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BillyLo

User Group
Members
Join date
14-Nov-2016
Last activity
13-May-2023
Posts
8

Post History

Post
#1353546
Topic
Enter The Dragon - Theatrical Version Preservation (Released)
Time

Moiisty said:

hopefully this collection is the last of them releasing stuff for bruce lee so we can stick with this one to be definitive

But it’s another missed opportunity to get everything in there, e.g. extended cut of Way of the Dragon and the original cut of Game of Death. I don’t mind it being the last box set as long as we get an individual release of Game of Death in the future with all versions and hopefully more Big Boss footage shows up someday.

Post
#1352215
Topic
Enter The Dragon - Theatrical Version Preservation (Released)
Time

ThiefCobbler4ever said:

BillyLo said:

Good news! Now all we need is a theatrical preservation of Game of Death. The original Hong Kong version is only available on VHS.

On the contrary:

http://dvdcompare.net/comparisons/film.php?fid=17341#2

The so-called “Hong Kong version” available on DVD and Blu-ray is actually the Singapore/Malaysia version. It was illegal in those countries to show a vigilante in film unless they were punished by the law, so an alternative ending was shot showing Billy Lo get arrested in order to release it in those countries. In Hong Kong, a different version was shown with a happy ending showing Billy and his girlfriend leave on a boat. It also contained a sequence that was removed from other prints showing Billy Lo change into the yellow jumpsuit earlier on in the film to fight Ji Han Jae. I can confirm that this was the first version ever shown on cinemas and is therefore the original version of the film. I have a book from Hong Kong with a review of this version, as well as a copy of a Hong Kong VHS that was released there by Virgin Media. It contains this version, which is dubbed into Cantonese with English subtitles (because it was a British colony at the time and films often had English subs).
When Game of Death was finally released on DVD in Hong Kong, they used a print that was designed for audiences in Singapore and Malaysia. It was missing the sequence in the middle and the entire fight with Ji Han Jae. It also contained the arrest ending, not the original one showing Billy leave on the boat. It was then exported and incorrectly referred to as “the Hong Kong version” only because the universe dvd label is based in Hong Kong. Unfortunately many fans are not aware and even Shout Factory didn’t bother to do their research when they supplied a remastered print of the Singapore print and claimed it was the version shown in Hong Kong.
The real Hong Kong version matters because it is the original version of the film and it has yet to receive a release in its original aspect ratio.

Post
#1351042
Topic
Enter The Dragon - Theatrical Version Preservation (Released)
Time

SpacemanDoug said:

well it looks like a preservation isn’t necessary anymore
https://www.blu-ray.com/movies/Bruce-Lee-His-Greatest-Hits-Blu-ray/265461/

gonna include both the previous special edition and the original US cut with the original mono track restored

Good news! Now all we need is a theatrical preservation of Game of Death. The original Hong Kong version is only available on VHS.