BRUCE LEE AT GOLDEN HARVEST LIMITED EDITION REVIEW

Bruce Lee returned to Hong Kong in 1971. He might not have been totally sure as to what would happen as he filmed for fledgling company called Golden Harvest, but movie history never forgets and so a legend and icon was born. It would be a moot point for me to really go into the films and their merits, either for or against, because you and I aren’t here for that. What you want to know is this. Have Arrow released the set of the year and have they have pulled out all the stops?

This is a tricky one to answer but I think it is fair to offer a comparison. The Criterion set called BRUCE LEE’s GREATEST HITS that many ran out to buy, was very good. I had a copy and it really did have its merits. The art work was more dynamic. The transfers in the standard version were better. then the entry film for many, of Lee’s work, ENTER THE DRAGON is missing here. So that is the bad. Although I will be honest, the 1080p here on THE BIG BOSS is very clean if not a touch matte. THE BIG BOSS: THE MANDARIN CUT is a little washed out but one, not available on the Criterion set. It is also a better film than its leaner alternative. The extras across these two discs are equal to all the Criterion offer. With better commentaries on the Criterion set but better extras with the location extra a surprise in a number of ways. FIST OF FURY (for me Lee’s best film) is well balanced and the transfer is lush with the ‘English Export Cut’, nice enough to stand the film fans eyes. Where that disc had a feature with I think Lee’s widow, this has Legend of the Dragon and Tony Rayn’s in fine fettle, outlining Lee’s life story. This is the feature of the set. Brilliant.

THE WAY OF THE DRAGON has two versions and both have seamless(umm) branching. In truth this is the floppy film on the set but also has The Way of the Camera, looks good enough and reminds us that icons are that for a reason, good, bad or indifferent. We are 4 discs in and as you will read below, ENTER THE DRAGON is listed. We didn’t get a disc and so I declared it is not on the set. I didn’t see the disc and will not misinform you. GAME OF DEATH and the Alternative versions are a bit messy and the transfers reflect that. Also to note, the extras do to. Arrow deserve credit because Criterion avoided discussing this shit show and the whole ‘versions’ (cash in) issues. My gripe is simple though, don’t fill up stuff which is sub par. The documentaries disc has been seen before. But is gladly welcomed onto a comprehensive set. Which is what this is. Well done ARROW

LIMITED TEN-DISC BLU-RAY COLLECTION CONTENTS

  • Limited edition packaging featuring newly commissioned artwork by Tony Stella
  • 200-page hardbound book featuring new writing by Walter Chaw, Henry Blyth, Andrew Staton, Dylan Cheung, David West and James Flower
  • Twenty-four lobby card reproductions
  • Ten glossy photos of Lee in action
  • Reversible poster with vintage quad poster artwork

DISC ONE – THE BIG BOSS

  • High Definition (1080p) Blu-ray presentation of the 99-minute 1983 version of The Big Boss, newly restored by Arrow Films from the original negative
  • Original newly restored lossless Mandarin, English and Cantonese mono audio
  • Two English mono options, the standard mix and a Japanese mix with alternate score
  • Newly translated English subtitles, plus optional subtitles for the deaf and hard-of-hearing for the English dubs
  • Two brand new feature commentaries, one by David Desser and one by Brandon Bentley
  • Return to Thailand, a new documentary produced and presented by Matt Routledge exploring the original filming locations
  • Newly uncovered deleted and extended scenes, with optional commentary by Bentley
  • The Not-Quite-Biggest Boss, a video essay by Bentley investigating the scenes still lost, such as the ‘saw-in-the-head’ scene
  • Archive interviews with co-star Lau Wing and stuntman Tung Wai
  • Bruce Lee Vs. Peter Thomas, a short video essay about the music for the English version
  • Alternate credits sequences
  • Trailer gallery, including a ‘Before The Big Boss’ reel and the trailer for lost sequel The Big Boss Part II
  • Image gallery

DISC TWO – THE BIG BOSS: THE MANDARIN CUT

  • High Definition (1080p) Blu-ray presentations of three alternate versions of The Big Boss with lossless mono audio, newly restored by Arrow Films: the 110-min Mandarin Cut, with restored Mandarin mono; the 100-min English Export Cut, featuring a rare alternate English dub track (some scenes in Mandarin); and the 100-min US Theatrical Cut
  • Newly restored English subtitles for the Mandarin Cut
  • Subtitles for the deaf and hard-of-hearing on both English cuts
  • Axis of English, a brand new video essay by Will Offutt profiling the English dubbing actors for The Big Boss, Fist of Fury and The Way of the Dragon
  • Unrestored raw scan of the Mandarin Cut

DISC THREE – FIST OF FURY

  • High Definition (1080p) Blu-ray presentation, newly restored by Arrow Films from the original negative
  • Alternate ‘English Export Cut’ viewing option with different opening and closing credits, via seamless branching
  • Original newly restored Mandarin, English and Cantonese mono audio
  • Two English mono options, the standard mix and a Japanese mix with alternate music
  • Newly translated English subtitles, plus optional subtitles for the deaf and hard-of-hearing on the English dubs
  • Two brand new feature commentaries, one by Jonathan Clements and one by Brandon Bentley
  • Legend of the Dragon, a newly filmed 80-minute overview of Lee’s life and career by film critic and historian Tony Rayns
  • Visions of Fury, a new featurette on Bruce Lee’s collaboration with Golden Harvest and Lo Wei, featuring interviews with co-producer Andre Morgan and martial arts experts Michael Worth, Frank Djeng, John Kreng, Andy Cheng and Bruce Willow
  • Archive interviews with co-stars Nora Miao, Riki Hashimoto, Jun Katsumura and Yuen Wah
  • Alternate credits sequence
  • Trailer gallery, including a Chen Zhen trailer reel
  • Image gallery

DISC FOUR – THE WAY OF THE DRAGON

  • High Definition (1080p) Blu-ray presentations, newly restored by Arrow Films from original film elements, of the Hong Kong Theatrical Cut and the Japanese Cut via seamless branching
  • Original newly restored lossless Mandarin, English and Cantonese mono audio on the Hong Kong Theatrical Cut
  • Alternate lossless English mono audio on the Japanese Cut
  • Optional newly translated English subtitles
  • Subtitles for the deaf and hard-of-hearing on both English audio options
  • Two brand new feature commentaries, one by Frank Djeng & Michael Worth and one by Brandon Bentley
  • The Way of the Camera, a new documentary looking at Lee’s filmmaking and fighting method in his directorial debut, featuring interviews with Golden Harvest producer Andre Morgan, martial arts experts Michael Worth, Jon Kreng, Andy Cheng, Frank Djeng, David Yeung, film historian Courtney Joyner and actors Piet (Peter) Schweer, Jon Benn and John Saxon
  • Meet the Italian Beauty, a newly filmed interview with star Malisa Longo
  • The Scottish Soldier Meets the Dragon, a newly filmed interview with on-set observer John Young
  • Newly recorded select scene commentary by ‘thug’ actor Piet Schweer
  • Archive interviews with co-stars Jon Benn, Bob Wall and Hwang In-shik and production managers Chaplin Chang and Louis Sit
  • Trailer gallery, including a Bruceploitation trailer reel
  • Image gallery

DISC FIVE – ENTER THE DRAGON

  • 40th Anniversary Special Edition Blu-ray courtesy of Warner Home Video
  • High Definition (1080p) Blu-ray presentation of the extended 1998 Special Edition of the film
  • 5.1 DTS-HD Surround English audio, plus additional audio options in Russian, Castilian, French, German, Italian, Polish and Latin Spanish
  • English subtitles for the deaf and hard-of-hearing, plus subtitles for other languages
  • Feature commentary by writer Michael Allin and producer Paul Heller
  • Featurettes: No Way As Way, Wing Chun: The Art that Introduced Kung Fu to Bruce Lee, Return to Han’s Island, Blood and Steel: The Making of ‘Enter the Dragon’, Bruce Lee: In His Own Words, Backyard Workout with Bruce
  • The Curse of the Dragon documentary
  • Interviews with Linda Lee Cadwell
  • 1973 archive featurette Hong Kong with ‘Enter the Dragon’
  • Theatrical trailers and TV spots

DISC SIX – GAME OF DEATH

  • High Definition (1080p) Blu-ray presentations, newly restored by Arrow Films from original film elements, of the international cut and the Japanese cut via seamless branching
  • Original newly restored English mono audio on both cuts
  • English subtitles for the deaf and hard-of-hearing
  • Brand new feature commentary by Brandon Bentley & Mike Leeder
  • The Song I’m Singing Tomorrow, a newly filmed interview with star Colleen Camp
  • Deleted and extended scenes from the Chinese-language versions of the film, including two alternate endings (contains some standard-definition material)
  • Archive interviews with co-stars Dan Inosanto and Bob Wall
  • Behind-the-scenes footage as featured in Bruce Lee: The Legend
  • Rare pre-production sales featurette from 1976 with new commentary by Michael Worth and producer Andre Morgan
  • Fight scene dailies directed by Sammo Hung
  • Locations featurette from 2013
  • Trailer gallery, including Bruceploitation and ‘Robert Clouse at Golden Harvest’ trailer reels
  • Image gallery

DISC SEVEN – GAME OF DEATH: ALTERNATE VERSIONS

  • High Definition (1080p) Blu-ray presentation of the Chinese version of the film
  • Original lossless Mandarin and Cantonese mono audio
  • Newly translated optional English subtitles
  • Archive interview with Casanova Wong from 2001 on his relationship with Sammo Hung, and Lee’s influence on him
  • Two alternate Cantonese and Mandarin versions of the film in High Definition via seamless branching, with different credits, ending and reinstated Ji Han-jae fight (contains some standard-definition material)
  • Archive featurettes on Lee’s life and impact: The Hong Kong Connection, Bruce Lee Remembered, Legacy of the Dragon, Dragon Rising and The Grandmaster & The Dragon, featuring interviews with Hung, Donnie Yen, William Cheung and many others
  • Archive interviews with Robert Lee, Phoebe Lee, Pat Johnson, George Lee, Gene LeBell, Van Williams, Joe Torrenueva, Jeff Imada, Linda Palmer, Fred Weintraub, Tom Kuhn, Paul Heller and James Lew

DISC EIGHT – GAME OF DEATH: BONUS DISC

  • The Final Game of Death, a brand new three-hour video essay by Arrow Films that incorporates a new 2K restoration of all two hours of Lee’s original dailies from a recently-discovered interpositive
  • Game of Death: Revisited, an earlier attempt to reconstruct Lee’s original vision from 2001
  • Super 8 footage from 1974 of Dan Inosanto demonstrating the nunchaku
  • Brief archival interview with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar from 1976
  • Image gallery

DISC NINE – GAME OF DEATH II

  • Brand new 2K restoration of the International Cut of the film titled Game of Death II by Arrow Films from original film elements
  • High Definition (1080p) Blu-ray presentation of Game of Death II as well as the Hong Kong Theatrical Cut titled Tower of Death (contains some standard-definition material)
  • Original lossless English mono audio on Game of Death II
  • Original lossless Cantonese, Mandarin and English mono audio on Tower of Death
  • English subtitles for the deaf and hard-of-hearing on Game of Death II, and optional newly translated English subtitles on Tower of Death
  • Brand new feature commentary by Frank Djeng & Michael Worth, co-producers of Enter the Clones of Bruce
  • Archive interview with co-star Roy Horan
  • Alternate Korean version with unique footage, presented in High Definition with original lossless mono audio and newly translated English subtitles
  • Alternate US video version in High Definition with lossless English mono audio, via seamless branching
  • Alternate end credits sequence for Game of Death II
  • Trailer gallery
  • Image gallery

DISC TEN – DOCUMENTARIES

  • High Definition (1080p) Blu-ray presentations of Bruce Lee: The Man & The Legend (1973) and Bruce Lee: The Legend (1984)
  • Original lossless Mandarin mono audio for The Man & The Legend, and lossless English mono audio for both films
  • Newly translated optional English subtitles for The Man & The Legend, and subtitles for the deaf and hard-of-hearing for both films
  • Alternate video version of The Legend, featuring different editing and credits (standard definition only)
  • Archive video of a tour of Golden Harvest Studios conducted in the mid-1990s by Russell Cawthorne, writer of Bruce Lee: The Legend
  • Alternate animated Hong Kong credits for Enter the Dragon
  • Trailers and image gallery for both films
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