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Some questions concerning Bruce Lee's movies (aficionados needed!)

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While I'm sure people have asked these questions before, a rudimentary search turned up nothing. I've just recently gotten into the old school martial arts movies (up until now, my experience had been limited to Power Rangers and the Matrix), and it seems people are always ranting and raving about how Bruce is the best martial artist ever put to film (some say the best of all time, which I doubt). Anyway, so I looked up some information about the films he's done, and was surprised to see he was only ever acted for five martial arts films before his tragic demise. I figured that if he was such a superstar after only five films, he must have been really good, so I figured I'd pick up the DVDs. The five films I've turned up are:

The Big Boss (1971)
Fist of Fury (1972)
The Way of the Dragon (1972)
Enter the Dragon (1973)
Game of Death (1978)
Bruce Lee: A Warrior's Journey (2000)

I threw that last one in there so I can see the rest of GoD's footage. However, there seem to have been a lot of films after these five that spliced in footage of him. I was going to pass these by (figuring I'd just see the same scenes over and over), until I read that Game of Death II (1981) actually had new footage of Bruce (filmed for Enter the Dragon, of course, but the footage itself had been cut and not shown before). My questions (yes, I'm finally going to ask them):

1.) Do any of these "Bruceploitation" films (including GoD2) have previously unseen footage spliced in (even though the footage would obviously be shot for something else)? If so, which ones?

2.) Are there any earlier martial arts films that Lee has a fighting role in? While I know the knee-jerk response is "go check IMDb," the plot of Lee's movies prior to The Big Boss (or even the size of his roles in said movies) are very poorly explained there.

3.) Which Region 1 DVDs of his movies have the fewest cuts/censorings and the most special features? The "DVD Details" pages are pretty sparse on useful information. Just judging from what I can find on Amazon, I was thinking of these two items:

Bruce Lee Ultimate Collection
Enter the Dragon: Two-Disc Special Edition

The first item has four of the five above-mentioned movies plus GoD2. The second has the remaining film plus A Warrior's Journey. If the reviews are correct, you can watch them in their original languages, as well (BONUS QUESTION: What are their original languages? Weren't the first three in Mandarin and the rest in English?). I don't know how they fared in the censorship department, though.

Well, I think that about covers all my curiosities. Thanks in advance!
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For DVD details you might want to check out dvdcompare.net. The comparisons normally tell you best quality transfer, details of DVD extras and if any cuts have been made.

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Your best bet is to start off watching "Bruce Lee: A Warrior's Journey (2000)".

This film tells about, and shows clips of his early work. There was a T.V. show called "Longstreet" from 1969 that has lots of Bruce in it. clips from that episode are included in "Bruce Lee: A Warrior's Journey (2000)".

NOTE: The S.E. 2 DVD SET of "Enter The Dragon" has "Bruce Lee: A Warrior's Journey (2000)" as a bonus!
Get this 2 DVD edition!
http://images-cache.cd-wow.com/images/2/1086086502_big.jpg
* Commentary by producer Paul Heller
* Blood and Steel: The Making of Enter the Dragon
* Bruce Lee: In His Own Words
* Linda Lee Cadwell Interview Gallery
* Lair of the Dragon: Includes 1973 featurette and Backyard Workout with Bruce Lee
* Bruce Lee: A Warrior’s Journey
* Curse of the Dragon
* Theatrical trailers
* Television spots

I think that Bruce Lee was the best Kung-Fu presence in films. He had that balance of fighting style, and pure "Cool" on camera.

I think that "Game of Death" should be saved as your last viewing. "Bruce Lee: A Warrior's Journey (2000)" is the best way to see the footage that Bruce had shot for that unfinished project.

Look out for two "Game of Death" related "Bruceploitation" films called "G.O.D. Storyline" and "Bruce Lee in G.O.D." These titles make the films sound the same, but they are not. The first title uses a new actor to play Bruce's character Billy Lo, and along with narration gives a visual walk through of the known (but unused) plot that Bruce had intended for his "Game of Death" project. They also use the original Bruce Lee directed pagoda footage (with alternate music) that is shown in "Bruce Lee: A Warrior's Journey (2000)".

The film "Bruce Lee in G.O.D." is more of a "Making of" story. It has actors playing Bruce Lee, Ramond Chow (The Producer of the Lee films), Linda Lee, and other important people who made "Game of Death" back in the early 70's. It tells the story of Bruce filming the movie, and has some footage from the Lee directed "Game of Death" spliced in too.

"Game of Death II (1981)" does not include much at all! If you have the S.E. DVD of "Enter the Dragon", then you have seen the footage that was spliced into "Game of Death II (1981)". The footage that was spliced into this film are the scenes originally cut from American prints, and one scene that was not in the original international release. All that deleted footage was restored on the S.E. DVD.

"Game of Death II (1981)" is worth watching, and is better then part 1. But don't expect to get blown away by any Bruce footage. The commentary track on the import "Game of Death II (1981)" DVD is very good, and worth seeking out!

WARNING! "Goodbye Bruce Lee: His Last Game of Death" is the worst "Bruceploitation" DVD I have seen. It looks like it was shot on Super 8 film, and is a "lower end" Bruce Li project.

The best looking collected set of Bruce Lee films (I have seen) is the 6 DVD 30th Anniversary Commemorative Edition set from Hong Kong legends. This set is Region 2. This set does not include "Enter The Dragon" due to it being owned by Warner Bros.
http://ec1.images-amazon.com/images/I/41TCB262A6L._AA240_.jpg

Also look for the documentaries "The Legend" and "The Man and the Legend" these two documentaries have great footage and info, and are a must for a fan. They are on the same DVD as a two-fer if you get the Region 2 disc.

Hope this helps you..

“First feel fear, then get angry. Then go with your life into the fight.” - Bill Mollison

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Whoa! Thanks a lot, dude! I don't feel like buying a multi-region DVD player (not that I could afford one to begin with), so I guess I'll stick with my choices in the first post. Even though there's nothing new (well, not anymore, at least) in GoD2, it comes with the box set, so I might as well give it a view.

Originally posted by: FanFiltration
"Game of Death II (1981)" does not include much at all! If you have the S.E. DVD of "Enter the Dragon", then you have seen the footage that was spliced into "Game of Death II (1981)". The footage that was spliced into this film are the scenes originally cut from American prints, and one scene that was not in the original international release. All that deleted footage was restored on the S.E. DVD.


Oh, I see. Were there any others that featured then-unseen footage (no matter how minor), or was GoD2 the only one (before that scene was added back to EtD)?
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just fyi, region hackable dvd players are dirt cheap. the Cyberhome brand that has been sold at most major retailers (has been found anywhere from $50 to as cheap as $30) is well known for being easily hacked. Not only that, the cyberhomes do PAL to NTSC conversion very well. I've had one that i got for about $40 for 3 years & it works great! You might not even have to buy a new player. MANY (i'd almost say most) dvd players are region hackable. just google "dvd region hacks" & you'll find plenty of websites where you can look up your specific model number & see if there's a hack, & how well it handles multiple regions & PAL conversion.

Oh, just in case you're wondering, the "hack" is usually nothing more than a special code that you punch in with the remote (mine was just four digits followed by the "enter" button). this will bring up a menu where you have the option of choosing which region. to play all regions simply select region "0". That's not always how it works, but that seems to be the most common way of hacking players.
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Originally posted by: Johnboy3434

Oh, I see. Were there any others that featured then-unseen footage (no matter how minor), or was GoD2 the only one (before that scene was added back to EtD)?


"Game of Death" 1 & 2 are the only ones I have seen.

But hold on a second. There is a film called "Fist of Unicorn"!

Bruce Lee was helping a long time friend make his first film by helping work out some fight scenes. Well the producers of that movie (unknown to Bruce) filmed his training sessions with the stunt actors, then spliced that footage into the finished film. Bruce was so mad about this under handed trick, that he never spoke to that old friend again.


Click to see Bruce Lee footage from "Fist of the unicorn"

“First feel fear, then get angry. Then go with your life into the fight.” - Bill Mollison

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Originally posted by: FanFiltration
But hold on a second. There is a film called "Fist of Unicorn"!


But... unicorns have hooves, don't they? Wait a minute, "fist of unicorn?" Isn't that a Chinese delicacy?
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to me it is utter blasphemy hollywood is remaking enter the dragon.

the only one who should have been allowed to do a remake was his son brandon lee. since he is dead leave the material alone.

Game of death should have never been released with a different actor than bruce and crappy edit job and story changed from his concept. hollywood just cashed in on bruce's death. i don't even consider it a bruce lee movie at all, it is so bad as to be in the vein of a bruce li film.

they should recut to follow bruce lees intent or make sure it never was released.

the film documentary warriors journey gives a taste as to what the real game of death movie could have been.

the piss poor treatment and dvd releases in america are also suspect. none of his films got a decent release until the remastered edition of enter the dragon. a lot of the releases are inferior to the chinese releases of the films the subtitles are inaccurate and even the picture quality is less. some releases have even been cut or only have the english dub track and dubtitles.

yes the hong kong legends set is the best and i want to get it. quite expensive i might add.

“Always loved Vader’s wordless self sacrifice. Another shitty, clueless, revision like Greedo and young Anakin’s ghost. What a fucking shame.” -Simon Pegg.

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I've also picked up the movie "Fist of Unicorn." Bruce Lee makes an appearance in it, but not how you would imagine it. He was the fight choreographer for the film (which starred a close friend of his named Unicorn Chan, who also died before Game of Death was released, as it turned out). There were onset cameras around the shooting location that captured some everyday conversations and sparring practice between Bruce and Unicorn, ostensibly as part of a documentary. Well, producers being producers (and Unicorn aiding them, the backstabbing bastard), the celluloid with Bruce Lee was considered too valuable, especially since the movie itself sucked in general. So, to add some impromptu star power to the otherwise dud of a movie, they edited the onset footage of Bruce into the film, dubbing plot-related lines over his conversations with Unicorn. Lee broke off all ties to Unicorn after the incident, and never spoke to him for the rest of his life. Sadly, that turned out to be less than three months. Apparently his family didn't know of the incident, as Unicorn still appeared as a pallbearer at the master's funeral.

I just recently ordered a copy of "Fist of Fear, Touch of Death." While the movie is considered blasphemy by many avid fans and is at least considered disrespectful by everyone else, I picked it up to take a gander at a falsified "interview" with Lee. After reading a few reviews on the 'Net, I was under the impression that they took real interview footage from earlier in Lee's career and dubbed a fictional "sub-plot" (if you could say the film had a plot to begin with) over his original words. I was going to consider this "new" footage on the technicality that, while it would have been seen beforehand, it was a genuine interview when shot, and only the dubbing in this travesty made it part of a fictional construct. Convoluted, I know, but that's how my brain works. Unfortunately, all my logical acrobatics may be wasted, anyway. After reading a few more reviews, it seems the master's footage was simply taken from the already-fictional TV movie "Longstreet" (tHe MaStEr WoUlD nOt ApPrOvE ), which means I may have wasted five good dollars.
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Originally posted by: skyjedi2005
yes the hong kong legends set is the best and i want to get it. quite expensive i might add.
Hong Kong Legends' releases are excellent. I have a few of their Jackie Chan DVDs which I'm very pleased with.

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Go to asiandvdguide.com; they will easily be the most helpful.

“What Orwell feared were those who would ban books. What Huxley feared was that there would be no reason to ban a book, for there would be no one who wanted to read one.”

Neil Postman, Amusing Ourselves to Death