Game of Death

Rating:
Summary: 4 STARS TO BRUCE ONLY!
Review: ... They will forever be criticized for this movie. Game Of Death was unfinished and...they should of left it alone! Now they could have been smart and think into the future and tried to complete the movie with look-alikes, but with the original script and characters, brought in Lee's top students like Dan Inosanto and Ted Wong and so on for second hand knowledge of Bruce's style. Later in the future, like now! They could use CGI or Computer Animation to complete it. This is not far fetched because George Lucas thought of computer technology in the future when he filmed STAR WARS in 1977! Yes 1977, this movie came out in 1978. Well I don't think it's impossible, but now half the cast is old and two are dead so they would all be CGI if Film Makers could complete the Game Of Death.

Rating:
Summary: His Worst, but still decent...
Review: I dont have to complement anymore on how badly they did this movie which probably made Bruce turn over in his grave, but the fighting where Bruce was in the film is true magic. This film amazingly enough grossed out Enter the Dragon at the box office when released and set the record at the time for most extras in any film, haha. Yes the film was doubles galore with some being pathetically awful in every perspective (acting and looks). The story of Game of Death?...Bruce is an upcoming movie star named Billy Lo with a bright future and he has a gf whom is an upcoming singer. A mafia organization within the entertainment industry wants them to sign a contract to work for them,Billy and gf refuses,mafia threatens them,attempts to murder Billy,Billy fakes death and sets out for revenge. The leader of mafia happens to stay at the top of some pagoda tower with 3 floors, each floor being guarded by a great fighter. Bruce's intention with the film was a little different: Bruce plays a character named Hai Tien, a retired martial arts champion who is being harassed by some underground Korean mafia group to participate in "The Game of Death" where a contestant must accend a pagoda tower consisting of 5 floors with a fighter on each floor.The one who gets to the top gets some treasure.Hai refuses,his brother and sister gets kidnapped, he sets out for revenge and particiates in the "Game". Only the top 3 floors of fighting was shot before Bruce's death, but it was a masterpiece of filming. Robert Clouse changed the whole story and added a pretty decent musical score to it. There are two other fight scenes with the doubles in this film that are pretty decent, the one in the locker room with Bob Wall, and the bike scene. The main reason to own this movie is of course Bruce's signature fights with Dan Inosanto and Kareem. This is the only film where there is a nunchaku battle, and a great one at that. I feel sorry for those who are getting this horrible US Fox version of the film because the sound is pitiful. If you can play Region 2 PAL dvds, then the Hong Kong Legends platinum version of Game of Death is the masterpiece to own. This is the only dvd that has ANY of the surviving cut footage from the scenes that Bruce shot. Yes, the fighting scenes in Robert Clouse's Game of Death are cut, and if you want to see the entire scene the way Bruce intended, this is the only dvd that has it plus many other cut scenes. Plus everything on this dvd is remastered and unmatched. There are more than 4 hours of extras surrounding Game and this a 2-DVD Platinum set. Many have bought the dvd solely to see the cut footage. There is also a cut glasshouse fight scene with a Bruce double that is admittedly awesome. So do yourself a favor and get a regionless dvd player with PAL converter because this dvd is essential. The 5+ stars is for this dvd...I give the Fox version 2 stars, too watered down. All of Bruce's films are magnificent...Fist of Fury (not Fists, and it is Chinese Connection here), Big Boss (Fists of Fury here), Way of the Dragon (Return here), and Enter the Dragon...Had Bruce lived on to complete his script, it would have probably been his greatest film, the scenes he shot were mindblowing and just so far ahead of its time...he is a martial arts genious whose films and philosophy will live on forever...hope this and my other martial arts film reviews are helpful.

Rating:
Summary: Game of Death Is Best
Review: GAME OF DEATH is Bruce Lee's best film. The fight scenes are fast, furious, innovative and diverse. John Barry score is one of his best and a tribute to Bruce Lee.

Rating:
Summary: depends on your point of view
Review: Yes, the bulk of the film is awful. However, Lee's fight with Kareem Abdul-Jabaar is one of his signiture fights. The height disparity between the two combatants obviously was a challenge for Lee to choreograph around, and he does it superbly. I think it is worth seeing the fight as part of some slightly cohesive fillm rather than as a featurette or part of a documentary. The storyline portion of the film while not great at all does at least provide a decent buildup to the last fight scene.
I recommend it for those who know what the film is comprised of and just are interested in seeing the limited Bruce Lee footage anyway. But I would not recommend it for a casual fan of action films looking to pick something out for a Friday night. For that, pick up Enter the Dragon, Return of the Dragon, Fists of Fury (originally "The Big Boss") or Chinese Connection (confusingly titled "Fists of Fury" originally." All four are worht buying, five stars, no question. This movie is an accessory piece for those who are building a complete Lee library.

Rating:
Summary: Get The U.K. Version Of
Review: I Actually Liked This Film, But Admit That It Is Not As Good As The U.K. Version, Which Has 40 Minutes Of Unseen Footage, It`s a 2 Disc Platinum Edition And Is Superb...Disc 1, Has The 1978 Version Of The Film, Disc 2, Has All The Extra Footage And Is A Must Have For All Bruce Lee Fans....Look For The Dvd On [...the] U.K [site].

Rating:
Summary: Yes it stunk, but still should be in your collection.
Review: This movie has to be one of the worst Bruce Lee movies I have ever seen, but I knew that had to be oblivious since he died before the movie was finished. I decided to get it because I thought it could stand on its own, but in reality it can't stand on its own because its billed as "Bruce Lee's Final Movie" and he only appears in about 20 minutes of it and only 12 minutes was from his original project "Game of Death".

The original project was supposed to be about a group of seekers (led by Lee) that would raid some tower and seek out the greatest fighters of all time. Unfortunately, Lee decided to put the project on hold when he was contacted to do "Enter The Dragon" and then died before he could restart his "Game of Death" production. All was left was the ending that Lee shot.

So to capture on the legend of the late Bruce Lee, it was decided to complete a version of "Game of Death" with a new storyline and some doubles. It was so oblivious when the fakes were on the screen and having close-ups of the real Bruce Lee from his other movies made it look even faker. I could have live with the fake Lee sound effects and voice because many of Lee's movies were dubbed into English anyways, but knowing it isn't Lee makes me want to either laugh at the people billing this as a "Bruce Lee film".

The story is basically about Billy Lo (Bruce Lee and a few fakes), a actor, that fakes his death when some mobsters try to kill him for refusing to join them. Billy then spends most of the movie seeking revenge, and then confronts the mobster's henchmen and picks them off one by one. The "henchmen scenes" come from the original "Game of Death" concept with the real Bruce Lee.

It should still find a place in your Bruce Lee or Marital Arts movie collection for a few reasons:

1. Colleen Camp.

2. The fight scene with Bob Wall and the fake Bruce Lee in the locker room.

3. Using real footage from Bruce Lee's funeral as backdrop to "Billy Lo's" funeral. I think they even had a open casket shot of Bruce in the film. I think this is true because later when they show a scene with Hugh O'Brien destroying a clay head, the bangs were shorter than shown during the "funeral" footage, making me think they might have shown the real Bruce Lee's body in that quick shot. How tasteful of them.

4. The lame attempts to mask the fakes as the "real" Bruce Lee. The infamous scene with Hugh O'Brien, where they attach a cardboard photo of Bruce on the fakes head is too much. The sunglasses and the fact that the doubles looked like they were either smaller than Lee didn't help matters either.

5. The final showdown with the "karate masters". It was oblivious that some of these shots were trimmed or never finished, but they still show what Bruce Lee was all about. The fight with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was funny in a Sports Entertainment (Wrestling) kind of way.

6. Hugh O'Brien - karate master.

7. The final fake that passes more like Bruce than the rest of the fakes.

So I would get this film, but please don't expect much.

Rating:
Summary: WHAT'S THE NAME OF THE GAME?
Review: GOOD AND INVENTIVE STORY LINE, {ALTOUGH VARIENT FROM LEE'S ORIGINAL SCRIPT}. TALENTED NAME ACTORS PLAY THE PRINCIPAL ROLES, EXCELLENT MARTIAL ARTISTS APPEAR THROUGHOUT FILM {BOB WALL, DAN INOSANTO ETC.}. COLLEEN CAMP AS FEMALE LEAD IS HOT. GOOFY CAMERA CLOSEUPS OF BRUCE LEE FACIAL CUTOUTS THE ONLY NEGATIVE. STORYLINE OF BRUCE FALSELY PRESUMED DEAD BATTLING FOES MAKES FOR SUSPENSEFUL STORYLINE. GREAT BRUCE LEE FIGHT SCENES AT END. ENTERTAINING AND INTENSE. A BRUCE LEE MUST SEE.

Rating:
Summary: Real Bruce Lee Scences Make this Movie A Must Have
Review: Bruce Lee died not having finished this picture (he put it on hol dto make and promote Enter the Dragon). Robert Clouse directs in 1977 to complete the film, but the plot is completely changed. Silly camera tricks, Lee footage cut out and doubles used take a different approach than Lee in fight scenes.

The movie excells when Bruce is on screen. The fight between Lee and his personal friend Danny Inosanto is brillant. Of course it is cut by Close, but no matter, the presence of these two greats is outstanding. The fight with Kareem is fun and Lee's humor shines. The acting by Dean Jagger as the head villain is also a good performance.

While the camera tricks to show Bruce Lee's face on the doubles body is laughable, the film and concept are not that bad - it is the "rudeness" of changing the concept and "tricks" that are so offensive.

One last note,the musical score is surprisingly good.

Rating:
Summary: "Un-seen" footage
Review: I gave this movie 5 stars. The 5 stars go to the scenes that Bruce Lee was actually in. The rest of the movie was horrible and I rate the "non-Bruce" scenes with 1 star. Bruce Lee stopped filming, in order to make "Enter the Dragon". He had full intentions of completing Game of Death when he was done, but his death prevented that. Bruce was able to shoot over 70 minutes of footage for Game of Death. I believe it was 73 minutes, but they only put about 20 minutes of his footage in the film. I am awaiting the day that the Lee family will authorize the release of the additional "un-seen" footage.

Rating:
Summary: One of the Best movies ever...................
Review: The Game of Death one of Bruce lee's greatest movies but bruce was not in it that much anyway it still inspired me to buy Game of Death with great stars like Kareem Abdul Jabbar and Bruce Lee.
the end of game of death when bruce lee has to fight 7 great Martial Artist was the best part of the movie i rekon..........