating: Unrated. Release Date: July 22, 2025.
