Customer Reviews

Bruce Lee - A Warrior's Journey

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3 star:		(1)
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1 star:		(1)

 

 

The hacked version of Game Of Death is, in my opinion one of the worst movie I've ever seen. It's poorly edited, the acting is awful and on top of that it's insulting. It's insulting to Bruce Lee, his family, Martial Arts films, and films in general. Bruce Lee had died and never got the chance to finish the film. That didn't stop a bunch of studio executives to re-write the script, get a double to fill in for Lee and even use footage from Bruce's older films. The result is a mess of a film that should have never been made. The actual footage of Bruce Lee that appears in the film is only about eleven minutes worth. When in fact there was over one hundred minutes of footage Bruce had shot. Most of which is outtakes and re-takes.

Bruce Lee: A Warriors Journey focuses on Bruce's rise to fame in both the Martial Arts world and the film world. It explores his struggles against prejudice in Hollywood. On top of all that Bruce's original vision for The Game of Death is revealed. His original script is uncovered. Completely different from the released version. This was going to be the film that finally focused on Bruce's personal philosophy.

The real gem of this documentary comes at the end. For the first time. The full thirty minutes of Bruce's lost footage for the Game of Death is revealed and let me tell you it's glorious to behold. These thiry minutes featuring some of the greatest martial arts I've ever seen on film. If there ever was any reason to think that Bruce Lee was the master it's proven in this footage. Had he lived to finish the film it could of possibly been his masterpiece.

Skip the released version and watch this documentary instead.

Bruce Lee - A Warrior's Journey is just fantastic. Here's a quick rundown of what is on this DVD:

The first half of the film explores Bruce Lee's background and evolution in martial arts, from his beginnings in traditional kung fu to the development of Jeet Kune Do. Included in this half of the film is some never before seen footage of Bruce Lee in training and in demonstrations, excerpts of an interview with the master, along with some interviews with some of the important people in his life. Along with this is a brief chronicling of his journey into superstardom, culminating in an explanation of how Bruce Lee intended Game of Death to be seen through the reviews of Bruce Lee's very own notes on the film. From his notes, the lost footage of Game of Death was skillfully put together for the conclusion of this DVD.

The second half of this film, the conclusion, is where the never before seen footage of Bruce Lee's Game of Death is shown. Needless to say, the master's original vision of this film was fantastic, and had he completed this movie, it definitely would've been his best. And although Hong Kong martial arts films today have evolved so much since the time Bruce Lee came on the scene, the fight scenes choreagraphed and filmed by Bruce Lee still stand up as being some of the best fight sequences ever filmed.

Also, for those of you who are film buffs, you'll be delighted to know that although the majority of the dvd is shown in full screen, the original Game of Death footage on this DVD has been presented in the original widescreen format. So although the disc jacket says this film is in full screen, only the documentary portion is. The Game of Death footage, which I bought the DVD for (and what I know most of you will be buying this dvd for), is preserved and shown the way it was meant to be seen.

So what are you waiting for? All you Bruce Lee fans, get this DVD!!! And all of you martial arts fans, buy this DVD!!! You won't be disappointed!!! Long live the master! Long live the Dragon! Long live Bruce Lee!

(On a final note, thanks must be given to all those who made this dvd possible. Being a big fan of Bruce Lee, finally seeing some new footage of him was just incredible, and very special. Thank you John Little, for putting this treasure of a film together for all of us Bruce Lee fans. You are the man!)

This half documentary, half film experience is a Masterpiece!

For any Bruce Lee movie fans, collectors, or simply people who are interested in the personal character or philosophical aspects of this individual, this title is a must see.

The 30 minute film is a reconstruction of the lost footage that Bruce shot for Game of Death. Coupled with the original dialogue that was located prior to finding the footage, one can glean how Bruce intended Game of Death to be a philosophical Martial Arts film.

The footage does contain what has been previously released back in 1978 by Paragon Films' version of Game of Death. But the extra 20 odd minutes & the inclusion of the dialogue that Bruce had for the footage this time was worth every cent I paid!

The documentary was also quite good, his personal journey to superstardom was not without tremendous personal hardwork, endurance, determination and dedication. One can learn that Bruce did earn his status not through natural talent but more importantly, pure hardwork. He is indeed one in two billion in that respect.

Bruce's very last film is worth seeing (especially the philosophical aspects that were contained in that footage), and his personal journey could be an inspiration for us all.

It has been a longtime waiting for the release of this unseen footage from Bruce lee's last movie (Game of Death) . 30 years to be exact . The birth of this project dated back in 1972 before Bruce was commited to make "Enter the Dragon ". And this footage was shelved until the film was completed . Then , sadly , Lee died before he could complete "Game of Death" . Then in 1978 , Warner Brothers released "Game of Death" using only 15 minutes of actual Bruce Lee footage . And the story line was no where close to the original story line Bruce intended to use . Making this movie a waste of time and energy . And now in 2002 , we finally get to see the real deal . The actual footage . Although the movie was not complete , we finally get to see Bruce's fight scenes that were filmed . The only problem i had with this DVD release was the "Special Features " were no where to be found . In Europe and other countries ,they had the features included . So why doesn't the USA version have it ? What's the deal ?

While this is a wonderful documentary of Bruce Lee's life and career, it is the restoration of "The Game of Death," that is astounding.

Out of curiousity, I went back to look at the DVD packaging. In small type at the bottom of the box it mentions, "Footage from his unfinished classic, The Game of Death."

Talk about under-promising and over-delivering! This should have been rereleased with the title, "THE GAME OF DEATH," because it transforms the worst movie I've ever seen (the original studio release of Game of Death) into perhaps the greatest.

If you didn't know, there's a scene in the butchered studio version where the studio actually superimposed a photo cut-out of Bruce Lee over the face of a stand-in. It's really more ludicrous than the sci fi movies where you can see the strings holding up the flying saucers.

Well, the restoration has none of the crap inserted by studio. Maybe in a few years when the computer technology gets even cheaper and easier to use, the same filmmaker will attempt an even more ambitious restoration, filling in the last remaining gaps with convincing computer-generated recreations.

John Little, one of the most dedicated and prolific Bruce Lee historians has made good by restoring the original Game of Death footage for all of us to see. Little does not try to create a movie out of existing footage, but instead, tells the story of Bruce's martial philosophy as well as his script and ideas for "Game of Death."

The last 40 minutes is peer uninterrupted Bruce. How I wish this footage had been kept in the 1978 release. There are tons of material here and one sees more of Bruce's wit and of course, his vision in the fight scenes.

Little keeps the fight scenes with the non-Bruce Lee fights as well. This makes the film more enjoyable as the viewer gets a deep sense at what Bruce Lee was after.

While the first half is standard Biography fare, the last 40 minutes is pure outstanding martial arts mania. A must for every Bruce Lee fan!

If you're a Bruce Lee fan, even in the very least, do not pass up this DVD! Forget about the Game of Death that you saw previously that used only about 10 minutes of the real Bruce Lee footage and incorporated incompetent stand-ins and an unconvincing merging storyline. I have always heard about and seen some of the missing scenes, but never seen it brought together as John Little has done in this DVD.

His dilligent research and careful application of putting the footage together from Bruce's own notes and illustrations is obvious and well appreciated, unlike the ones who hap-hazardly put together their own version of Bruce's movie over 20 years ago. They obviously lacked the kind of clear, crisp vision that Bruce had in the way he envisioned martial arts to be, as a true artform. Not just people beating the heck out of each other (especially in action movies today), but to have a purpose or reason for violence and learning to adapt within one's own self to the outside environment to overcome challenges, as Bruce does on each level of the pagoda.

As I have learned recently, asian movies were usually shot without a soundtrack to make it easier for international showings that had to be dubbed in various languages anyways. Therefore, Bruce's war-cries are from his previous movies but add excitement nevertheless. And yes, you will hear Kareem's voice too! And other good stuff you don't want to miss.

Bruce's humour and "serious play" attitude, as in "Way of the Dragon", is as vibrant as ever in various restored scenes of The Game of Death. You can just imagine how much fun Bruce and his friends had in making the movie in getting to "express themselves freely" as Bruce always encouraged. Also, the work done by Dan Inosanto, Ji Han Jae, and of course Kareem are finally in its entirety. This restored vision of The Game of Death alone is worth getting the DVD.

The Biography segment contains more of Bruce's philosophy and footage from his screen test, movie and TV appearances that you might not have seen before. This even includes audio clips as well as some home movie footage. Brand new interviews with Bruce's family and friends are also among its features.

I would have liked to give 5 stars for this DVD but just one warning. The DVD advertises a music video and a feature-length audio commentary by Little (it does not specify whether this a narration throughout the biography or a separate track for T.G.O.D. portion). Both of these are as elusive as Bruce's bamboo whip. If anyone knows what and where these features are, please let us know. That aside however, this is a MUST for your DVD library. If you don't get it, "...you'll be in deep trouble".

This program is included as an extra on Enter the Dragon (Two-Disc Special Edition).

But what makes this documentary different is that the second part of it brings us close to seeing what the movie Game of Death would have been like had Bruce lived to complete it.

When I first saw the movie Game of Death I was sorely disappointed to discover that Bruce was only a small portion of the actual film. For the rest of the movie the main character was played by a double or scenes were stolen from previous Bruce Lee movie footage and outtakes. In one scene Bruce Lees face pasted over that of his doubles while in front of a mirror. They even took footage from Bruces actual funeral to use in the film. It was horrible, and made me sick to see. I just assumed that maybe Bruce had only shot ten minutes of usable footage and that they released it only to get a last movie out there with Bruce lee's name on it to make money off of it.

It turns out thats only partially true. The part about making money off of Bruce Lee's name is true enough, but it turns out there was actually over an hour and a half of footage from Game of Death that is very usable, and more than that essential to the Bruce Lee fan. This lost footage is shown in this documentary for the first time, and in order as though we where actually watching Bruce Lee's movie as he envisioned it. Most of the action parts of this lost movie are here. In my opinion there is some of the best fight choreography ever put on film in this documentary.

Although Ive mostly focused on the Game of Death footage, the rest of this documentary isnt anything to skip over. We are treated to rare home videos, screen tests, and television appearances of Bruce Lee, many I had never seen or heard of before viewing this movie. In a TV appearance as himself Bruce Lee explains the way of no way, his personal philosophy of martial arts. We are also treated to a rare home video of an actual challenge match between Bruce Lee and another martial artist on a Hong Kong roof top.

Even if you think you've seen enough documentaries on Bruce Lee to last you a life time and a half, you need to see this one too. Its worth it if only for the lost Game of Death footage. Even as an unfinished movie I would say this is one of Bruce's best, and I think that had he the chance to finish it, it would have been his best.

Part documentary, part movie, all fun. This film takes a good look at Bruce Lee's life and philosophy. From facing prejudices in Hollywood, to his rise to stardom in Hong Kong and eventually the US, to his untimely death in 1973. Bruce Lee's life was that of phenomenal. This film features rare TV and audio interviews of Bruce, Bruce Lee's home movies and interviews with many of Bruce Lee's friends and family. This film also offers the chance to see the complete 41 minutes footage shot for The Game of Death, Lee's final unfinished film, which have long been considered lost forever. This is the Bruce Lee the world has never seen, until now.

"Be formless, shapeless, like water. When you put water into a cup, it becomes the cup. When you put water into a bottle, it becomes the bottle. When you put water into a teapot, it becomes the teapot. Now water can flow or it can crash. Be water, my friend" - Bruce Lee.