Game of Death (1978)

Regista:

Robert Clouse

Writers:

Bruce Lee (writer)
Jan Spears (writer)

Data di uscita:

8 giugno 1979 (USA)

Genere:

Action | Crime | Drama | Thriller

Slogan:

Bruce Lee challenges the underworld to a Game of Death.

Plot:

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

Plot Keywords:

Actor's Final Role | Revenge | Tournament | Undercover | Violence

Recensioni degli utenti:

Bruce Lee's last film {well,sort of} is a total mess and somewhat tasteless,but kind of fun

Cast

Bruce Lee	...	Billy Lo
Colleen Camp	...	Ann Morris
Dean Jagger	...	Dr. Land
Gig Young	...	Jim Marshall
Tai Chung Kim	...	Billy Lo
Biao Yuen	...	Billy Lo (as Bill Yuen)
Robert Wall	...	Carl Miller
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar	...	Hakim
Mel Novak	...	Stick
Hugh O'Brian	...	Steiner
James Tien	...	Charlie Wang
Dan Inosanto	...	Pasqual (as Danny Inosanto)
Chuck Norris	...	Colt (archive footage)
Roy Chiao	...	Henry Lo
Russell Cawthorne	...	Surgeon

Alias:

Bruce Lee's Game of Death
Si wang you ju
Ultimo combattimento di Chen, L' (Italy) [it]

Durata:

85 min | Germany:92 min | Hong Kong:103 min (original premiere) | Hong Kong:125 min | Hong Kong:54 min (current existing footage) | Japan:115 min | Japan:40 min (2000 incomplete version) | USA:100 min | USA:110 min (original premiere) | USA:35 min (2000 incomplete version)

Nazionalità:

Hong Kong | USA

Lingua:

Inglese | Mandarin | Cantonese

Colore:

Colore (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sonoro:

Mono

Divieti:

New Zealand:M | Singapore:PG | Iceland:16 | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:14A | France:U | Hong Kong:IIB | Ireland:18 | Japan:R-15 | Netherlands:12 | Norway:18 (video premiere) | South Korea:15 | Spain:18 | UK:18 | USA:R | West Germany:18 | UK:X (original rating) | Australia:M | Finland:K-18 | Finland:K-16 (cut)

Luoghi delle riprese:

Hong Kong, China

Company:

Concord Productions Inc.

Curiosità:

Director Robert Clouse wrote the script under the pseudonym Jan Spears.

Errori:

Revealing mistakes: During the last Billy Lo/Steiner fight, Steiner tries to hit Billy with two kicks. Each time we see Billy dodging the kicks, the foot is actually Hakim's.

Citazioni:

Dr Land: [referring to Ann's calling Land and Steiner murderers after Billy's death] Rude bitch.
Steiner: One rebel begats another. It's the Billy Lo syndrome.
Dr Land: A venereal disease. Often terminal.

Movie Connections:

Citato in The Last Dragon (1985)

Colonna sonora:

Will This be the Song I'll be Singing Tomorrow???

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.