For this latest ’70s Flashback, we are setting the wayback machine to 1978. The airwaves were filled with the sounds of The Bee-Gees and the
Grease soundtrack,
Superman: The Movie and
Animal House were setting the box office ablaze, people were trying to find themselves through self-help seminars like EST, and interest in martial arts was still huge in pop culture’s post-
Kung Fu landscape. Which is where the subject of today’s Flashback comes in. Five years after the tragic and untimely death of
Bruce Lee, his final film
Game of Death was released. Featuring footage original shot in 1972 intercut with scenes needed to finish the film that were directed by
Robert Clouse (who also helmed one of my personal favorites,
Black Belt Jones) utilizing a stand in. The film stars Lee as Billy Lo, a kung fu film star whose latest project pits him against a deadly crime syndicate. The highlight of the movie is a series of bone-crunching battles Lo engages in inside the cabal boss’s pagoda hideout–including one against the towering Hakim (
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar). Co-stars include Gig Young, Colleen Camp, Dean Jagger, and Chuck Norris, all of whom add some additional character moments and action to the flick.
Last year the folks at Shout Factory released a new Blu-ray collector’s edition of Game of Death, and it has the movie looking better than ever thanks to a 4K scan taken from a restored version of the original negative. Additionally, this addition includes the following features:
DISC ONE: The U.S. Version (100 min.)
NEW 4K Transfer From The Internegative
Audio Commentary With Asian Film Expert Mike Leeder
Game Of Death Revisited
Game Of Death Locations
Outtake Montage
Deleted Scenes
Alternate Opening And Ending
Bloopers
Theatrical Trailers
Still Gallery
Japanese Print In HD
DISC TWO: The Mandarin/Cantonese Version (90 min.)
NEW 4K Transfer From The Internegative
NEW Trailer Gallery
With this release, everybody will have the opportunity to see a true action original back and better than ever. Whether its the first time you’ve experienced the film or the hundredth, this will be one game that you’ll be eager to play over and over again.
Previously on MovieFanFare: Movie Trailer of the Day: Bruce Lee’s Classic Enter the Dragon
This article originally ran on MovieFanFare last year. We are reprinting it as our latest ’70s Flashback post.
