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IMDbPro

Game of Death

  • 19781978
  • RR
  • 1h 40m
IMDb RATING
5.9/10
21K
YOUR RATING
Bruce Lee in Game of Death (1978)
Watch Trailer
Play trailer1:20
2 Videos
70 Photos
ActionCrimeDrama
A martial arts movie star must fake his death to find the people who are trying to kill him.A martial arts movie star must fake his death to find the people who are trying to kill him.A martial arts movie star must fake his death to find the people who are trying to kill him.
IMDb RATING
5.9/10
21K
YOUR RATING
    • Robert Clouse
    • Alan Canvan(Game of Death Redux)
    • Bruce Lee(uncredited)
    • Robert Clouse
    • Bruce Lee(uncredited)
  • Stars
    • Bruce Lee
    • Gig Young
    • Dean Jagger
    • Robert Clouse
    • Alan Canvan(Game of Death Redux)
    • Bruce Lee(uncredited)
    • Robert Clouse
    • Bruce Lee(uncredited)
  • Stars
    • Bruce Lee
    • Gig Young
    • Dean Jagger
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 147User reviews
    • 57Critic reviews
    • 36Metascore
  • See more at IMDbPro
  • Videos2

    Trailer
    Trailer 1:20
    Watch Trailer
    Game of Death
    Clip 2:22
    Watch Game of Death

    Photos70

    Bruce Lee in Game of Death (1978)
    Bruce Lee and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in Game of Death (1978)
    Bruce Lee in Game of Death (1978)
    Bruce Lee, Dan Inosanto, and Ara Paiaya at an event for Game of Death (1978)
    Bruce Lee in Game of Death (1978)
    Bruce Lee in Game of Death (1978)
    A1
    Due
    Bruce Lee in Game of Death (1978)
    Bruce Lee in Game of Death (1978)
    Bruce Lee in Game of Death (1978)
    Bruce Lee in Game of Death (1978)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Bruce Lee
    Bruce Lee
    • Billy Lo…
    Gig Young
    Gig Young
    • Jim Marshall
    Dean Jagger
    Dean Jagger
    • Dr. Land
    Hugh O'Brian
    Hugh O'Brian
    • Steiner
    Colleen Camp
    Colleen Camp
    • Ann Morris
    Robert Wall
    Robert Wall
    • Carl Miller
    Mel Novak
    • Stick
    Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
    Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
    • Hakim
    • (archive footage)
    • …
    Chuck Norris
    Chuck Norris
    • Fighter
    • (archive footage)
    Dan Inosanto
    Dan Inosanto
    • Pasqual
    • (as Danny Inosanto)
    • …
    Billy McGill
    • John
    Sammo Kam-Bo Hung
    Sammo Kam-Bo Hung
    • Lo Chen
    • (as Hung Kim Po)
    Roy Chiao
    Roy Chiao
    • Henry Lo
    Tony Chiu-Wai Leung
    Tony Chiu-Wai Leung
    • David
    • (as Tony Leung)
    Jim James
    • Surgeon
    Russell Cawthorne
    • Doctor
    David Hu
    • Businessman 1
    Peter Gee
    • Businessman 2
      • Robert Clouse
      • Alan Canvan(Game of Death Redux)
      • Bruce Lee(uncredited)
      • Robert Clouse
      • Bruce Lee(uncredited)
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Steve McQueen, James Coburn, and Muhammad Ali refused roles in the film because they felt it exploited Bruce Lee's death, and because of the low pay Golden Harvest was offering.
    • Goofs
      In the beginning of the movie, a scene where you can see Lee's face in the mirror of his trailer. It's obviously a cardboard cutout, as the neck below it moves freely about unconnected to the head.
    • Quotes

      Dr Land: So much for the weather report. I'm not the only one who just arrived. How about your trip to Berlin Stick?

      Stick: It went pretty much as you figured. Now that he's the big star, I couldn't reason with him. He said he was pulling out and he threatened me.

      Dr Land: Oh my my my my. The rest of it was in the papers. That's when he committed suicide huh? Haha!

      Stick: He just got up and jumped out of the window...

    • Alternate versions
      New Zealand theatrical and videotape versions were originally cut to remove the entire nunchaku battle between Bruce Lee and Dan Inosanto, although the censors later allowed this sequence to appear intact in the documentaries The Curse of the Dragon (1993) and Bruce Lee: A Warrior's Journey (2000). In 2005 the cut was also waived for the Region 4 DVD release of "Game of Death".
    • Connections
      Edited from The Big Boss (1971)
    • Soundtracks
      Game of Death
      (Hong Kong version only)

      Music by Joseph Koo

      Lyrics by James Wong

      Sung By Roman Tam

    User reviews147

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    Bruce Lee's last film {well,sort of} is a total mess and somewhat tasteless,but kind of fun
    Game Of Death is a mess of a film,and that's putting it lightly. Nothing to do with Bruce Lee's original conception for the film in 1973,the filmmakers here took the fight footage {somewhat edited down} that he shot for that proposed film,placed it at the end of the film,and than decided to pretend that the rest of the film also features Bruce Lee. Badly. In fact the sheer ineptitude of this aspect of the film is extraordinary,as well as several doubles,none of whom look like Lee and usually wear sunglasses to try to hide the fact,there are also shots and brief bits from previous Lee films edited in and even a scene with a guy wearing a Lee mask!

    Nonetheless,there is a certain fascination to the film. The plot is kind of interesting and even has a scene in which Lee's character,a movie star, fakes his own death by being shot whilst filming a scene,this being disturbingly similar to the way Lee's son Brandon died many years ago. There is loads of fighting,not all of it great,but it's pretty constant and contains at least two good sequences {a fight in a changing room and a battle with some motorcyclists}en route to the 'real' Lee stuff at the end,which is certainly worth the wait. The duel with Kareem Abdul Jabbar is almost as good as the famous one with Chuck Norris. Dean Jagger is a great slimy main villain,and John Barry {an odd film for him} provides great musical backing,even if the main female star Coleen Camp is not really good enough to sing his lovely theme song.

    Game Of Death is undeniably a piece of exploitation and sometimes leaves a bad taste in the mouth,as when a funeral scene is interspersed with shots of Lee's real funeral. It's really a bad movie and for the most part a badly made movie too, but it's certainly not dull and is kind of fun, as many bad movies are.
    helpful•27
    7
    • DrLenera
    • May 9, 2005

    FAQ2

    • If Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Was Only In The Archive Footage, Why Is He In Some Scenes That Were Never Filmed On The Archive Footage?
    • What are the differences between the old British VHS and the Uncensored Version?

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • June 8, 1979 (United States)
      • Hong Kong
      • United States
      • English
      • Mandarin
      • Cantonese
    • Also known as
    • Filming locations
      • Hong Kong, China
    • Production companies
      • Concord Productions
      • Columbia Pictures
      • Golden Harvest Company
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

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    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

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    • 1 hour 40 minutes
      • Mono

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