The Final Game of Death • 2023

[Music] [Music] on July 20th 1973 in the middle of a hot Hong Kong summer the actor writer martial artist and filmmaker Bruce Lee died unexpectedly at the age of only 32 on the cusp of a global stardom he had spent years striving towards his death sent shock waves around the world the Legacy he left behind in his Short but eventful life included a young family Legions of dedicated fans and students and a revolutionary approach to martial arts that transformed the world's relationship with Chinese culture half a century after his death he remains as much an

inspiration to Millions as ever before his status largely rests on the success of just four feature films he completed in the two years leading up to His death the big boss Fist of Fury the way of the Dragon which he also wrote and directed and Enter the Dragon only four films and yet there was nearly a fifth less than a year before he died Lee started work on his second film as writer and director one that would deliver on the film making promise he had shown with the way of the dragon and be the ultimate

expression of his unique martial arts Philosophy 2 hours of raw unedited footage was filmed before the project was temporarily shelved only to be left in permanent limbo once its creator was no longer alive to finish it its working title ominous and faithful in hindsight was the Game of Death though Lee never lived to complete or even refine his own vision for the project his plans for the Game of Death are as scrutinized and interrogated today as the circumstances surrounding His untimely death the Mysteries around its creation had become a vessel for Endless heated debate a

space in which truth and Legend had become practically indistinguishable was it a lost Masterpiece by a young artist working at the height of his talents or was it a cursed film inextricably bound to its Creator's own doomed fate now with access to all 11 reels of footage shot for the film in 1972 we can finally search for answers To the many Mysteries contained within the Game of Death [Music] it is July of 1972 only one year before Bruce Lee's death he is the biggest star in Hong Kong now unable to walk around in public without

being mobbed it was only a year prior in the summer of 1971 that after years of hitting a racial glass ceiling in Hollywood he Tired of American Executives nervousness over casting a Chinese star in a lead role and looked Homeward to Hong Kong where domestically produced martial arts films are starting to rule the local box office signing a two- picture deal with upstart company Golden Harvest Bruce agreed to star in two films both directed by low way the big boss and fist Fury by the end of the year he is the most famous face on

the Continent audiences are instantly captivated by his charismatic energy and high kicking dynamism deliberately captured in Long unbroken takes unlike the choppy editing seen in most films his own customized style of kung fu which he has dubbed je kundo or the way of the intercepting fist is unlike anything audiences have seen before both films shatter local box office records each taking well over $3 million overnight Bruce is a superstar a big Fish and a small pond compared to his earlier Hollywood Ambitions perhaps but with just two films he has the respect clout and Financial Security

to continue the next phase of his career Keen to retain their box office Superstar Golden Harvest executive Raymond Chow offers Bruce the opportunity to write direct and star in his next film as well well as co-producing under his own newly formed production company Concord Productions given complete creative Freedom Bruce makes a film much more personal and aligned with his own ethos its name the way of the Dragon whereas the previous two films were formulaic Revenge sagas primarily designed to appeal to local audiences Bruce looks outward for his first time behind the camera he sets to

film in Rome and even films on location there for 3 weeks unhappy with low Way's insistence on cartoonish Japanese and Russian Villains in Fist of Fury the final confrontation in Bruce's screenplay for the way of the Dragon is a more ambivalent one Bruce choreographs a climactic 10-minute fight between him and American karate champion Chuck Norris set amongst the ruins of the Roman Coliseum and filmed in wide shots that accentuate both men's athletic prowess when his character ultimately defeats Norris he does so reluctantly and covers his body as a gesture of Respect the Gladiators here are

not avatars for nationalistic or racial Pride but Global representatives of martial arts Excellence forced against one another by circumstance and no less honorable for it the way of the Dragon is a crudely made film in many aspects both technically and in the freewheeling nature of its creation but Bruce's sheer ambition and energy burst off the screen showing a determination to try as many ideas as he can and a burning promise to Be harnessed and refined in future work it will be the only film he ever completes as a director it is the summer of 1972

the way of the Dragon has only just finished filming but ever restless and ambitious Bruce is Keen to seize the momentum and channel it into his second film as d director he doesn't have much yet a rough sketch of an idea if that emboldened by his experience filming the way of the Dragon Bruce's Ambitions for His next film increase further a film that would use symbolism to add a philosophical Dimension to the action genre the film to end all films he says at one point for nearly a decade he has spoken about making what he

calls a multi-level film as he puts it the kind of movies where you can just watch the surface story if you like or you can look deeper into it the next co-production between Concord and Golden Harvest will be Bruce's purest cinematic Expression yet of jeo in action demonstrating the necessity of adapting to one's circumstances in a 1972 interview he describes an idea for a prologue ultimately Never filmed what I want to show is the necessity to adapt oneself to changing circumstances the inability to adapt brings destruction I already have the first scene in my mind

as the film opens the audience sees a wide expanse of snow then the camera closes In on a clump of trees while the sounds of a strong Gale fill the screen there is a huge tree in the center of the screen and it is all covered with thick snow suddenly there is a loud step and a huge branch of a tree falls to the ground it cannot yield to the force of the snow so it breaks then the camera moves to to a willow tree which is bending With the Wind because it adapts itself to

the environment the willow survives a key Inspiration for this new idea happened during a trip to India in 1970 scouting locations for an abandoned project called The Silent flute Bruce was struck by the ancient pagodas he saw there and began to devise a scenario where his vision of a multi-level film became literal one fighter ascending the temple higher and higher taking on ever greater challenges on his way to the top what little is known about Bruce's plans for the story of The Game of Death Largely stems from a collection of handwritten notes uncovered in a

Seattle Warehouse belonging to theia state in the mid 1990s as with the way of the Dragon before it a full script is never written for the game of death and indeed Bruce continues to change his mind about the plot devising new characters and whole subplots right up to the day he dies though this stands in stark contrast to Western Film Production where everything Is usually written and planned well in advance it is the norm in Hong Kong film making where cast and crew members might come and go depending on the vagaries of scheduling and dialogue

is sometimes agreed upon only minutes before cameras begin rolling what these semi-improvised low-budget films lack in Polish and narrative finesse they often compensated for in spontaneous energy and invention over the coming months Bruce slowly Fleshes out a story for his next film on one level it is an action film showcasing an array of fighting techniques on the other it is Bruce's Philosophy for jundo literalized in cinematic form no way as way no limitation as limitation whereas the way of the dragon and Le prior films were rooted in the real world and even inspired in some

cases by real life figures his aim for the Game of Death was something Altogether different something stranger perhaps even metaphysical Bruce will play the central character of hatien a retired Champion fighter who as the film begins is on a flight to Korea with his sister and younger brother when they land at the airport the trio were kidnapped by the henchmen of a local Crime Boss the gangster holds haan's family hostage unless he volunteers to fly out to a secluded compound in the Korean Wilderness in the middle of which is an ancient Pagoda five floors High

the boss wants something from the top of the Pagoda and hatian will have to battle his way through various opponents to get it one level at a time each opponent is a representative of a different fighting style with hn having to assess each Fighter's abilities and adapt his own techniques in order to climb the tower and win his siblings Freedom H Chen is joined on his mission by a handful of The crime boss's underlings each motivated by greed and ambition in their quest to make it to the top when they reach the compound hen and

the others are confronted by dozens of nameless karati Fighters guarding the outside of the Pagoda upon dispatching the fighters a locksmith breaks them inside the temple the opponent they face on the ground floor is a master of Hapkido especially skilled at kicking after defeating him they ascend To the second level guarded by an expert in praying mantis Kung Fu sadly though Bruce wrote Dialogue for many of the AFF mentioned sequences he would not live long enough to actually film them nor would he ever write the story's Grand conclusion instead the only scenes that saw the

light of a camera barely coherent out of context show Haitian Ascent up the remaining three floors of the Pagoda the Hall of the Tiger in which he and two other Fighters battle an expert in Filipino es screamer techniques not least Mastery of the deadly nunchaku the Hall of the Dragon where H fights another hapkido Grandmaster this time one Adept at grappling and hand-to-hand combat own as post- production on the way of the Dragon approaches its end in August of 1972 Bruce begins to assemble his co-stars for the game of death for the henchmen accompaning H

Tien Lee jots down the Names of four actors James Tien his co-star in the big boss and Fist of Fury Cher Yuan a former stunt man for Shore Brothers Carter Wong whom Bruce has met on the set of the Golden Harvest film hap Kido and Tony Lou Who also co-starred in Le's three previous films as the latter two characters was slated to be killed off before reaching the Hall of the tiger Wong and luu never film any scenes for the game of death and in Lou's case his name is ultimately Crossed out altogether rumored to

be replaced with a white American fighter as with his previous film Bruce shows a preference to cast not trained actors with some martial arts skills but rather expert martial artists with little to no previous experience on camera among them are two of his favorite former students and closest friends from America Dan and assanto with whom he founded his jundo school in Los Angeles and Rising NBA basketball star kareim Abdul Jabar Neither of them has ever appeared in a motion picture before as Bruce continues to flesh out the story and a single set is built at

Golden harv Studios that will stand for each floor of the Pagoda he plans to start filming at the end of September but fate threatens to intervene when he calls Abdul Jabar and offers him the role of the final Guardian though the Basketball Star is currently on 3 weeks leave he is due to start at NBA training Camp in the middle of the month making his participation in the film impossible determined to get his vision on screen Bruce tells him to board a plane to Hong Kong as soon as he can they will simply film all

of his scenes ahead of schedule in plenty of time for him to return to the USA for training thankfully Abdul Jabar agrees and so filming of the Game of Death begins perhaps fittingly at the story's end with a handwritten shot list and Choreography notes in place Lee assembles much of the crew from the way of the Dragon to join him for filming his battle against Abdul Jabar among them are assistant director Ricky chick and 50-year-old Japanese cinematographer Tadashi nishim Moto in addition to Abdul Jabar James Tien Bruce's co-star from the big boss and Fist of

Fury joins the first round of filming Bruce Tien and Abdul Jabar participate in the promotional photo Shoot as filming commences in the years that follow it is these images taken by freelance photographer Chan Yu published far and wide by the media in the wake of Lee's death that propelled the incomplete Game of Death project to almost a Mythic status filming begins on September 7th on the top secret project with Bruce remaining behind the camera directing the fight between James and Kareem the title written on the Slate seen between Setups is is simply audition the title

The Game of Death will not be confirmed for some weeks with the project referred to in a trade announcement under the working title yellowface tiger born in guandong China in 1942 James Tien moved with his family to Hong Kong in 1958 and after a stint at the fuen drama school in Taiwan began acting as a contract player for Shore Brothers in 1969 he decamped a Golden Harvest along With direct to low way the following gear and climb the ladder to leading man status in films such as the Invincible eight the blade spares none and the

chase eyes are being flooded with ultraviolet light on the second and third tankes the filter is removed whether this means the red filter was an experiment that was swiftly abandoned or if Lee was simply covering his bases by filming the scene both ways we will never know However Bruce attempts another experiment as he films a closeup of Kareem Abdul jabbar's eyes Abdul Jabar poses static for the camera in a single take then in probably the most mysterious piece of footage filmed for the Game of Death a still image of Abdul jabbar's face is filmed with

Serpentine mutant eyes painted on top of his own how Lee would have Incorporated this twist what it means means and whether it Would have even been used at all is again unknown the shot is reminiscent of the reveal of the Father's Eyes in the dream scene from rosemar baby directed by Lee's friend Roman palansky and a supernatural perhaps even vampiric element seems inevitable given the character super strength and aversion to light but with little else to contextualize it the shot of the eyes has often been emitted from Assemblies Of the footage altogether as the confrontation

hurtles towards its final Act Lee writes more dialogue for him and Abdul Jabar including a call back to their earlier exchange as he pleads for common sense from the guardian why continue just let me pass Abdul jabbar's tied response delivered through halting breaths confirms his character's acceptance of his impending Fate you have forgotten that I too am not bothered by the word death [Music] [Music] [Music] though we did not continue training in martial arts after to Bruce's death Kareem Abdul Jabar appeared in a variety of Cameo appearances in films such as airplane and Fletch all

while maintaining a record-breaking NBA Basketball career until his retirement in 1989 now aged 75 he remains today a prolific author and a passionate outspoken advocate of Social and racial Justice and in 2016 was awarded the presidential medal of freedom by President Barack Obama two weeks later Bruce and his crew returned to the same sound stage now redressed into the third floor of the Pagoda the Hall of the tiger the first Two days of filming are largely dedicated to a fight scene never seen before a long presumed life lost until now as camera's rooll on September

25th we see James Tien his scheming character alive and well little knowing his Doom is still two floors ahead the actor joining him carrying the large pole is stunt man turned actor cheer you on the actor waiting for them sitting in the chair is Dan inosanto though there are no script Notes that indicate this we can infer from his later rival that Bruce's character hn is busy fighting the guardian of the second floor of the Pagoda an expert in praying mantis kung fu born in 1945 to a Chinese family living in Malaysia chayan had already

firmly established himself for 5 years as an in demand stunt man at Shore Brothers since first appearing in their record-breaking hit the one-armed Swordsman his role in The Game of Death originally intended for then upand cominging Golden Harvest fight choreographer Sam o hung is of another one of the fighters sent by the Korean mobster to raid the Hoda his character unnamed except for CH in Bruce's notes is immediately contrasted with James Tien dressed in traditional black Karate ghee clothing chay's headstrong and less sophisticated character is can manipulated by the stylish James Tien Who continually gos

him to run into the path of danger thirst [Music] the log fight as it has become known to Legions of Bruce Lee fans over the years has never been incorporated into any edited assembly of the gam of death footage before as CH wields the large pole picked up allegedly from a display of weapons held on the second floor of the Pagoda Dan's character is unfazed as he picks up the two much smaller sticks Known in the Philippines as car or Anice Dan begins to tap an insistent nagging Melody using the Cari taunting CH and Yuan

by repeating it over and over tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap the origin of this melody dates back to Bruce and Dan's early friendship it was the secret knock they devised for entrance to the junfan Gung Fu Institute the pair opened in the Chinatown area of Los Angeles in 1967 having only appeared on camera once before as a fight double in an episode of The Green Hornet opposite Bruce Dan's character in The Game of Death is the guardian of the pagod third floor expert in the art of

es screamer stick fighting from the Philippines the third floor Guardians red headband and open chested black shirt indicate he is aoro one of the Muslim communities native to the southern [Music] Philippines as CH turns to James Tien intimidated by Dan's display of force James Tien snorts derisively provoking CH to [Music] continue born to Filipino parents in Stockton California in 1936 Dan inosanto began learning karate at the age of 11 and by the time he met Bruce Lee in Long Beach in 1964 was already proficient in a range of different fighting techniques learning from an Eclectic

mix of Masters And teachers his deafness at combining different methods greatly influenced Bruce as he developed jundo and soon Dan became one of only three jundo instructors personally appointed by Bruce Jay turns to Chen for guidance Chen go him to proceed telling him don't let him psych you out as with the fight with Kareem Abdul Jabar the message is that it's not the size of the fighter or their chosen Weapon that counts but rather the skill and strategy with which they attack this fight philosophy unfolds through numerous stages and with the log fight footage found

again we get a much clearer view of what Lee strived for in many ways the Hall of the tiger sequence expands on the Coliseum fight from the way of the dragon that classic confrontation between Lee and Chuck Norris progressed in two phases the first had Lee Attempting to match Norris's hard style of traditional karate but coming up short but on the second phase Lee overcomes his Mammoth opponent through jeno's ethos of adaptability and flexibility visually signified by the arly shuffle in his footwork and an overall unpredictability of movement that do doesn't fit with any traditional

Marshall system in the Hall of the tiger sequence this philosophy is expressed through Four phases each one has its own subphases that unveil a more nuanced expression of Lee's Marshal ethos while never losing sight of entertaining his audience in particular Lee had a keen sense of Storytelling and understood that for Action to not be monotonous danger and escalation were key to gripping the viewer's attention phase one is entirely dedicated to Chuan as he attempts to bypass the third FL Guardian he strikes it in a Santo with a large log and does so with appropriate Gusto

desperate to prove his worth but ch's chosen weapon proves too unwieldy for the dexterity and speed of the Guardians Joo esrea sticks Chuan switches gears and resorts to empty hand combat inosanto discards his own weapons and employs Kempo Karate to take down his full hearty [Music] opponent the first days filming Ends and after a one-day break from shooting for reasons unknown the second day Wednesday 27th September begins with one more take of the same shot [Music] this entire first phase perfectly establishes Dan and as Santo's formidable maral prowess in both armed and then unarmed combat

but these two skill sets are presented in isolation from each other separated by the third level guardian's pride in his own Abilities with this information brought to light Lee is a choreographer and director also smartly foreshadows in the Santos Li imitation [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] phase two and it is James tien's turn he pulls out his own stick wanting to fight inosanto at his own game [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] unlike the Brash CH Chen is more cautious and takes a more defensive approach but as soon as he uses any offensive maneuver he falters

[Music] [Music] though it is only on screen for a Fraction of a second the Slate scene at the beginning of the next take shows an important milestone for the very first time the title written at the top as opposed to audition or yellowface tiger is the Game of Death as filming on the Hall of the tiger approaches its end one of the final displays of nunchaku Mastery from Lee takes no less than 10 takes to get right while he already showed earlier Signs of perfectionism in the filming of this scene and the Hall of the

unknown some may read this fastidiousness as a sign as to how much harder Bruce was going to be on himself in the months to come to make sure he got everything down to no less than perfect [Music] [Music] [Music] having played the guardian at his own game of death for long enough Heen Knocks him to the floor with another one of Bruce Lee's trademarks the triple spin kick as demonstrated in his three previous films not least the scene in Fist of Fury takes on a dojo of Japanese karate fighters also armed with a nunchaku using

one of their own weapons against them [Music] [Music] [Music] for almost another month During shooting the set for the Game of Death regularly receives a number of friendly visitors among them King who former collaborator of Tadashi nishimoto and of course Bruce's wife Linda often with their children Brandon and Shannon in tow but it is during the filming of the Hall of the tiger sequence that Bruce receives a visit from Fred wiin TR an old friend from the states and an upand cominging executive at Warner Brothers Fred comes with stunning news Warner are offering Bruce the

lead role in a new feature film it will be filmed in Hong Kong but is unmistakably a Hollywood production with the budget resources and wide distribution only a major Studio can afford the script goes through several names in pre-production before settling on Bruce's own preferred title Enter the Dragon it is the biggest opportunity of Bruce's career the one he's been chasing For years and it is the Catalyst that seals the fate of not just the game of death but perhaps Bruce [Music] himself in October 19 1972 early negotiations take place between Warner Brothers and Concord

productions for the film that will eventually become Enter the Dragon its production not yet an assured outcome Bruce continues work on the Game of Death drawing upon the Golden Harvest Talent pool to cast haan's next opponent the guardian of the Hall of the Dragon the fourth floor of the Pagoda Jihan J was born in 1936 in Ang dong South Korea already in eighth Dan Black Belt by his early 20s in 1957 he combined all of his knowledge into a hybrid form he called hapkido though some dispute whether G actually invented hapkido it cannot be argued

that he was foremost in promoting and teaching it far and wide eventually Founding the Korea hapkido Association in 1965 Bruce Lee first met Jihan J in 1969 when the latter was in the United States to teach hapkido to members of the Secret Service and other branches of the US government including president Richard Nixon security detail while staying at Andrew's Air Force Base a mutual friend Taekwondo Grandmaster Jun Rey introduced the pair and Lee asked G to teach him some moves In 1972 Golden Harvest director hang fun recruits G along with his right-hand man hang in

shik to train the cast of his upcoming film hapkido G and hang also play roles in the film and it is on the set at Golden Harvest Studios where g once again makes the acquaintance of Bruce Lee who is filming the way of the dragon at the same time Bruce and list Swang in shik's Services as an actor on way of the Dragon playing a Japanese fighter near the end of the film and soon enough he has offered both Wong and G acting roles in the Game of Death Wang's role is the guardian of the

first floor of the Pagoda but other than some exterior footage we'll discuss later his scenes never make it before a camera Jihan J on the other hand plays the guardian of the fourth floor and as it happens his is the last of the major fight scenes for the Game of Death that Bruce Lee ever lives to film filming resumes on October 20 poses a peculiar amalgamation of a fighting stance and a gesture to beckon his opponent to attack it becomes obvious that Lee must make the first move with the most deliberate Pace Lee retracts his

hand and eventually reaches a crescendo that being a dynamic roundhouse kick the quot is choreography notes he relaxes smiles and puts his hand back and while keeping his smile Initiates a lightning right finger jab faint follows instantaneously with a low high hook kick with fluid speed intense Grace and Powerful one two3 each gesture and movement are simple by Design but when utilized with the correct intent and Rhythm as Lee does it effectively establishes The Narrative conflict and adds a level of anticipation and suspense through these rushes we not only see the breakdown of Le Choreographic

decisions but also his directorial decisions and his approach to storytelling it must be stressed that these are rushes after all far away from being a completed and refined product but as with the previous two levels involving inosanto and Abdul Jabar there is enough evidence here to show Lee wanting to elevate what would be another one-on-one martial arts duel structurally the Hall of the Dragon is no different to the Hall of the tiger and the Hall of the unknown but they all possess their own key characteristic that influences the action unfolding at their Center that characteristic

could be obtrusive like the darkness in the Abdul Jabar fight or Insidious like the harsh red light in this one but given the planned order of these three levels we do get a sense that the higher we climb the Pagoda the more otherworldly the surroundings become all this is further Evidence that for Lee the choreography isn't just about the interaction between two individuals it is also the interaction with the space and how the action escalates when said space changes the second day's filming begins with the second angle only this time shot at regular speed two

takes of an additional angle will also be filmed as part of the pickup filming 3 days later if this faint is intended to demonstrate hien's canniness and Unpredictability then the next shot shows that he will have his work cut out for him as he is gone the end over two separate days 3 weeks apart Bruce leads a small crew to the hills of the new territories the countryside on the border of Hong Kong's bustling Metropolis there they will film some of the most hotly debated foot AG in the film in which three of the pigot's

Guardians Dan in Assanto Jian J and hang in shik Bruce's Top Choice to play the first floor Guardian are shown fighting a handful of subordinates dressed in white karate outfits is it training footage meant to establish some of the key villains at the start of the film or just a camera test never intended to make it to the final film Bruce left no indication in his notes or script Pages which means means we will never really know for [Music] Sure on the 4th of October days after filming his scenes in the Hall of the tiger

Dan in nanto returns once again demonstrating his esrea prowess opposite wound thean Bruce's childhood friend and present day Butler playing one of the the katea the pair have already extensively rehearsed the sequence in the backyard of Bruce's home on Cumberland Road but shoot numerous takes filmed at various speeds [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] though Wiis Santo is one of the few actors to film all of his scenes for the Game of death and the only one to repre his role when called to do so 5 years later he did not

pursue a career in film acting fulltime today aged 87 he continues to teach gundo esrea and many other fighting techniques at the inosanto Academy of Martial Arts in Marina Del Rey [Music] California on the 26 of October the day after filming on the Hall of the Dragon Concludes Jihan J also films his last scenes for the Game of Death at the new territories fighting opposite fellow hpo Master hang and shik and a handful of Bruce's regular stunt team playing more members of the katea that guard the outside of the Pagoda the stuntmen are Billy Chan

lamb chining and Yan w [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] after the release of the film haido janj only acted in two more films in Hong Kong before moving to the United States in 1984 where aged 86 he lives and teaches to this day [Music] Wang and shik born in sunchon Korea in 1940 was a key figure in the Korea hapkido Association alongside Jihan J and followed him to Hong Kong when the pair were recruited by Golden Harvest to Instruct and star alongside the cast of Hang Fong's film hapkido it was on the set of that film

earlier in 1972 where Bruce Lee cast him in a memorable role as a Japanese fighter in the way of the Dragon he was especially noted for his kicking abilities which would have been foregrounded in his role as the first floor [Music] Guardian sadly these few takes opposite Stuntmen wagan Billy Chan and L chinging are the only footage he ever filmed for the Game of Death his film roles though Limited in number following Lee's death helped popularize Korean fighting methods in Martial Arts Cinema and at the age of 82 he continues to train students at his

school in Toronto Canada rumors have persisted that Bruce shot footage of himself fighting here thanks largely to behind the scenes Photos of him him fighting with the katea but outside of split-second flashes between takes no footage apparently exists to corroborate this in any event in any event the material filmed on October 26th will end up being the last footage Bruce will ever film for the Game of Death [Music] [Music] the rest of 1972 is taken up with contract negotiations and rehearsals for Enter the Dragon until finally shooting begins on January 25th 1973 a week before

the Chinese New Year the production of the dragon takes a heavy toll on Bruce he fights with American director Robert klouse and Executives from Warner Brothers almost every day attempting to improve the action choreography writing and filming new scenes even changing the title he Has Gone from being a man in charge of his own destiny to his fate Being back in the hands of white Hollywood and while he wins many battles behind the camera as well as in front it is not without a cost even even after the film wraps he pushes his body to

its utmost limits and rumors of a heavy all hours lifestyle persist he takes harder drugs in Greater quantities his behavior becomes more volatile unpredictable and paranoid during a dubbing session in May 1973 Bruce collapses losing Consciousness until doctors revive him at Queen Elizabeth Hospital diagnosing it as a cerebral edema a swelling of the brain in the mstom of momentum ahead of enter the dragon's completion Bruce himself is the first to dismiss it as an isolated incident he flies to Los Angeles and receives a clean bill of health claiming to have been told he has the

body of an 18-year-old instead he plows onwards completing post- production on ENT of The dragon and looking back to the project he abandoned the previous Autumn what Bruce may have done with the Game of Death after Enter the Dragon is to ated to this day would he have discarded much of which he had already filmed and retooled the concept with a new plot line would he have dropped it all together once Enter the Dragon hit big at the box office we know that in the months prior to his death he goes back to work on

Developing the game of death and plans to resume filming at the end of the summer he calls Tadashi nishimoto and tells him that they will soon be filming the exterior scenes at song thean National Park in South Korea where the five-story palang johon temple will double for the outside of the Pagoda while filming Enter the Dragon Bruce films a camera test with his former Wing Chong Mentor Wong shung L sparring with wagan body double Joey Chen and stuntman Peter Chan he's auditioning Wong for the role of the second floor Guardian [Music] [Music] Bruce has already

offered the role of the second floor Guardian to a close friend and former student of his from Seattle Taki Kimura who had been forced to cancel the previous October eventually Camira relents and Bruce even buys him another plane ticket and tells him to get to Hong Kong for filming but Fate will soon intervene on the morning of July 20th he meets former James bondar George lasenby and Promises him a part in the film allegedly as one of the initial Partners to raid the Pagoda less than 12 hours later Bruce is gone the events of that

day are still a matter of debate but the commonly held version is this that evening Bruce and Raymond Chow visit the apartment of Betty Ting pay an actress with whom Bruce has been romantically linked in the Press ostensibly to discuss offering her a role in The Game of Death Bruce has complained all day of a migraine and Betty offers him a painkiller so he can take a nap Raymond Chow goes ahead to the restaurant to meet lasenby but when he gets there he receives a panicked phone call from Betty Bruce will not wake up and

by the time the paramedics arrive he is dead the coroner diagnoses the official Cause of death as a cerebral edema like the one he had in May the likely cause of which is determined to be in an allergic reaction to the equagesic painkiller but such a prosaic explanation will not suffice for many people fueled by a tabloid press hungry to spill ink regardless of the collateral damage increasingly outlandish conspiracy theories begin to spread like wildfire implicating everyone from the Triads to ancient Curses and even Raymond Chow as culpable in Bruce's death some even refuse to

believe Bruce has died at all and suggest he has fate as death perhaps as a publicity stunt for Enter the Dragon perhaps the main Drive Behind These theories was simply denial a widespread inability to accept the loss of a man who had recently been immortalized in Freeze Frame as he Le towards a firing squad at the end of Fist of Fury how could someone so iconic and beloved who Had become to be revered by many as The Greatest Warrior the Silver Screen had ever seen be failed by something so intangible so unexpected and perhaps even

self-inflicted regardless two certain truths remained Bruce Lee was gone forever and if production on the Game of Death were ever to continue it would be without him his open casket funeral held in Hong Kong only 5 days after his death is a media Circus cameras film every mner from every possible angle and footage of his dead body lying in state is rushed onto Cinema and television screens across the [Music] country in the wake of every public tragedy is a long line of opportunists out to make a quick Buck out of it and before Bruce Lee's

body is even in the ground the vultures sweep in right away eager to satiate an audience hungry for more films by a man No longer alive to make them the film industry spawns a whole new subgenre one that has come to be known in later years as Bruce plation a unique phenomenon only possible in a country like Hong Kong where trademark laws and likeness rights have never even been heard of hundreds of counterfeit Bruce Lee films are made designed to entice audiences either too naive to realize they're being sold a fake or too desperate for

more to care Bru ears [Music] back Bruce is back in his first action film at the age of 18 we repeat this dramatic development a film no one believe existed a film held in China and never before seen is finally here unauthorized biopics profess to tell the true story of Bruce's life and death but often dramatize the wild scenarios invented by the Tabloid press the martial arts Community was shocked by His sudden death come F people especially mourned the loss of their most popular hero the early reports of his death were unclear and confusing man

look at his face it doesn't even seem like the same person it's the life story the true story it's the Bruce Lee Story it reveals secrets of his personal life you've never seen before a life more violent than his movie roles Betty tee even stars in one such Film for sure Brothers the film that separates truth from fiction see Bruce Lee his last days as told by the one person who was with him during his final hourly another film even depicts the widely held fantasy that Bruce has faked his own death planning to reemerge in

1983 on the 10th anniversary of his Exodus from public life you must announce that you are dead your wife your children your friend and above all your work that's gone you will leave as A recruit for 10 years inevitably with the public eager to see the game of death Bruce bation producers step in to fill the void canell spinning their own story lines from the few scraps of information publicly known about Lee's script now through the miracle of Motion Pictures we bring you the story and the film that Superstar Bruce Lee wanted you to [Music]

[Applause] See goodbye Bruce Lee his last game of death few would ever mistake these for the real thing but the success of these films only demonstrated that in the absence of the genuine article fans would happily take whatever they could get then in 1976 the Lee family sells all of its shares in Concord to Raymond Chow and Golden Harvest knowing that money is being left on the table and that a Unique opportunity presents itself to make one last Bruce Lee film The Studio immediately gets to work on Reviving The Game of Death a documentary that

merely presents the footage as Bruce has shot it is deemed commercially unviable and the notion of presenting outakes through the medium of Home Video is still several years away only a new featurelength narrative film will satiate demand and recoup the investment Golden Harvest have already sunk into The project a promotional film is quickly distributed that shows golden Harvest auditioning lookalike actors to replace Bruce and the lead working with Hollywood companies to develop a new story line and even states that James Coburn Steve McQueen Muhammad Ali and Pelle are lined up to star in a new

footage enter once again Robert klouse following the runaway success of Enter the Dragon none of his subsequent films has enjoyed the Acclaim or box Office of his fleeting collaboration with Bruce Lee and when when Raymond Chow offers him the opportunity to finish the game of death clouse accepts he views the two hours of raw footage entirely without sound and not even a completed script or plot outline to help contextualize the events taking place on screen nonetheless he eventually completes a script of his own and begins filming in Hong Kong towards the end of 1977 when

clouse's film Game of Death is Finally unveiled to the public in the summer of 1978 the answer is to how the filmmaker has been able to incorporate Bruce Lee's incomplete Vision into a finished feature film quickly becomes apparent he has ignored it altogether instead of Lee's tale of Heen using his Nimble adeptness in combat to take down every Foe on each level of the Pagoda in order to win his family's freedom and in doing so depicting the importance of Adaptability to Lee's jondo philosophy K cla's script tells a completely different story one almost certainly inspired

by some of the more inan rumors that circulated around Lee in the Tabloid press following his death he is an international Superstar they call him a living legend but the woman he loves belongs to the Mob and now they're out to own him don't be a slow learner Billy Billy if they can't buy him they'll have to kill him Billy you don't have too many choices a final warning and so Begins the game of death in K clouse's film Lee's character is Billy low a famous action film star who is pressured by a vicious American

Syndicate that subsequently attempt to assassinate him when he doesn't give in to their demands Billy low survives but fakes his Death at which point clouse tastelessly repres the actual footage of Le's open casket funeral filmed by Golden Harvest complete with a jaw-dropping scene in which his character's plot is exposed when one of the Mobsters mutilates the face of a wax faximile of Lee's corpse and if that kind of bad taste sounds like something you'd see in a Bruce bation film that's because it [Music] is someone important died oh it's Bruce Lee Kung Fu star at

age 34 his death there's still a headlines here today at the funeral ceremony for Bruce Lee Kung Fu Superstar tens of thousands of people turned out to pay homage to This brilliant young man whose untimely death will be mourned by a great many people in the funeral procession were leading names in the movie business and of course thousands of Bruce Lee's loyal [Music] Fans the mourners many who kept the long vigil through the night now file in to pay their final tribute family friends and admirers some from distant lands Rome Tokyo London all shocked by

this sudden tragedy Bruce Lee's love for the martial arts was perhaps only surpassed by his love of friends as the dragon it was said he was feared by many but loved by All [Music] which even then is liberally intercut with newly filmed inserts featuring lookalikes as well as recycled footage from his other films the fights with Dan inosanto Jihan J and kareim Abdul Jabar all feature in the film but only fleetingly the setting changed from a Korean Pagoda to a Chinese restaurant of Lee's original cast only Dan and assanto returns to film new scenes the

other Actors either unable or unwilling to participate replaced by Body doubles all their characters cut out altogether to be generous to CLA for a moment he had an impossible task in front of him and it is difficult to imagine anyone could have acquitted themselves with the task of fashioning a coherent feature film out of the desperate odds and ends that were available indeed Bruce Lee himself had Yet to decide the specifics of much of the connecting tissue that would have held these strands together even up to the day he died but it is difficult to

imagine a more thorough vandalism of Bruce's original intent or a more committed misunderstanding of the philosophical underpinnings he imbued his work with than that which clouse achieved in 1978 in the years that followed rumors of a curse surrounding the production Grew in prominence with superstitious Chinese tabloids blaming among other things the title of the project itself blaming Lee's careless use of the word death for all the ills that befell him and it like all films purported to be cursed The Game of Death is of course only the victim of tragic coincidences but those coincidences did

not stop with Lee's death and indeed became more troubling As Time passed on November 16th 1977 Chan suddenly died just like Bruce the corer died diagnosed his cause of death as a cerebral Emer he died aged just 32 years and 8 months the same age as Bruce when he died while filming Robert clouse's Game of Death the same year Academy award-winning actor gig young fell in love with the film's young script supervisor Kim Schmidt a year later in September 1978 they married in Manhattan and only 3 Weeks later young shot and killed Schmid in their

apartment before turning the gun on himself Game of Death was his last film 15 years later Bruce's son Brandon was tragically killed on the set of the crow in an accident involving improperly loaded blank crowns some were quick to note the Eerie similarity to a scene in clouse's Game of Death where Bruce Lee's character is shot on the set of his latest Film regardless of what anyone believed there was no denying The Game of Death was already a film shrouded in notoriety unfinished unlucky [Music] unseen for whatever sins we can accuse Robert cla's Game of

Death of its success was pivotal in keeping the spec of Lee's original project alive and one could argue that the most enduring image of Bruce to audiences today is him in The yellow and black jumpsuit filmmakers who have paid tribute to gam of death over the years range from Steven Chow to Quinton Tarantino and its influence was keenly felt on the next generation of kung fu Superstars as well some of whom directly paid homage to it in their films [Music] [Applause] it's often been argued that the Game of Death had the greatest impact not on

Cinema but on video games Lee's original multi-level concept an escalating series of antagonists evoked in many early 8bit electronic favorites one can't help but Wonder though what impact Le's gamer death might have had if it had ever been finished as a new millennium approached there were finally signs of Hope after Gathering dust in the vaults following the sale of Golden Harvest assets to Media Asia in 1993 nine of the 11 reels of footage are uncovered in 1998 almost simultaneously Lee's original notes for the project including dialogue and a shot list for almost all of the

footage shot in 1972 are discovered by biographer John little in a storage unit in Seattle belonging to Bruce's family at last not only is most of the footage rediscovered but a written guide exists on how to make some sense of it in the Year 2000 two documentaries are released each containing different attempts at reassembling and reclaiming Lee's original vision for the game at death now two decades later the other two reals have been found including the fight between Chay Yuan and Dan inosanto thought lost for 50 years and with it a new opportunity to assemble

the footage into something resembling its Creator's intentions it would be dishonest to call any presentation of This footage an accurate representation of Lee's wishes for the Game of Death we can never know what shape the project would have taken had he not died or even how much of the filmed material he would have used at all too many pieces of the puzzle are forever missing um but for now this is the final Game of Death [Music] welcome to Korea hien now listen up you may not be a champion fighter anymore but I don't Care if

you put that behind you as long as we have your family you're playing my game and following my rules you win the game you your sister and your brother go free you lose you die so listen carefully tomorrow morning you drive out to a hidden compound surrounded by 50 m of forest in every direction in the middle of this compound is an ancient pagod five fls high on the top floor of this Temple is something I want very badly and you're going to get it for me You don't need to know what it is just

know that if you don't get it you lose the game sound easy enough so far think again getting into the compound is one thing getting into the pakoda is another I've sent 10 men in there before and none of them ever made it out alive we don't know much but here's what our spies have told us once you get to the Pagoda you'll have to fight your way through the deadliest karate fighters this part of the world has ever produced Most guys never get inside but I think you'll make short work of them once you're

inside the temple that's where this game really gets going each floor is guarded by a fighter trained in the deadliest skills known to man and when they're not in training their sole purpose in life is to guard whatever is at the top of that Temple even if it means fighting to the death the fighter on the first floor is said to be the world's greatest kickboxer his Feet are mightier and faster than your fists so watch out once you get past him you reach the Hall of the tiger the man who guard that floor is

an esrea grandm from the Philippines he won't need to kick you his sticks will do the job before him if by some miracle you survive him you reach the Hall of the Dragon where you'll face the greatest hito Master this country is ever seen should you succeed in making it Through the floor above that well they don't call it the Hall of the unknown for nothing no one knows who or what is waiting for you up there like any good cber I like to hedge my BS so you won't be on your own four of

my men will be heading out with you two to wait outside and guard the Pagoda the other two to finish the job if it turns out you're not the champion they all say you are now I you got a good feeling you'll do what it takes to win this and keep your Family safe but I have to incentivize my people too which is why I've already told them that whoever gets to the top of first wins a 50 grand in cash and a seat at the table for life they win you lose just in case

you thought about seting this one out or trying to escape those are the rules of the game you play to win or you die your choice begin [Music] pap N [Music] [Music] huh those red sticks look pretty cute but still size always wins out show him he [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] uhuh two little sticks ah [Music] don't let him psych you out [Music] [Music] hey [Music] [Music] hey hey [Music] [Music] sh with [Music] [Music] so much of the conversation around the Game of Death revolves around what it was supposed to be or what it could

have been so let's take a step back and ask a simpler question what what is it now what are we left with stripping away any interpretations or feelings the project May Inspire the inescapable truth is that all we have is a series of desperate Pieces fragments of a vision forever unrealized too many puzzle pieces missing we have 2 hours of filmed material with no sound and no indication of how much if any of it might have made it into the finished film in instead there is a void where additional scenes editing and sound design should

go a void that allows each individual to project The Game of Death that they want the Bruce Lee that they want onto what is left is it his lost Masterpiece the Pinnacle of his achievements thus far one could argue that it cannot qualify masterpieces have to be finished first whatever lofty Ambitions Bruce may have had for the project and whatever virtues are evident in the Mater material available to us ultimately we will always be left with more questions than answers so allowing for that void the unknowable truth of how Bruce Lee might have completed the

Game of Death there is still so much to Celebrate it is an incomplete project yes that even in its roest form arguably shows more ambition and offers more excitement than many finished films it remains Lee's most straightforward and Earnest cinematic exper expression of his personal ethos his next and sadly last confident stride forward as a filmmaker some may argue that Enter the Dragon as his last completed film shows Bruce Lee at the peak of his powers the Pinnacle of his physical form and Fighting ability but if you believe the journey is as important as the

destination then as evidenced by the photos taken on set and the glimpses seen between takes what survives of the Game of Death may show something greater a man who has achieved great success and is still reaching outward still hopeful for the future still expanding the boundaries of what a man in his position might achieve to watch the game of death is to see Bruce Lee at his most assured His most fulfilled and arguably his most happy [Music] [Laughter] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] E