Game of Death - Integral version

[Phantom Dreamer]

On 4/4/2013 at 5:08 AM, The Dragon said:

 

I agree with your initial point. They could have hired Ho Chung Tao to be Lee's shadow, retained Yuen Wah as his acrobat double, since Lee previously employed him as such, and brought Taky Kimura over to finish his pagoda level... Under Sammo's action direction he'd have survived. Chieh Yuan died in 75' so he'd been available if production resumed in 74'.

 

Now, about the story they ended up using... I hate it! The reason being primarily, Chow initially told people Lee had no script or story available; (we now know it was more than likely KEPT from him, by Lee.) However, the "rising MA /Filmstar, being pursued by The Underworld" story arc-to me, struck a tad too close to home, for me.

Factor in these elements:

 

He has a Caucasian girlfriend (who also happens to be in the business)

Drives a Mercedes

Walks around town in Ray Bans and flowery Italian Designed Fashions

Has a journalist confidant by the name MARSHALL (Lee's attorney's name was Adrian Marshall)

Accidents on movie sets-set-lights falling, nearly smashing the star-(mimicking the possibility certain accidents during ETD may not have been all that accidental)

Lastly, the inclusion of the star's actual corspe in the final cut-beyond comprehension!

 

Boy, the more you think about it, they really stunk it up!

I'm surprised this isn't brought up or rarely is, anytime Game of Death 78 is reviewed.

[Alan C]

My thoughts on Bruce's original concept Game of Death:

It's half brilliant - specifically the pagoda motif and how it's used as a metaphor for exploring Jungian psychology, as well as being a tutorial on the philosophy of JKD.

The set up, at least on paper, doesn't match the philosophical depth of the pagoda theme. In fact, it reads like generic B movie material -  crime syndicate, kidnapped family, blackmail, etc.

Now whether or not the final result would have revealed that disparity, had Bruce completed it, is up for speculation.

A few random thoughts:

The second floor, which would have emphasized Wing Chun and preying mantis would have been a highlight for sure, considering Wing Chun was Bruce's mother art.

Beyond his unknown style of combat (JKD), Kareem's character  represents  the physical manifestation of Bruce's shadow self - in every sense of the term - from his physical characteristics (size and color) to the fact that he dwells in the dark.

If indeed the 'treasure' on the top floor  was a mirror ( a la the initial Silent Flute ending), like some have speculated, it really would have been tonally inconsistent with the reason the group was 'hired' to raid the temple.

[DragonClaws]

 

Quote

An unofficial DVD release circling the Internet entitled "Game of Death: Integral" features a 127 min cut of the film featuring:

• A large majority of Bruce Lee's original footage not used in the official release. This is most notable in the final three fights as there is now dialog between Billy Lo and Pasqual as well as with Hakim. The final three fights added up to only 10 minutes in the 1978 release, but the combined length of the fights in this cut is 25 minutes.
• The greenhouse fight in the Hong Kong version is also in this cut along with an extended scene before the fight in which Billy Lo is training on his outdoor balcony as he hears banging noises from the other room. This is actually footage from Meng Long Guojiang with new sound effects added. Also, when Billy comes back to his apartment after the fight, he finds a note reading "Have you two made out your wills?" along with a phone call from Dr. Land in which all he says is "You bastard!" with a follow up villainous laugh.
• The opening theme is replaced with an updated version of the Game of Death theme originally created for the Japanese film Bruce Lee in G.O.D.
• The infamous "cardboard cutout head" shot shown in all other versions has been replaced with a close up shot of Bruce Lee from Jing Wu Men.
• The even more infamous shot of the real corpse of Bruce Lee from his actual funeral has been replaced with a horizontally flipped shot of the outside of the funeral parlor with all of the fans standing outside.
• All of the fake Bruce Lee yells have been replaced with real yells from stock audio.
• The film's ending is an extension of the Hong Kong ending in which Billy Lo is arrested. However, the scene inter-cuts with Billy Lo (from the original Bruce Lee footage) walking back down the stairways of the Red Pepper Restaurant complex ending with him yelling out to the police in Cantonese "Help me!" One officer looks up and replies "Hurry down!" The scene ends with Billy Lo being taken away by the police, then fading to a tracking shot revealing the yellow and black tracksuit laying over top of a chair in an editing room and a narrator reading from Lee's Tao of Jeet Kune Do discussing "The Void".
• The film also ends with a large number of bloopers and outtakes from Bruce Lee's original Game of Death footage.

 

 

@newgen2005 was this Intergral Version, one of the of the Fan Projects mentioned in this thread by @DT-Nice1988?.

 

 

[DT-Nice1988]

After Years I couldn't find any Game of Death Fan Cuts, I created myself a new version 2 years ago, based on the integral cut.

 

I used a german dubbed DVD Video file from the '78 G.O.D. and cuted in the Training Szene & Green House Fight with from the Hong Kong Version. I also cuted in the hole Artport G.O.D Material and then cuted out all scenes, in which James Tien and the other Guy are shown (because they doesn't work with the '78 Story). I decided to let the light sensibility of Hakim in my cut, without that it makes no sense, that Billy suddenly is much better than Hakim. I knew in' 78 version, Lee fights the guards at night. So I had to find a reason, where the light in the Hakim Fight cames from. I found a scene from the cantonese version, in which Billy Lo walks as an old man trough a city and looks to the red pepper restaurant (with the neon signs). I used that footage. So Billy destroys the Paper windows and then the red pepper restaurant outside with the neon signs apeared. My idea was, that the light came from the neon signs. After the defeat of Hakim, the footage of the '78 version continues (Lo fights Steiner and kills Dr. Land). For the ending I combined, like in the integral cut, the extended Hong Kong Version Ending with the Ending of the G.O.D Artport footage. So Lo goes downstairs, schout outside for help and you see the police man, who looks up, from the Hong Kong Ending. The Police Man forces Billy to come down. Then Billy is arrested by the police and Land gets in an ambulance car. 

I even creating Endcredit scene without Endcretids I liked the musik of the "Bruce Lee - The Legend" End credits very much, so I combined it with footage from the G. O. D '78 Production (Screen Tests, Castings, Behind the scene Footage, Outtakes). And at the very end you see the chair with the jimpsuit, laying over it, from the G.O.D Artport Endcredits.

For all scenes without geman dub, I created german subtitles. 

I called it "Game of Death '78 - Ultimate Cut". It looks not professional, because I didn't know how to include sound, so music is changing sometimes. And the quality of the different footage is from good to bad. 

But to answer your question, I was searching 3 fancuts, I know of. 

1. Game of Death - Alternate, by makeone

He tells about it, at the first pages of this topic. He cut parts of "Game of Death", "Game of Death 2" and "Enter the dragon" together ans created a hole new film. Story is about Billy Lo, who wants to revenge Chin Ku. Ku was killes by Dr. Land and his men, because he didn't want to work with them. 

2. Game of Death 2.5 aka Carl Johns Edit

Like the fancut from makeone, he cut parts of the same three films together to create a new film. 

3. Game of Death - Final Cut

What I know of, this cut include the original Bruce Lee footage + some extra scenes. In one scene you see Lee enter the pagoda. This cut feels more complete. 

Makeone contacted me already. So maybe I get some of these cuts. 

[DT-Nice1988]

I have another thing about the changed story in. G. O. D. 78. I talked to Michael Worth of the Clones Cast (Bruceploitation expert). He said it was impossible maybe for R. Clause to use the original storyline. Golden Harvest wanted that it look like, like the real bruce lee would play Billy Lo all the time. So the only way to hide the face of the double, would be, to use the same Close Up scenes of Bruce’s face, from the original material, over and over again. So that would have looked strange at the end. It also wouldn't have make sense, if the double would were sunglasses in all scenes. So they change the whole plot. So the could use old material, as Filmmakingscenes, and Lo could were sunglasses, because he's a superstar. And even as an actor, he has knowledge of hinding his face behind false beards and masks. Another point, the story feels more like the  big blockbuster, the audience expected with the hollywood feeling.