Sale Pamono Enter the Dragon Movie Poster, Poland, 1981

Renowned Polish poster artist Jakub Erol focused on a stark monochrome portrait of Bruce Lee punctuated with a blood red slash for the first Polish release of the seminal 1973 martial arts film ‘Enter the Dragon’. Following the worldwide success of his first leading roles in the Hong Kong martial arts movies ‘Big Boss’, ‘Fist of Fury’ and ‘The Way of the Dragon’ through the early 1970s, Warner Bros. courted Lee to star in his first (and last) English language, Hollywood produced film, providing the vehicle that would cement him as a martial arts legend and cultural icon. ‘Enter the Dragon’ would turn out to be Lee’s final completed film appearance, premiering in Los Angeles in August 1973, only one month after Lee’s untimely death at the age of 32. One of the highest grossing films ever at that time, ‘Enter the Dragon’ grossed $100 million on its initial worldwide release, against a tight production budget of $850,000. Following multiple re-releases, ‘Enter the Dragon’ is estimated to have grossed over $400 million worldwide to date (equivalent to an estimated $2 billion adjusted for inflation as of 2022), making it the most successful martial arts film of all time. The worldwide success of the film contributed to a mainstream interest in martial arts and made a lasting impact on the action movie genre. Sascha Matuszak of Vice called it the most influential kung fu film and said it “is referenced in all manner of media, the plot line and characters continue to influence storytellers today and the impact was particularly felt in the revolutionizing way the film portrayed African-Americans, Asians and traditional martial arts.”