On 20th July 2003, it will be 30 years since the death of Bruce Lee: a man who revolutionised action cinema and brought Hollywood standards to kung fu movies. To mark this event a six-disc boxset of four of his movies is being released.
The movie discs are the same as the previous Hong Kong Legends releases, with the exception that "The Big Boss" now comes with 5.1 sound so it matches the audio quality of the other releases.
THE MOVIES
Bruce Lee's electric displays of martial arts first shone through in his starring role in "The Big Boss" (1971). The far superior "Fist of Fury" followed in 1972. Dealing with the Japanese occupation of China, the powerful sentiments combined with astonishing scenes of martial artistry drove Hong Kong audiences hysterical with adulation.
Bruce was always after more control and got it with his next film, which he wrote and directed. Once "Way of the Dragon" came out in 1973, no Hong Kong film ever looked the same again.
Bruce started work on what would become his final Hong Kong movie but was enticed by Warner Brothers to make "Enter the Dragon" (not included in the boxset). This meant that "Game of Death" was left incomplete. Bruce did return to Hong Kong to finish it but on 20th July 1973, was pronounced dead having suffered a cerebral edema after taking a painkiller. "Game of Death" was released in 1978 after additional scenes were shot around the footage Bruce had filmed. What is so interesting about the two discs devoted to this film is that they resurrect previously lost Bruce footage and attempt to explore what Lee's film would have looked like had he managed to finish it.
30th Anniversary Limited Edition Disc
Robert Lee interview As Bruce's brother, Robert has many memories of them growing up in Hong Kong and of Bruce's fondness for pranks. Robert has some great anecdotes about Bruce, especially when he went to visit him in America. Robert made the mistake of joining Bruce for a jog, only for it to become an epic, long-distance run around San Francisco. Robert also allows himself to speculate a little about how Bruce would have kept reinventing himself during his movie career.
Phoebe Lee interview Along with Robert Lee, Phoebe rarely gives interviews about her iconic brother. Here she talks about them both sharing a similar temper and how that got Bruce into trouble, resulting in him being sent to America. Even after all these years Phoebe is quite emotional when talking about it.
George Lee interview George was no relation of Bruce's but met him at a nightclub in the US. They became good friends and he shows us the training equipment they both used.
James Lew interview James is a highly sought after stuntman working on films such as "Traffic", "Lethal Weapon 4", "The Replacement Killers" and more. He provides an analysis of Lee's fight styles.
The Hong Kong Connection This documentary brings together contributions from such Hong Kong stars as Sammo Hung and Donnie Yen. Of particular interest is Sammo as he had to work out the action choreography for the scenes that were added to complete "Game of Death".
Van Williams interview This the best of all the interviews on the DVD. Williams talks at great length about Bruce Lee and the TV show they starred in: The Green Hornet (Bruce starred as kung fu sidekick, Kato). He lets rip with many great anecdotes, including a highly amusing one about Burt Ward of the rival Batman TV series, who rashly bet he could whip Lee's ass. The resulting fury from Bruce sounds fearsome indeed.
Additional Extra Features: Picture galleries for all four movies with many rare shots, Bruce Lee Green Hornet screen test footage, Bruce Lee fight tournament footage at the Jhoon Rhee Internationals. Also included in the set is a handsome hardback book.
TECHNICAL INFORMATION
See individual titles (above) for technical information.
Special Features Subtitles The only special features with subtitles are those that need translation.
This DVD was reviewed on a JVC XV-N5 DVD player.
