Soundtracks reached a height in the 1960s and ‘70s seldom attained nowadays. They were inventive, eclectic, jazz based and often funky—utterly unlike the drippy moodiness that usually passes for original scores in recent decades with those two-note piano passages signifying “pensive.”
One of the masters from the soundtrack’s golden age, Lalo Schifrin, composed the music for Bruce Lee’s 1973 film Enter the Dragon. The Extended Edition CD has been released with music from the movie never before issued on sound recordings. Given the setting and the subject, Schifrin looked to the East for inspiration on some passages, employing Chinese string and percussion instruments and East Asian modes. The music has epic sweep and many tense moments; one can almost visualize some scenes from hearing his score.
Schifrin enjoyed a prolific career, scoring for television shows with “Mission Impossible
