Game of Death

Started by Bruce Lee, finished without him

In September and October 1972, Bruce Lee shot the fights for a project he wrote and directed himself: a retired champion climbs a pagoda where each floor is held by a master of a different style. He stopped to make Enter the Dragon and died on 20 July 1973. Golden Harvest later handed the film to Robert Clouse, who rewrote it as a revenge story. Kim Tai-chung doubles for Lee in most scenes and Sammo Hung choreographed the new fights. The film opened in Hong Kong on 23 March 1978 and in the US in June 1979. Of the hundred or so minutes Lee shot, it keeps only about twelve, nearly all in the final stretch.

Three opponents picked by Lee

The 1972 fights are a jeet kune do demonstration: no fixed style, a different answer for each opponent. Against Dan Inosanto, his student and a Filipino martial arts specialist, it is escrima stick against nunchaku. Against Ji Han-jae, the Korean hapkido master Lee trained with, it is joint locks and throws. Against Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, another student standing 7 ft 2 in, Lee has to find a way past a huge reach: he stays low, attacks the legs and closes the distance.

What a practitioner will recognise

The strong-side lead, the bouncing footwork, the low stop kicks and the stop hit that lands during the opponent's attack are all there in those twelve minutes. The rest, shot with doubles, does not come close. The yellow jumpsuit with black stripes became one of cinema's most copied costumes, worn again by Uma Thurman in Kill Bill: Volume 1.

Reception

It grossed an estimated $50 million worldwide, but reviews were harsh (38% on Rotten Tomatoes), and the use of real footage of Lee's funeral drew criticism. To see the 1972 fights in their intended order, look for John Little's documentary Bruce Lee: A Warrior's Journey.