Is ARROW'S "The Final Game of Death" a BRUCE LEE Masterpiece?  

I was so emotional watching this seeing bruce laughing and having fun! I still don't understand why they can't make this into a movie with all the deepfake technology to fill in the missing pieces would be amazing!

Mate, as a director I would urge EVERY film student to study THE FINAL GAME OF DEATH. Having all of the dailies to examine and choose the best takes is an invaluable exercise for anyone that wants to be either a director or editor - and dissect how great action sequences are pieced together. I was signing at a horror convention in Indianapolis a few weeks back and a friend of mine brought a gang of 14-year-old filmmakers to my table to offer up some advice. I told them to watch this. It’ll teach you everything you need to know about shooting coverage.

This Arrow boxset just gets better and better I can’t see it being beat Stripey your enthusiasm alone sells the documentary Always look forward to your videos because we want to keep Bruce lee going Have a good week 👍

Would have been his masterpiece had he finished the film

The best Bruce Lee documentary I've ever seen and the ultimate tribute to GOD. Thank you for reviewing this one mate, you did a great job as always. 👍

the final game of death is an amazing piece of work, not just the documentary but the new edit as well. The quality of this footage is so high surely there is no way bruce could have discarded it. I honestly think game of death would have been his best ever film. The whole thing is bittersweet though I get help but wonder what could have been had he not tragically died. Well done arrow - brilliant job and well done stripey for an excellent video.

I've watched this disc at least 48 times - and converted to MP4. This just takes stands above them all just for all the extras. The Final didnt reach my expectations - the Artport audio is the best version out. I agree 100% with the review. I'm have waited 43 years for this and I am not ashamed to share that I was super emotional watch all the footage. Remembering the days of telling my older brother that there is something off about this. I was only 6 years old and was just captivated with the concept. I even have the title tattooed in cantonese on my arm. I collect so many things "pieces to the puzzle" as you say of this film. I gave thanks to the good guy above for the efforts of those who found this from day one.. everyone. The fans are greatful.

"The Jewel In The Crown" of this boxset. Just jawdropping. Great review once more Stripey, love your energy & enthusiasm mate!

This was a great review Stripey, i really need to see this, was thinking of getting the single version you mentioned in your last video. Love the T-shirt mate. Lol game of death is my guilty pleasure too always remember my VHS tape of it where it only had 2 fights with Bruce Lee as heavily cut with the nunchuck as all the films was during the late 80s and 90s. Great video 👍

Its funny, how that "Bruce Lee The Legend" theme score used at the beginning of "The Final Game of Death" is was NOT made for Bruce Lee the Legend, it is the music used for the Hong Kong version of 1978's Game of Death, except that one had Chinese lyrics to it. You can hear it used in the trailer for the time, and seeing how The Legend came out in 1984, this theme goes full circle, even though it is a different tempo and instrumental version of Way of The Dragon.

Great vid Stripey! In 1978 we had to queue to see GOD at the cinema in Liverpool! The queues went around the block! I queued numerous times over the weeks just to see those 11 minutes…the last time we queued was for ETD! No internet, no TV stuff just the posters and magazines…

I thought this is the best documentary Arrow has ever come up with and worth sitting through over 3 hours. This is basically Arrow’s counterpart to A Warrior’s Journey but only focuses on the filming of The Game of Death and the most complete reel yet throughout the video essay compiled by ten chapters including the intro and the epilogue including the ‘log fight’ scene and the New Territories. James Flower and Brandon Bentley put their tireless efforts together to show Bruce Lee utmost respect for reconstructing the true vision of the incomplete film. The reconstruction attempt Arrow has worked on is just as good as A Warrior’s Journey IMO, only with minor gripes about the modern dubbing that don’t necessarily fit the old-school 1970s Golden Harvest classic film (it was filmed without sound just like most of Hong Kong and Italian films during that time of course) and of course the Bruce Lee lookalike at the beginning of the reconstructed short film. Speaking of which, it’s what A Warrior’s Journey do not have in this case and it’s that Arrow can incorporate the classic GH sound effects AND the OG music by (late unfortunately) Joseph Koo that was exactly composed by the early 70s, including library and stock music that was used for The Big Boss and other early Golden Harvest films, into the final mix of a period-correct film. BTW Stripey I cannot thank you enough for doing your video review on TFGOD. Keep it up for your next video.

I absolutely loved Final Game Of Death. Best part of the set. I went through the set, with every special feature twice lol. This stood out the most to me as an exceptional piece of work from Arrow. Bruce's speed on some of those takes! Note how Bruce throws massive circular punches that are a blur, you wouldn't be able to see his limbs move much if he didn't over exaggerate his movements. I loved all the little hand gestures and stances he posed in. Great stuff.

You're right, mate. This whole Game of Death footage could've just been a training montage for all we know. Can't wait to get my hands on this box set!

I have still got to watch any of these and so excited to watch them after your vids… GOD for me is if only he got to finish it would have been epic just wished this could have been done how Bruce wanted it to be.I love all the magic about this movie and keeps everyone guessing and will be talked about for many years to come . Really looking forward to watching the documentary now. Anyway you keep well and will look forward to another Bruce vid… waving from Colchester 🤙🏻👍🏻

Amazing Documentary and piecing together of the footage

Great video stripey,,and i loved the final God documentarys ,the more bruce the more better i like 😊

going Game crazy gor a few years now, watching fan edits, art port and warriors journey many times. The redux was a nice addition to the mix. Finally rewatched the 78 version a few months ago. I can see someone doing a new fan edit with all the footage. Btw I've watched Final twice and am ready for a few more viewings. Yes Game is a guilty pleasure and am glad the behind the scenes footage exists for this one.

Great review. It is probably the best Bruce documentary ever and there have been some excellent ones. I think the Final G.O.D is definitely the best disc in a box set full of treasures. Arrow have done a brilliant job. I found it hard going watching Game Of Death 78 after seeing this if I'm honest. In the past, sometimes I've liked it, sometimes I haven't but after the Final G.O.D, it was a slog. The soundtrack is still great though and worth it for Bruce's 11 mins.

Great review Stripey. You hit the nail on the head. This is definitely the gem of the boxset.

I think the final game of death is great but my only gripes are the horror background music they used and I did not like the dubbing, I’m hoping someone can reconstruct the warriors journey with this footage so we get the best dub and visuals

Nice1 Stripey ! This one sounds amazing...can't wait to watch it for myself.

Amazing job! Really enjoyed your breakdown! Keep up the good work!

Great review and well done Stripey, I always watch your reviews. Well done Sir

Looking forward to watching this. I did watch some of Game of Death the other night. The HDR made Bruce jump suit look orange 😮 but his trainers yellow not sure if my projector settings were off or not. Really the Theatrical cut of Game of Death isn't great apart from those 11 minutes plus the John Barry score. I recently picked up a Warrior Journey great documentary as well 👍

Great review ☺️ You always delivers great content

Stripey your right 10 out of 10 for the final game of death also 10 out of 10 for your presentation keep up the great work pal.

I've owned the Arrow 4K set since it came out, but I still hadn't watched the Final Game of Death disc. I wasn't expecting much from it. Since seeing your review I've begun watching it, and it's given me a totally new perspective on the GOD project. I'm enjoying it immensely! There are even two more examples of Bruce doing Beerdy's 'Monkey style' (ie ducking under kicks) after he uppercuts KLJ in the plums! Thanks for your Final GOD presentation Stripey 👍🏼

I used to really dislike Game of Death 1978, but I’ve now watched it 4 times on the arrow box set and really really like it, even more than Big Boss and Fist of Fury maybe because the fights were done by Sammo Hung and it is actually a really good action movie. But yeah I you’re right that Final Game of Death is the best thing on the set.

Thanks for review stripey. I still like what we had back in 78. As you said the John Barry Score throughout is great. Always gets me as do his bond scores all of them. I think bond himself George lazenby was set to be in game of death. He was at Bruce's funeral. Just last night stripey I screened the big boss in my cinema last night. Yes those 9 mins or so is the payoff plus the bond like titles and music and the end credits no body left the cinema when the house lights came up and Bruce Lee was still on the screen. ❤. Best.

You definitely summed it up here. They did an amazing job, although the war cries were a bit off putting for me. but this box set was worth every penny. The 1978 GOD? Well my friend, what I loved about the film, although it sounds corny, is that amazing old Hollywood actor, Dean Jagger. He plays a brilliant part and I love his laugh in that film and sense of humour, especially when he says to his fish in the tank, " You beautiful bastard"! He was one of the old Hammer Horror films back in the late 1950s. I think it was Quatermass. On a final note Stripey, will you be doing that video on your opinion on Bruce's death and the drug letters? Just curious of your thoughts on his passing away and the circumstances. Always a pleasure watching you. Keep well. Warmest wishes! Tony 👍👍

It was very well put together and the great dates and background detail put things and his final days into better perspective - for those of us who were not around at the time. The only thing I did not like is that they are and were always holding back footage that had existed for so long. The other Lee footage without the shirt and in bell bottoms were clearly filmed, as we saw the moving footage clips in the docu. The other scenes were held back for so long when common sense should always tell people that if there are stills of a movie being recorded, there is the motion picture as well. They clearly had more than enough footage to make out most of the movie, but chose the one that they did, with only but so much footage. Many people have been trained to hate it, but it was an alright movie on it's own, and the music was iconic. With the tech now, they can complete it.

Thanks Stripey always love your videos

Had lunch with a friend this week who considers himself a movie fan - asked him if he’s seen any Bruce Lee movies and he said the only one was the movie with the yellow jump suit …. seems common and a shame.

Always enjoy your reviews Stripey

Thanks for you discussion.

Another great video Stripley, thanks!

Legendary video

Брюс Ли на всегда остенеться в моем сердце. Сильная личность. Феномен.

Great vid. Liked and subscribed 🎉

An epic effort Great review Only bug for me was the Bruce dubber he was unbelievable 😢😢. Bey should’ve done it again

Show Is Always Great..Keep them Coming My Martial Arts Brother

Great vid. Subscribed

Hi Stripey, Great review again..I have not reached "The Final Game of Death " yet, but now I'll set a date ,sit down and become 12 years old again!! Like you I have not watched the 1978 G.O.D in years, the first Video I had of it was a Betamax, and it had Michael Jackson singing "Rock with You" over the opening credits ! but having watched it a few years ago, I had forgotten Gig Young was in it!!..that sticks out because he was in what is considered the Best episode of the old 1960s Twilight Zone. ."Walking Distance" where he walks back into his past! just wish, he could have walked in the future and saw how one of his last film outings would turn out!.. Great to chat with you again over the net.. keep the films rolling Stripey!

Hi Strippey I do hope you get to read this because like many Bruce Lee fans you may not be aware of this information about Bruce Lee's The Game Of Death, two points I wanted to make really, point one, do you know the significance of the red light in the 4th floor off the pagoda The Hall Of The Dragon, or The Temple Of Gold?, the light is red so no harmful white light can creep into the floor above, The Temple Of The Unknown which is lite only by candlelight, point two, Kareems character is the only guardian not seen training outside the pagoda in broad daylight because he was light sensitive and couldn't leave it, so there are three clues to Kareems blindness, his room is lite by candlelight and the windows are darker if you look carefully, he wears dark glasses in a dark environment, and he is never seen training outside with the other guardians, so all the clues to his weakness are present if your clever enough to spot them, Bruce Lee's character discovered Kareems weekness by luck when he broke the widows panels by mistake, and if the mysterious teasure really was the mirrored book like in Circle of Iron Kareem who was the ultimate guardian to the teasure was blind to it, blind to enlightenment because he was light sensitive, hope you get to read this my friend 😊

Has Bruce Lee's shooting script been published? It would have been a great bonus feature on this box set. I mean what is stopping a new film today being shot from his original script. I'm assuming the Lee family owns it. There are rumors of his script for The Silent Flute being used for a series. HBO just released the third season of Warrior. So anything could happen. Also, thoughts on Warrior? You should do a video.

I think Bruce put so much thought into the pagoda scenario , it would have been interesting to see what led up to it, they based computer games on that footage so he may have found it hard to write verses around that massive chorus , so to speak

Awesome review brother, also I am enjoying my box set got it at a very good $ super Happy with it, keep up the good reviews 👊🏾👍🏾

Appreciate this. I was thankfully able to purchase off of the UK Arrow Media site.. the US one doesn't carry this. Just got this preordered

Great review fantastic 👍keep up the great job. Thank you my friend. Enjoy your day.

Great video review Stripey!

Im very glad this doc exists

I am surprised that there hasn't been a modern remake made of Game of Death. The casting directors could search for a martial artist with similar looks to the late Bruce Lee, with of course great martial arts ability.

Been a while since I watched your initial boxset review and got it myself. Man all of August was consumed by that boxset for me lol. But yeah The Final Game of Death is great thanks to the exposition opening and the log fight added back in. But Game of Death Revisited will always be superior to me because Bruce Lee actually doing his own voice dubbing, the lack of him and Karim's inner thoughts make us fill in the gaps of their thoughts during the fight ourselves, and lastly...that ending is just much better showing the tracksuit hanging on the chair. Gives it a more melancholic feel rather than feeling abrupt.

Greta review, iv watched 17.40 second of Bruce vs Kareem out takes on the Bruce Lee channel on you tube took from the final game of death , just wondering would that be all the outakes from the documentary ? Apart from the log screen and the new territory’s ?

I bet they still have the whole fights with Wong in sik, and possibly taki kumara ( best friend) for the praying mantis style in the GOD.

I love the 1978 G.O.D edit of Bruce, I love them all. Because they are different visions of the material. The 1978 is very quick and intense compared to the more complete edits. You will learn to enjoy them all Stripey, I promise 😁

Have not got the box set but have pre ordered the stand alone way of the dragon with final GOD bonus disc, i often wonder about the amazing movies he would have made down the years ☹

Always love your passion Stripey keep on keeping on

HE IS ALIVE IN OUR MEMORIES.😃👊💢🫸🤛👍

Hey stripey hope you are well pal, great review, arrow have definitely done it again, after this boxset, who knows what is next, with technology 2day,at least we are finally getting the, movies bruce intended us to see, stay safe mate, support always from Ireland 💯🇮🇪🙏🇮🇪🤜🤛👌👌👌🐲🙏🐉#1940to1973 #brucelee#foreveryoung

@15:10 The 1984 Irem arcade game "Kung-Fu Master" was almost certainly inspired by Game of Death. If you've never played it, watch a video of it on RU-vid and you'll see the similarities.

Great review Stripey

Godblessyou

For the obvious reason, Geezer. 20 mins was great.

The end fights in the tower are the best 🥋 OSU 🥋 Greetings from the Netherlands

This video is Electric!!!

Fantastic review and insights Stripey. Where can we get that yellow t-shirt you're wearing?

I'm still convinced there's footage out there of Bruce in the new territory's that golden harvest or even Linda are still holding on too .

Watch the Cantonese cut of GOD 78 Stripey. I hate the 78 version but that cut is the one if picking a 78 version to watch

Stripey, vids are cool, where did you get that t shirt, cheers mat.

Hers a Question, for you! Regardless of nationality, who do you think is the best martial artist after him, recently and going back?

Another great review

Did john little find the game of death footage? i thought i heard bey logan say he found the 9 game of death canisters? Great vid stripey

I'm in a bit of a situation where these all region B and I don't have a player in Canada for this. I was able to download a software free trial to rip some of files and get experience the super8 footage of Dan Inosanto and shared it with some friends. The Arrow films cut of the footage was certainly a delight to watch with a higher definition. However me and my friend both felt like the John Little version has better voice acting. Especially at the beginning the boss character sound like a very insulting Asian accent from South Park. Not sure if it was for comedic value or it wasn't intentional.

Great review. Haven’t seen this yet, but they could’ve spruced up some of the awful shots in the ‘78 version. Technology being what it is now, they could’ve fixed the picture on the mirror and some of the shots taken from Way of the Dragon. Maybe even deep faked Kim Tai-chung’s into Bruce’s.

Thank you Stripey.

I thought Hwang In-Shik was scheduled to work on "Game of Death" but nothing ever materialized. Would have liked to ask his son Daniel but I've since lost his contact on Facebook.

여기 몇몇분들이 더빙이 별로 였다고 말하지만 저 다큐후반에 최근 촬영한 파고다탑 내레이션영상를 포함해서 총 45분짜리 단편영화로 사실상 완성된 이소룡의유작를 볼수있어서 영광이에요

This is fascinating stuff, but also torture for plebs like me who still just have DVD/ Bluray 😢

great review .... I guess you like it then ! My 3 gripes ..... the synopsis lookalike reminded me of Linda at the 1973 airport interview ! Not using the John Barry Score and lastly ......... people calling it THE Game of Death . I still think there is more out there. Bet Alan Canvan is pissed now as his project is obsolete without ever getting a release .

Loved this documentary! Did you hear Joseph Koo bruce Lee the legend but slowed down through the whole documentary. My only nitpick is I wished they used John Barry score for the edit

Awesome !

bruce lee and the pink floyd... my kinda buddy!!

Is this available in digital format

Imagine if Bruce had lived long enough to star in the original Karate kid movie :/

Stripey, I believe on the documentary Bruce’s character was referred to as the ‘Yellow Faced Tiger’. However, in 1974, Lo Wei directed a movie with the same name which was released in the US as ‘Slaughter in San Francisco’ with Chuck Norris. Do you know anything about the origins of this title?

They cut out some bits of game of death?

Arrow's The Final Game of Death is fantastic, but only because that disc contains all the raw footage that Bruce shot for Game of Death including the "log fight", and also because it's in the best picture quality. I'm a big fan of Bruce Lee and I love Game of Death, but I don't like how they put together those shots and their intro where Hai Tien looks like Bruce's wife Linda when she was young. A total moron must have done that! I believe every Bruce Lee fan has also seen John Little's version which is much better. Only in Bruce Lee: A Warrior's Journey are the best shots taken by Bruce selected. In addition, they are cut at exactly those moments to make it look the best. I have seen every version of Game of Death since that 1978 movie including Bruce Lee in G.O.D. (2000), Game of Death Redux by Alan Canvan from the Criterion Collection released in 2020, so I can confidently say that there is simply no better version than Bruce Lee: A Warrior's Journey. John Little did it first and rightly so. All the other versions, including this latest one, contain footage that Bruce would never put in his film and also the dialogues are not exactly what Bruce had written in his incomplete script. I also recommend everyone to read at least part of this wonderful book by John Little "Wrath of the Dragon: The Real Fights of Bruce Lee". On page 135 it is written about how Bruce Lee beat up Joe Lewis. You can also learn about all four real-life fights that Bruce had on the set of Enter the Dragon with local gang members who were extras. Henry Wong shot it all on 16mm film. Unfortunately, after clipping out ten minutes of footage from the five or so hours that Wong would end up filming, all of the unused footage was thrown away - including the segments that contained the real fights. Fortunately, it doesn't directly say that the recordings are destroyed, only that Warners no longer have them. So maybe sometime in the future on RU-vid, seeing Bruce Lee in a real fight is not unrealistic.

Before I purchase the DVD does it play on US DVD player?

Didn’t Bey Logan discover this footage? Not J little.. think little just got to publish it on his doc or whatnot. Iv owned all the outtakes since 2006. I was mega shocked and over the moon to discover what I had bought. There used to be a Bruce lee shop in Hong Kong back then, I went in, bought one item, for only 15 quid!!!!! Then when I got home to England and played it I could not believe it had 90 mins of outtakes that I have never seen before. Was blown away. Obvs the quality on arrow is way superior and next level so loving it. But I bought that for 15 quid all those years ago and after a few years I actually sold it on eBay for 185 quid to some collector ha. So am glad I have it again now with some xtra bits, I mean the log fights nice and all but it’s like hilarious short innit ha. All good stuff tho

I have watched this and it is amazing and really well made and well done to all concerned. The original Game Of Death release , I do not watch anymore as that was a total insult to Bruce's memory and also laughable

There's actually a gane that could be inspired by Bruce Lee's original vision of game of death for arcades and nes called kung fu

Stripey. Will you be reviewing the book with the box set.?

I think there will be another version, especially with AI

are these 'John Little' discovered cannisters different to the ones Bey Logan found in the Media Asia archives after they bought a large section of the GH back catalog in 1993? I thought it was Bey that found them and he was responsible for the licensing it to Little's for Warriors Journey. Note that he also licensed it to Artport but for some reason the Artport version was clearer than Warriors Journey.

Bruceleeyea he”stherealthing

As for Clouse's Game of Death, I genuinely like it. It's an interesting premise, but does take itself too seriously so it clashes with Bruce Lee's playfulness in the few 11 minutes we get of him.

Warner brothers really screwed up Bruce lee’s GAME OF DEATH

I brought the Bruce Lee arrow set, there is a problem with the Game of Death final it's not compatible with the dvd player the other dvds are ok.