Hall of the Unknown - The Game Of Death Appreciation Thread

[DragonClaws]

On 3/24/2020 at 4:39 PM, Mechagoji75 said:

Well, as this is related to Game of Death, I had my time on March 14th, starting attempt to work on a screenplay of The Game of Death, I was going through my research, that looks flat-broke, but although decent to go through when it was a good time to work on the screenplay on spec. It's a first draft. I think it’s the right time to work on it, I had previous attempts and none were that good, it rot into failure. But here are page samples, what I have been working on. Though after the first draft, I have possibilities of working on the second draft that I would look carefully from what I had not included in the first draft.  But as of now, I'm having a wonderful time to work on this script. I was almost to work on a seventh draft screenplay based on Lee's life, but it didn't quite work so well. But with this, I knew I had want to form a story that would seem interesting to write...

Sincerely -- Tue D. Nguyen (Mechagoji75)

 

Thanks for sharing your content on the forums @Mechagoji75 and all the best with any future script work.

 

 

 

[DragonClaws]

 

Source- https://onmilwaukee.com/dining/articles/bruce-lee-takeover-hotel-madrid.html

Edited April 1, 2020 by DragonClaws

[DrNgor]

Question: Do you consider Game of Death to be a Hong Kong film or an American film?

[masterofoneinchpunch]

2 minutes ago, DrNgor said:

Question: Do you consider Game of Death to be a Hong Kong film or an American film?

Coproduction from both a production (the money) and directorial standpoint.

[Killer Meteor]

I think it's Hong Kong - Golden Harvest produced through and through. It had problems finding a US distributor.

 

Enter the Dragon is defiently a co-production.

[DragonClaws]

On 7/16/2020 at 8:35 AM, Killer Meteor said:

It had problems finding a US distributor.

 

Where did you read this?.

 

You would have thought U.S Distributor's would have been fighting over the chance to buy this. Considering how much money was made from Bruce Lee's back catalogue. When his Hong Kong films were released in America, post Enter the Dragon. Or had the Kung Fu movie craze just passed it peak in America?. 

 

Was the 1978 version of Game of Death, considered to be a successful film in terms of worldwide profits and box-office?.

[Killer Meteor]

Can't remember where I read it, but there is over a year's gap between the HK release and the US one.

[Josh Baker]

14 hours ago, DragonClaws said:

 

Where did you read this?.

 

You would have thought U.S Distributor's would have been fighting over the chance to buy this. Considering how much money was made from Bruce Lee's back catalogue. When his Hong Kong films were released in America, post Enter the Dragon. Or had the Kung Fu movie craze just passed it peak in America?. 

 

Was the 1978 version of Game of Death, considered to be a successful film in terms of worldwide profits and box-office?.

It was probably because distributors saw the film and realised they could not afford to con an international audience to this extent, and not have their reputations harmed. If the film for example was centred around Bruce's original plot and thereby featured the full half an hour of Pagoda footage, that would account for a substantial amount of new Bruce Lee footage; therefore international distributors could afford to market Game of Death as a new Bruce Lee film and not necessarily be lying to the consumer; in this instance, Warner Bros. would have snapped at the chance to release it in the US, but they probably realised because most of Clouses version featured a double instead of the real Bruce, they could afford to touch an obvious con job without selling the US audience a phoney product and damaging their reputation.

[Josh Baker]

14 hours ago, DragonClaws said:

 

Where did you read this?.

 

You would have thought U.S Distributor's would have been fighting over the chance to buy this. Considering how much money was made from Bruce Lee's back catalogue. When his Hong Kong films were released in America, post Enter the Dragon. Or had the Kung Fu movie craze just passed it peak in America?. 

 

Was the 1978 version of Game of Death, considered to be a successful film in terms of worldwide profits and box-office?.

On your question about box office, through some miracle Game of Death was actually a massive box office success in the US, making over $30 million dollars. To this day I dont understand why bad word of mouth didn't kill of the box office momentum in its first week, but I guess it proves the point that Golden Harvest could've released anything with the name Bruce Lee slapped over it and it would've made tons of money, it makes me wonder why they didnt try it sooner or made more attempts to cash in on Lee's name throughout the 80s.

[Killer Meteor]

I think they pre-sold the two Game of Death films to Japan, so they had to be made. Game of Death II doesn't seem to have reached US or UK theatres, so I guess they thought they had pushed their luck enough. GOD '78 also managed to get several Western (fading) stars in it, further helping it to sell as a legit movie.

[DragonClaws]

9 hours ago, Josh Baker said:

It was probably because distributors saw the film and realised they could not afford to con an international audience to this extent, and not have their reputations harmed.

 

9 hours ago, Josh Baker said:

On your question about box office, through some miracle Game of Death was actually a massive box office success in the US, making over $30 million dollars.

 

Thanks for the informative reply's @Josh Baker.

 

 

8 hours ago, Killer Meteor said:

I think they pre-sold the two Game of Death films to Japan, so they had to be made.

 

They may have pre-sold the first movie to Japan, but according to IMPACT Magazine. The sequel was only considered after the massive Japanese box-office success, of the 1978 film.  Which is maybe why it didnt get the same push over-seas in Europe and America?.

 

 

Edited August 5, 2020 by DragonClaws

[DragonClaws]

 

Thanks to the British Jun Fan Journal for sharing this information.

 

Quote

Game of Death Editor Dies
We are very sorry to learn of the passing of Alan Pattillo who died on 16th January 2020. He was 90. He had been living with Parkinson’s for over a decade having retired from the film industry in the late 1990s.
Alan had the unenviable job of editing the unfinished Bruce Lee film Game of Death in 1978. When asked about doing this he replied it was a nightmare ,they just sent him all the footage from Hong Kong including the footage Bruce had shot prior to his death, and said make a action packed film out of this knowing little about martial arts and its contents.

Source- https://www.facebook.com/junfanjournalu.k/?hc_ref=ARSnhJ5C4Iz9F_PBosAN3bHO4XlaaXdGt8M9eK1zCFXa-r7TkfmhP7mICnZqlw6Dn3U&fref=nf&__tn__=kC-R

 

 

 

[DragonClaws]

On 8/4/2020 at 1:55 PM, DragonClaws said:

Was the 1978 version of Game of Death, considered to be a successful film in terms of worldwide profits and box-office?.

 

On 8/5/2020 at 4:39 AM, Josh Baker said:

On your question about box office, through some miracle Game of Death was actually a massive box office success in the US, making over $30 million dollars.

 

I recently read this in The Unseen Bruce Lee book by Louis Chunovic.

 

Quote

Game of Death went onto gross $100 million dollars worldwide, according to one report.

 

 

[DragonClaws]

 

Anyone know the name of the Game of Death inspired comic book?, featured in the image below.

 

Edited September 3, 2020 by DragonClaws

[DragonClaws]

 

 

[DragonClaws]

 

 

 

Does the image below feature the same blue Gung Fu uniform Bruce Lee refer's to in the above letter. Where he talks about offering friend and student Taky Kimura a role in Game of Death(1972)?. I think it was Mr Kimura who released this letter to the public?.

Edited September 6, 2020 by DragonClaws

[Red Lion]

For all of the fan editors out there

Has anyone ever thought of doing a deepfake of the 78 version with Bruce's face? If I had more time that's the kind of project I would love to see the possibilities of but just don't have the time or patience to try it. Lol.

Or even finding footage from the many Brucesploitation flicks to replicate the original intent of the 73 version with deepfake to add bruce in?

[Killer Meteor]

Watching Moonraker in memory of the late Michael Lonsdale, it just hit me...was someone on the production influenced by Bruce's fashion sense?

 

 

Edited September 23, 2020 by Killer Meteor

[Josh Baker]

10 hours ago, Killer Meteor said:

Watching Moonraker in memory of the late Michael Lonsdale, it just hit me...was someone on the production influenced by Bruce's fashion sense?

 

 

Hahaha! They should've had them wear multi-coloured jumpsuits like in Game of Death '78😂

[DragonClaws]

 

Quote

"I'm in the midst of preparing my next movie, Enter the Dragon a coproduction between Concord and Warner Bros., plus another Concord production, The Game of Death, which is only halfway done". (Bruce Lee)
From ''A parting thought – In my own process'' in ''Bruce Lee Jeet Kune Do: Bruce Lee's Commentaries on the Martial Way'', p. 391 Source- https://www.facebook.com/ConcordProductionIncFanPage/?hc_ref=ARSg3wrm6VfmVJXA0553v84SKFEmhxaXOTI-WC48PRqGa8bRuWmAKibYnc03peBbKwM&fref=nf&__tn__=kC-R

 

Edited September 27, 2020 by DragonClaws

[PandaPawPaw]

I found this picture and was wondering where the hell is the bottom right pic from? Publicity still or deleted scene?

Edited October 9, 2020 by PandaPawPaw

[DragonClaws]

8 hours ago, PandaPawPaw said:

I found this picture and was wondering where the hell is the bottom right pic from? Publicity still or deleted scene?

 

Do you have another link for the image?, its not showing up at all so I cant comment.

[PandaPawPaw]

4 hours ago, DragonClaws said:

 

Do you have another link for the image?, its not showing up at all so I cant comment.

Here's were I found the photo - http://auctions.emovieposter.com/Bidding.taf?_function=detail&category_id=9821&Auction_uid1=5119016

The pic with Bob Wall kicking someone in an empty arena.

Edited October 8, 2020 by PandaPawPaw

[Josh Baker]

57 minutes ago, PandaPawPaw said:

Here's were I found the photo - http://auctions.emovieposter.com/Bidding.taf?_function=detail&category_id=9821&Auction_uid1=5119016

The pic with Bob Wall kicking someone in an empty arena.

Its a publicity photo taken when the stadium set was being built at Golden Harvest, as far as I'm aware. Don't know who the stuntman is though

[DragonClaws]

21 hours ago, PandaPawPaw said:

Here's were I found the photo - http://auctions.emovieposter.com/Bidding.taf?_function=detail&category_id=9821&Auction_uid1=5119016

The pic with Bob Wall kicking someone in an empty arena.

 

Here's a thread discussing the same image, according to @Keung the stuntman is Mar's.