Game of Death (1978)

A martial arts movie star must fake his death to find the people who are trying to kill him.

Directors:

Robert Clouse, Bruce Lee (uncredited)

Writer:

Robert Clouse (as Jan Spears)

Stars:

Bruce Lee, Gig Young, Dean Jagger

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Bruce Lee	...	Billy Lo / Hai Tien (original 1972 footage) (archive footage)
Gig Young	...	Jim Marshall
Dean Jagger	...	Dr. Land
Hugh O'Brian	...	Steiner
Colleen Camp	...	Ann Morris
Robert Wall	...	Carl Miller
Mel Novak	...	Stick
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar	...	Hakim / Mantis (original 1972 footage) (archive footage)
Chuck Norris	...	Fighter (archive footage)
Dan Inosanto	...	Pasqual / Third Floor Guardian (original 1972 footage) (as Danny Inosanto)
Billy McGill	...	John
Sammo Kam-Bo Hung	...	Lo Chen (as Hung Kim Po)
Roy Chiao	...	Henry Lo
Tony Chiu-Wai Leung	...	David (as Tony Leung)
Jim James	...	Surgeon

Storyline

In this movie, Bruce Lee is a very famous martial-arts master who stars in many films. After an unsuccessful murder attempt against him, everyone thinks his is dead, but he's just hiding, preparing his revenge...

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Plot Keywords:

bare midriff | chinaman | chinawoman | actress | c cup | 

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Taglines:

Bruce Lee challenges the underworld to a Game of Death.

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Genres:

Action | Crime | Drama | Thriller

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

Hong Kong USA

Language:

English Mandarin Cantonese

Release Date:

8 June 1979 (USA)

Also Known As:

Game of Death

Filming Locations:

Hong Kong, China

Box Office

Budget:

$850,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Concord Productions, Columbia Pictures, Golden Harvest Company

Technical Specs

Runtime:

100 min 103 min (original premiere) 54 min (current existing footage) 40 min (2000 incomplete) 35 min (2000 incomplete) 62 min (original cut) (1972)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The inspiration for progressively ascending a pagoda tower to fight opponents was originally featured in Cheh Chang's swordplay epic Have Sword Will Travel (1969) written by resident Shaw Brother screenwriter Kuang Ni.

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Goofs

The footprint on Billy Lo's chest changes in darkness several times (considering ONLY the Bruce Lee scenes), especially during the fight with Hakim. Also at one point, the footprint is backwards for two or three quick clips. Also, when Hakim kicks Billy Lo, his toes actually do not touch Billy Lo to leave the print. Martial artists are taught to kick toes up. If slowed down,the connection can be seen where the toes never touch Billy Lo's chest.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Director: Cut! Okay, that's a print. That was great, Billy! Okay everybody...
[stage light collapses, crew gasps]

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Alternate Versions

Chinese print credits Bruce Lee with scriptwriting and martial arts choreography and Sammo Hung Kam - Bo as director and martial arts choreographer. U.S print credits 'Jan Spears' as scriptwriter and just 'Robert Clouse' as the director. Sammo Hung gets sole fight choreographer credit in this version (as Hung Kim Po)

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Connections

Referenced in That Lucky Stiff (1980)

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Soundtracks

Will This Be the Song I'll Be Singing Tomorrow?
Music and Lyrics by John Barry
Sung By Colleen Camp

User Reviews

Barely watchable. Bruce Lee would be turning in his grave.

I wish this wasn't credited to Bruce Lee's name, it's an embarrassment to all involved, and I honestly can't see why this film is praised by some people.

Lee filmed a few fight scenes for a movie before putting the project on hold to do Enter The Dragon, and of course his death. This is the finished product (without his input). His scenes were poorly edited into a full length piece of crap.

I tried to look past the fact that shots switched from old, grainy film to cleaner, sharper film continuously throughout any scene with the real Lee. I tried to look past the appalling effects; such as sticking a picture of Lee's face on a mirror, and filming it as if attached to someone's reflection. I even managed to look past the fact that the guy playing Lee's character for the rest of the film barely looked like him at all. But I still ended up with a bad taste in my mouth at the end of the film.

There is still a point of interest for Bruce Lee fans, the last 15 minutes are great, (the real) Lee's fight with Abdul-Jabar is amazing...But it didn't do the overall product very much help (for the full unedited version of what Bruce Lee filmed for this, check out the documentary on the man called 'Bruce Lee: A Warriors Journey'). This is my second bad experience with unfinished/unreleased films being edited into others, (see also, or more appropriately -- don't see also: Sam's Song starring Robert De Niro), so I have learnt my lesson. 2.5/10.