Customer Reviews

Bruce Lee Ultimate Collection (The Big Boss / Fist of Fury / Way of the Dragon / Game of Death / Game of Death II)

5 star:		(37)
4 star:		(32)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

Okay...this is an improvement over the previous box set...as the films feature a greatly improved picture and sound options..BUT..the foreign sets available though amazon.co.uk have great packaging...very cool book and documentaries NOT included in this set...heck there are NONE on this set. I also note that while the menus look identical to the foreign set (I guess you can tell I own both?)...to watch it with the original language and English subtitles...on the foreign set they are below the picture on these...ON THE PICTURE? ..why? when you have a widescreen do you need to put the subtitles on the images? They didn't on my import...
this is a pretty half a...ed effort on 20th Century Fox. and I agree the last movie in particular is a joke and insult to Mr Lee. It doesn't need inclusion.

I notice some folks take issue with "Imports" ..there is a difference between official licensed DVDs and "bootlegs" the items I am discussing are the DVDs available through Amazon.co.uk and are legit and its NOT just that there are extra DVDs for every movie but the picture is alarmingly BETTER (think BLURAY to VHS better) ...the US set is worth the 10bucks you pay for it but if you are a real fan of Mr Lee and this series of movies you can own versions which run circles around what we are offered in the USA. This is not the only series of films which find better and more restored or better quality outside of the US...and this isn't opinion but fact.

What can I say. I bought imports before and got burnt.

Suffice it to say, this is possibly the next best thing to own. Here, you get to actually watch the movies in the original languages, with the exception of Game of Death and Game of Death II, but they were always done in English and is not a big loss.

Having the original Chinese language is great on many fronts. First off, the dubbing that was done before in English was horrendous as it always has been. Plus, some things are changed from the story line when they translate it as they try to match the lip movements to the English words.

Also, because of the translation, this sometimes causes other scenes to be thrown out. Case in point is in Way of the Dragon/Return of the Dragon. When Bruce's character is standing outside the restaurant with his stomach growling, a man comes out and tells him to go on inside. In the American version, we see Bruce go in and then come out again, apparently after having eaten. Well, an entire scene was missed in where he goes into the restaurant to order food and can't speak a word of English, but that's what the waitress speaks in and what the menu is in. The entire exchange is hilarious. It also drives home the point that Bruce's character is out of place in Rome which makes more sense with many of the scenes in the movie which seemed strange when spoken in the English language.

Now, it would have been nice to have more "extras" other than the filler stuff they have here, which is basically slide shows, trailers and interviews with people. I understand the import versions have much more, but for me, this coupled with the 2-disc Enter the Dragon DVD makes my Bruce Lee collection complete.

With the Ultimate Collection, you get a new 5.1 English soundtrack but at times, it sounds funny during the fight scenes. Specifically, it sounds like the fight is taking place in a tunnel with the reverberation turned on a little too much I guess. It can be kind of distracting and disorienting with the way it sounds, but it's not a total loss. Still, the Chinese soundtrack is better. Different music and it just flows better.

The Chinese soundtracks are fine and make the movies much more enjoyable for me because you get to hear the true emotions of the actors. Some have complained about the subtitles being within the movie rather than in the black bars below. This is because these movies are in anamorphic wide screen, so on a HDTV, you'd have no black bars. To me, it's not that bad. That's how it would have been in the theaters to begin with anyways.

The picture for each of the movies are great, with the exception of Way of the Dragon. Early on, parts of it are fuzzy and out of focus. Now, this could be due to the camera shot itself because it's not the entire shot that's out of focus, but it's not enough to be completely horrible or unwatchable. But, after you get past that point in Way of the Dragon, the picture is great just like in all the other movies.

The only unwatchable things are the Game of Death (minus the final fights with the REAL Bruce of course) and Game of Death II and we all know why that is. If you really want to see how the Game of Death fights were, get the 2-disc Enter the Dragon DVD which contains at least 30 minutes of the fights in the order they would have happened, including his side kicks that were supposed to come along with him but were left out of the GOD movie for obvious reasons. It's a very interesting introspective on what Bruce was trying to envision with Game of Death and it's a shame it was never completed the way he wanted it. Plus, all the interviews up to that point are great, with Chuck Norris, Kareem Abdul Jabar and so many other former students and martial artists that knew and worked with Bruce Lee.

To me, this set is worth 4 stars. It could have gotten 5 stars with some extra content and the strange 5.1 sounds hurt that as well, but overall, this is worth having. Couple this with the 2-disc DVD of Enter the Dragon and it's completely worth 5 stars.

There is no better bargain in the states than this.

Once again after shelling out money for the definitive dvd set of Bruce Lee's Films, I've been ripped off again. The best american versions released to date, are the 5 disc set originally released by Fox. They contain Chinese Connection (Fist of Fury), Fists of Fury (The Big Boss), Return of the Dragon (Way of the Dragon)and Game of Death (which I never liked and considered a rip-off from the start). This new set is a region 1 NTSC release of the region 2 PAL release by Fortune Star. The sound on all of these movies is over-enhanced, and what is it with that english translation song on Chinese Connection (Fist of Fury)not to mention that the color saturation on Chinese Connection is poor and a little on the green side. Although, the color saturation and picture quality was a little red in the original Fox release, at least they kept it classic. Way of the Dragon changed all of Bruce's original cat calls (Kiai's). It sounds like they even had to dub Bruce's cat calls to fit in with this new improved version. The sound in the scene with the double Nunchaku, was terribly over enhanced (made it sound like there was a tornado behind him)
Maybe oneday, someone will get it right and restore these films correctly with homage to the great master. (leave out game of death and game of death II UGHHHHHH, and use the original soundtrack but boost it to 5.1 dolby, like they did in the Wizard of Oz, so we know it can be done properly)

This 5-disc set, Although it's kinda expensive, Is a very worthy release from 20th Century Fox. For the first time ever, We get to view all of Bruce Lee's classics in their original language! From The Big Boss [Known in america as Fists Of Fury] to Game Of Death, This is the ideal box set for any Bruce Lee fan, The release of this rendered the master collection utterly worthless. Another plus of these movies are that these are not the original american prints [Thank God!], These are the original Hong Kong prints. Bruce Lee is a pure delight to watch in all of these movies. His ferocious fury is undeniably exciting on the screen [Especially in Way Of The Dragon aka Return Of The Dragon] and it's no wonder why Lee is still considered the greatest martial artist of all time. But, Like many DVD releases, Even this seemingly perfect box set has its flaws. The sufficient lack of special features is a surefire dissapointment [Especially when you take into consideration its expensive $40-$50 price tag] and the biggest flaw of them all is that for some surely retarded reason, The embarrassing and blasphemous Game Of Death 2 is included here! Game Of Death 2 is the sure reject of this set, As it is nothing more than a lost cause of a martial arts film that relies heavily on stock footage of Bruce Lee [Taken from Enter The Dragon, A film i would've loved to've seen on this set, But it can't be put on here because Warner Brothers owns the rights to that movie] to pretty much be another pointless cash-in on Bruce Lee's legacy that would make Bruce Lee roll over in his grave! But, This is a mostly satisfying box set which does feature Bruce Lee at his peak and i surely reccomend it to Bruce Lee fans or Martial fans in general. Here's my quick ratings rundown on all 5 of these movies:

The Big Boss [Fists Of Fury]***1/2
Fist Of Fury [The Chinese Connection]***1/2 [Do not watch this in english, Watch it in chinese with the subtitles, You'll be glad you did]
Way Of The Dragon [Return Of The Dragon]****1/2 [Bruce's second best film, Enter The Dragon is the only Bruce Lee film better than this]
Game Of Death ****
Game Of Death 2 No Stars [Why couldn't a good Bruce Lee documentary been put on here instead of this mind-numbingly terrible movie?!!!]

All in all, This is a pretty good box set, It's surely the best Bruce Lee box set that's on the market right now by far. Keep in mind that there are many inferior, low-quality DVD copies of Fists Of Fury and Chinese Connection circulating all through america right now by means of many obscure DVD companies [No specific studio owns the rights to these 2 movies]. Only on this box set, Will you get those 2 movies in their rightful forms. And another thing to point out is that the movies in this box set appear in top-of-the-line form meaning that the sound quality is great on all of the movies and they all look superb in terms of picture quality and let's face it, Isn't it about time that Bruce Lee's movies get the treatments they deserve over here in america? If you want almost all of Bruce Lee's movies in one shot, Get this box set now.

The picture quality is, for the most part, leaps and bounds above anything offered in region 1 (United States) and because it is true anamorphic widescreen, the subtitles have to be displayed over the movie. There are no black bars encoded into the image.

The picture quality on The Big Boss (AKA Fists of Fury) and Fist of Fury (AKA The Chinese Connection) look great to me and are far better than any of the many versions of these films that I have owned on DVD. The Way of the Dragon (AKA The Return of the Dragon) is generally of very good quality as well, except for certain segments such as the beginning scenes that go out of focus here and there.

I agree that some of the audio (the hitting and kicking sounds and nunchaku) is over enhanced on the English 5.1 and DTS soundtracks but aside from the nunchaku tornado sound and the deeper bass sound of the hitting, the new enhancements are more realistic and less like the bang of a firecracker exploding. If you choose the Cantonese or Mandarin soundtracks, then the enhanced effects are not present. The bottom line is that you have multiple tracks and options on this set with the only drawback being no choice to eliminate the enhanced sound from the English tracks. Personally, I think that some of the enhancement is an improvement over the phony original sound that was like that of two boards slapping together whenever someone was hit. One of the things that have made these movies seem lower in quality has always been the quality of the dubbed soundtracks. Even the original Mandarin tracks were dubbed completely by voiceover actors in the original productions of the films. They shot without sound on the sets and did everything in post. The sound on the English tracks are an earnest attempt to add quality to the soundtrack. My criticism is that they did not always sync the new enhancements perfectly and they left the old sounds remain behind them.

As a long time Bruce Lee fan I highly recommend this set. The quality of the films is restored and goes a long way toward making these movies enjoyable as opposed to unbearable.

OK...bein' a bigger fan of Bruce Lee than I am of sound, picture, this, that, and the other...I'm gonna take a sec to keep it real. Having owned the Bruce Lee Master Collection prior to this one, the Bruce Lee Ultimate Collection is LOADED(with REAL language options, deleted scenes, and outtakes)! This collection is a dream come true for me, because I'd always wanted to watch the movies in Cantonese with English subtitles(and see what the characters were REALLY saying...a heck of a difference between the Cantonese and the Americanized version). The only shortcomings, of course, are the obvious overdubbing of the "Enter the Dragon" Bruce Lee yells grafted into The Big Boss(kinda subtracted from it's authenticity...ie, the fight in the ice house,Bruce 'howls' away, but he's only gritting his teeth...lol) and while I've managed to live with Game of Death I & II(childhood favorites...in spite of the lookalikes, cardboard cuto-outs, and exploitation/fictionalization of Bruce Lee's life & death)being included, they could've at least given GODeath 1 some sound(very poor in comparison to GODeath from the Master Collection) and the outtakes would've been a lot better with the actual dialogue(ie, Warrior's Journey). If Game of Death I & II leave you NAUSEATED, I strongly recommend Goodbye,Bruce Lee: His Last Game of Death(yeup, it stars Ho Chuong Tao aka Bruce Li, but it's come closest to what Bruce Lee's intended for GODeath in my opinion...even if his track suit is too baggy, after all, in either case, it aint BRUCE!) But hearing Bruce in his own language puts this collection far above the Master Collection. A MUST HAVE if you're tired of the stereotypical overdubs.

This is an excellent collection by 20th Century Fox, Region 2 - English, wide-screen, English 5.1 DTS/DTS/Original 2.0, with Chinese sound track option (Cantonese, Mandarin) and English subtitle. The English sound track is good, but I prefer Chinese with English subtitle; picture resolution is great also. The collection includes The Big Boss, Fist of Fury, Way of the Dragon, Game of Death, and Game of Death II. I've read all the review here and found comment such as the restaurant scene in Way of the Dragon was cut; only shown Bruce Lee went in and out; that was not true. I read one of the review and had an impression that this collection does not have Chinese language option with English subtitle and that Bruce Lee - The Master Collection has that option. Well, I search and found Bruce Lee and The Master Collection on eBay (8 disks with The Big Boss, Fist of Fury, and 6 others.) I thought it contains all Bruce Lee movies with Chinese language option and English subtitle and bought it. That was a BIG mistake, because this is not the same as Bruce Lee - The Master Collection that was mentioned here. The Big Boss and Fist of Fury are the only two movies (no Chinese and English subtitle); 6 other disks are junks. I then searched for the UK IMPORT version, but it's expensive and high shipping cost. I found a Hong Kong version, but was not sure whether they have English subtitle; S/H is $20. I went back and read the reviews again found one or two mentioned Chinese with English subtitle with a complaint that the subtitle is on the picture, which I don't really mind as long as I can hear Chinese (I don't understand Chinese, but I got turned off with the terrible English dub). I took a chance and bought the collection. I am really happy with this collection, great picture, wide-screen, and Chinese language option (not available for Game of Death I & II which I don't care too much for either one.) I already had Enter the Dragon (only wish that it has Chinese language option). So, my recommend for someone who want to have a Bruce Lee collection is getting this collection along with Enter the Dragon, and you have a great collection.

There is still yet to be an ultimate collection. The Master Collection, release several years ago, had the US released versions and the documentry "The Legend" relased in the late 80's and was a good start to a collection. It did lack, however, many of the extras we cosumers are used to with DVDs. I was hoping this version would have more in way of "celebrity & martial arts interviews" as advertized. Besides the blurred digitized focus in the beggining of Way of the Dragon, the pitcure quality has been "cleaned" and is sharper than before.

But why should I be surprised it fails in this area? Because while the Hong Kong influence is there (sadly, almost always doing things on the cheap), 20th Century Fox also has its is labele on the box and one could think they would have put more effort in the "outtakes", interviews, etc., by wielding more influence. This part of the DVD package warrants possibly two stars at best.

Missing in the previous released version in America are the many teaser trailers and this was nice as well as the slide show.

For Bruce Lee fans, the great thing is having the international versions of these beloved films (of which, Way of the Dragon is probably the most desired and liked because there is so much of Bruce's influence in the film). Some other criticism have been noted (like the sound effects), but all in all, more than worth owning for the fan.

A definitive version, however, is still missing. When it is ever made, hopfully next time around when they repackage it again for new consumer consumption, it will add some great interviews and and leave out the horrible Game of Death II.

Good:
- The picture quality is better.
- Watching the three movies (The Big Boss, Fist of Fury, Way of the Dragon) in Chinese with English subtitles is much more entertaining.

Bad:
- Game of Death II shouldn't be included. This is NOT Bruce Lee movie.
- The sound quality is tooooo over enhanced. The "Kiaiii ohcha ohcha" voice of Bruce Lee is NOT real anymore. My brother watched "The Big Boss" with me and he asked me "Why the sound come before the voice?".

Don't waste money on the Ultimate Collection. The Master Collection is still better. Buy The Bruce Lee Master Collection & Enter The Dragon (Two Disk version), you will have a complete set of good Bruce Lee movie.

I do not know who wrote these reviews but after viewing this collection I was compelled to write this review. I am a fan of Bruce lee and his movies and to have someone come out with this low quality imitation of remastered videos is a disgrace to his legacy. The sounds were almost comical. The real insult is to put special features on each video and to see that there are none. I clicked on the special features on every video and there were no specials. I wish I could not give it one star but I have to in order to write this. Be very careful if you get this collection and know you get what you pay for.

G