Game of Death (2 Disc Ultimate Edition) [DVD]

Way back in 1978 Game of Death was released some 6 years after the death of Bruce Lee and was eagerly anticipated by legions of fans awaiting to see the last available and much publicised footage of their hero in action. Unfortunately that film was an extremely dire attempt to cash in on the still massive appeal of its star. Featuring only a small amount of the footage that had been shot by Lee the movie followed the exploits of a movie star by the name of Billy Lo (Lee) in his attempts to rescue his kidnapped girlfriend. This movie was so bad that not only did it disregard Lee's original vision (more of which later) but it featured a stream of not-so-look-alikes in various fight scenes that would have made the Little Dragon blush.
Fortunately this DVD collection redresses all that is bad about the movie and delights in and celebrates all that is good. Firstly, all the missing footage has now been restored including the (in the UK at least) missing Nuchaku duel with Dan Inasanto. Also included is an excellent commentary from HK movie expert Bey Logan which points out all the flaws in the movie and even gives information on each of the lookalikes, this serves to make you almost forgive the travesty your watching by making it entertaining.
The most important extra in this collection however is the 'Game of Death Revisited' feature which is quite simply brilliant as it contains all the original footage recut and edited to follow the story as originally envisaged by Bruce Lee himself, which presents the story of a martial artist's search for enlightenment, gone is the mediocre storyline of the 1978 'original'.
Other extra features on the discs are very impressive with a trailer gallery, interviews, out-takes and even a Seminar on Jeet Kune Do (Bruce Lee's own 'non' style) by top Bruce Lee student Dan Inasanto.
As if all of this wasn't enough the picture and sound quality throughout are excellent and you could be forgiven for thinking you were watching a new film, the picture is that good.
So in conclusion, Hong Kong Legends have taken what was once considered by many to be a blatant cash in on a genuine hero and have turned it into a fitting tribute to a legend.

It was a great shame that the legendary Bruce Lee didn't complete Game of Death,on his version.I've seen footage that had been planned,and it looked really good.The original story was his character had been approached by a crime syndicate,to fight their way to the top of a famous tower,where a great treasure was there.He refuses,so the bad guys kidnap his sister,and her young son to force him to co-operate.Sadly,that story never materialised.In this version,he plays a famous martial arts movie star,being hounded by the Mob.Faking his own death,he goes after them with full fury.Personally,I'd recommend the platinum double disc edition.Even so,with Bruce doing the fight scenes,they are awesome.He's still a big miss today.

After having seen the deleted scenes, the cuts and the bonus material on this incredible 2-disc edition of Game of Death, one question arises: Why did all this breathtaking film of Bruce in action remain in the archives for so long and why weren't they included in the 1978 cinema version?

This DVD is truly amazing. HongKong Legends have 'again' provided a film with a marvelous picture quality, fantastic sound and put all its scraps and pieces of once censored scenes together into an absolute delight of a DVD. Although the 1978 version of the film on the first disc might be looked upon as a 'patchwork' of old footage, a lot of the action staged by Bruce's stand-in is of high quality, and a fight in a change room where Bruce delivers a series of high kicks at rapid speed at a fighter's head is brilliant. The nunchaku duel with Dan Inosanto is reinstated and is truly exciting, above all since this is where the 'real' Bruce enters the film.

However, the fantastic extras on the second disc of this DVD definitely do compensate for the possible weaknesses of the 1978 film: film material from Bruce's 'original' concept - a Tower of Death - is presented, revealing two other fighters helping Bruce to fight the adversaries on each floor of this tower. Just seeing the footage kindles the imagination about how the rest of the film would have looked like if Bruce had lived. Actually, this DVD offers a 40-minute 'reinvestigation' into how the ending of Bruce's film concept could have been, using the existing film material the way it was originally intended. One more thing, I think John Barry's music score for this film is lovely - romantic, tragic and exciting at the same time.

To sum up, any Bruce fan will embrace this DVD-specialty with utmost love and care. I do believe that Hong Kong Legends are beginning to assemble an ever-increasing number of faithful buyers.

Buy this, you will definitely not be disappointed!