Bruce Lee Ultimate Collection (The Big Boss / Fist of Fury / Way of the Dragon / Game of Death / Game of Death II)

 

 

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I purchased the 'Bruce Lee Ultimate Collection' as soon as I saw it, I didn't think about it twice. The quality of the picture is awesome. The audio is greatly improved as well.

However, I don't see a good reason as to why 'Game of Death II' was included in the set and that is the only reason I am giving it four stars. A documentary on Bruce Lee's life would have been a better idea. My suggestion is to watch the movies in Cantonese with English subtitles as they sound more real that way. As a huge Bruce Lee fan, I recommend this set to everybody who enjoys kung fu/martial arts movies.

If you're a fan of Bruce Lee, this DVD collection is a MUST HAVE. This collection includes all of Lee's four Hong Kong films: The Big Boss (aka Fists of Fury), Fist of Fury (aka Chinese Connection), Way of the Dragon (aka Return of the Dragon) and the posthumously released, Game of Death. Game of Death II - which only contains recycled footage of Lee - is also included in this collection. Lee's Hollywood film "Enter the Dragon" is absent from this collection but the 2-disc Special Edition DVD (Enter the Dragon (Two-Disc Special Edition)) is worth buying on its own. (Realistically speaking, I'm sure it wasn't included in this boxset because Warner Brothers wanted to commercially market Enter the Dragon (Bruce Lee's crowning film achievement) on its own.)

All the films included in this collection are wonderfully remastered and though some scenes may appear fuzzy, much of the movies' audio and video are vibrantly cleaned up. In addition to the English-dubbed audio, these movies (with the exception of both Game of Death films) include the original Cantonese and Mandarin audio tracks. I prefer to watch Chinese films in Cantonese (when available) so the films' original Cantonese audio track is a bonus.

Another bonus is that these movies are complete. When I owned the old VHS CBS Fox Video versions of these movies, they were heavily edited due to adult content and/or time constraints. This was quite evident in Way of the Dragon (Return of the Dragon) as some comedic scenes such as Bruce Lee's character interacting with an ice-cream eating child, eating soup at the airport and an extended scene involving "Italian Beauty" were absent. Watching the DVD and seeing these scenes intact was like watching the movie for the very first time again. It's such a nostalgic trip down memory lane.

Bonus features on these discs are rather plain but there is a silver lining: Aside from a few mediocre celebrity interviews, trailers, photo galleries and slideshows on some of these DVDs, the most entertaining supplement is the candid outtakes on the Game of Death DVD which shows [the seemingly-perfect] Lee make mistakes in his fight scenes. In addition, we're also treated to behind-the-scenes fight choreography and extended, never-seen-before fight scenes involving James Tien.

Overall, this DVD collection is definitely worth having if you're a Bruce Lee fan. Game of Death II was an unnecessary addition to this boxset but the crisp transfer of Lee's other movies makes up for it. This boxset is a few years old now so if you don't own it yet, the low price should be another reason for you to get it now. This is a near-perfect Bruce Lee DVD collection and the only things that would've made it even more perfect would be the inclusion of Enter the Dragon, exclusion of Game of Death II and more DVD bonus features.

The collection of Bruce Lee movies are nicely digitally remastered. But don't you expect it's a full collection, because 'Enter the Dragon' by Bruce Lee is missing. Personally, I will not considered 'Game of Death II' as a Bruce Lee movie, because the real Bruce Lee never fight in that movie at all. Actor replacement like 007 is fine, but not Bruce Lee as a person, not a character.

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5.0 out of 5 stars THE BEST FIGHTER OF ALL TIME
this DVD is great for everyone who loves martial arts and especially if you love bruce lee this legendary movie package is a must besides game of death 2 because its not bruce... Read more

Published on July 11 2009 by mike rogers

4.0 out of 5 stars Good Set
This is the best collection for the Bruce Lee fan the only thing is that Game of Death II despite that Game of Death was a cut and paste movie Game of Death II was much worse but... Read more

Published on Jun 20 2009 by Philip L. Lachapelle

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