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On July 20th, 1973,

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in the middle of a hot
Hong Kong summer,

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the actor, writer, martial artist
and filmmaker, Bruce Lee,

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died unexpectedly at the age of only 32.

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On the cusp of a global stardom
he had spent years striving towards,

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his death sent shockwaves
around the world.

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The legacy he left behind
in his short but eventful life

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included a young family,
legions of dedicated fans and students,

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and a revolutionary approach
to martial arts

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that transformed the world's relationship
with Chinese culture.

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Half a century after his death,

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he remains as much an inspiration
to millions as ever before.

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His status largely rests on the success
of just four feature films

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he completed in the two years
leading up to his death:

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<i>The Big Boss, Fist of Fury,</i>

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<i>The Way of the Dragon,</i>
which he also wrote and directed,

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and <i>Enter the Dragon.</i>

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Only four films,
and yet there was nearly a fifth.

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Less than a year before he died,

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Lee started work on his second film
as writer and director,

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one that would deliver
on the filmmaking promise

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he had shown with
<i>The Way of the Dragon,</i>

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and be the ultimate expression
of his unique martial arts philosophy.

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Two hours of raw, unedited footage
was filmed

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before the project
was temporarily shelved,

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only to be left in permanent limbo

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once its creator was no longer alive
to finish it.

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Its working title,
ominous and fateful in hindsight,

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was <i>The Game of Death.</i>

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Though Lee never lived to complete

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or even refine his own vision
for the project,

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his plans for <i>The Game of Death</i>
are as scrutinised and interrogated today

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as the circumstances surrounding
his untimely death.

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The mysteries around its creation

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have become a vessel
for endless heated debate,

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a space in which truth and legend
have become practically indistinguishable.

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Was it a lost masterpiece
by a young artist

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working at the height of his talents?

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Or was it a cursed film,

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inextricably bound
to its creator's own doomed fate?

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Now, with access to all 11 reels
of footage shot for the film in 1972,

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we can finally search for answers
to the many mysteries

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contained within <i>The Game of Death.</i>

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It is July of 1972,

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only one year before Bruce Lee's death.

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He is the biggest star in Hong Kong,

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now unable to walk around in public
without being mobbed.

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It was only a year prior,
in the summer of 1971,

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that after years of hitting
a racial glass ceiling in Hollywood,

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he tired of American executives'
nervousness

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over casting a Chinese star
in a lead role,

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and looked homeward to Hong Kong,

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where domestically produced
martial arts films

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are starting to rule
the local box office.

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Signing a two-picture deal
with upstart company Golden Harvest,

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Bruce agreed to star in two films,
both directed by Lo Wei:

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<i>The Big Boss</i> and <i>Fist of Fury.</i>

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By the end of the year, he is
the most famous face on the continent.

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Audiences are instantly captivated
by his charismatic energy

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and high-kicking dynamism,

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deliberately captured
in long, unbroken takes,

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unlike the choppy editing
seen in most films.

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His own customised style of kung fu,
which he has dubbed Jeet Kune Do,

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or the Way of the Intercepting Fist,

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is unlike anything
audiences have seen before.

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Both films shatter
local box office records,

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each taking well over
three million dollars.

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Overnight, Bruce is a superstar.

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A big fish in a small pond

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compared to his earlier
Hollywood ambitions perhaps,

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but with just two films,

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he has the respect,
clout and financial security

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to continue the next phase of his career.

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Keen to retain
their box office superstar,

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Golden Harvest executive
Raymond Chow

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offers Bruce the opportunity to write,
direct and star in his next film,

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as well as co-producing under his own
newly formed production company,

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Concord Productions.

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Given complete creative freedom,

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Bruce makes a film much more personal
and aligned with his own ethos.

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Its name: <i>The Way of the Dragon.</i>

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Whereas the previous two films
were formulaic revenge sagas

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primarily designed
to appeal to local audiences,

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Bruce looks outward
for his first time behind the camera.

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He sets the film in Rome, and even films
on location there for three weeks.

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Unhappy with Lo Wei's insistence

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on cartoonish Japanese
and Russian villains in <i>Fist of Fury,</i>

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the final confrontation in Bruce's
screenplay for <i>The Way of the Dragon</i>

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is a more ambivalent one.

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Bruce choreographs
a climactic ten-minute fight

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between him and American
karate champion, Chuck Norris.

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Set amongst the ruins
of the Roman Colosseum

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and filmed in wide shots that
accentuate both men's athletic prowess,

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when his character
ultimately defeats Norris,

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he does so reluctantly, and covers
his body as a gesture of respect.

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The gladiators here are not avatars
for nationalistic or racial pride,

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but global representatives
of martial arts excellence,

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forced against one another
by circumstance,

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and no less honourable for it.

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<i>The Way of the Dragon</i> is
a crudely made film in many aspects,

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both technically and in the
freewheeling nature of its creation.

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But Bruce's sheer ambition and energy
burst off the screen,

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showing a determination
to try as many ideas as he can,

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and a burning promise to be harnessed
and refined in future work.

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It will be the only film
he ever completes as a director.

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It is the summer of 1972.

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<i>The Way of the Dragon</i>
has only just finished filming,

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but ever restless and ambitious,
Bruce is keen to seize the momentum

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and channel it
into a second film as director.

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He doesn't have much yet.

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A rough sketch of an idea, if that.

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Emboldened by his experience
filming <i>The Way of the Dragon,</i>

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Bruce's ambitions for his next film
increase further.

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A film that would use symbolism
to add a philosophical dimension

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to the action genre.

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"The film to end all films,"
he says at one point.

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For nearly a decade, he has spoken
about making what he calls

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a multi-level film.

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As he puts it,

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"The kind of movies where you can
just watch the surface story if you like,

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or you can look deeper into it."

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The next co-production
between Concord and Golden Harvest

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will be Bruce's purest
cinematic expression yet

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of Jeet Kune Do in action,

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demonstrating the necessity
of adapting to one's circumstances.

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In a 1972 interview,

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he describes an idea for a prologue,
ultimately never filmed.

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A key inspiration for this new idea
happened during a trip to India in 1970,

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scouting locations for an abandoned
project called <i>The Silent Flute.</i>

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Bruce was struck
by the ancient pagodas he saw there,

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and began to devise a scenario

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where his vision of a multi-level film
became literal:

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one fighter ascending the temple,
higher and higher,

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taking on ever greater challenges
on his way to the top.

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What little is known about Bruce's plans
for the story of <i>The Game of Death</i>

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largely stems from a collection
of handwritten notes

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uncovered in a Seattle warehouse
belonging to the Lee estate

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in the mid-1990s.

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As with <i>The Way of the Dragon</i>
before it,

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a full script is never written
for <i>The Game of Death,</i>

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and indeed, Bruce continues
to change his mind about the plot

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devising new characters
and whole subplots

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right up to the day he dies.

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Though this stands in stark contrast
to western film production

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where everything is usually written
and planned well in advance,

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it is the norm in Hong Kong filmmaking

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where cast and crew members
might come and go

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depending on the vagaries of scheduling

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and dialogue is sometimes agreed upon

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only minutes before cameras
begin rolling.

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What these semi-improvised,
low-budget films

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lack in polish and narrative finesse,

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they often compensated for
in spontaneous energy and invention.

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Over the coming months, Bruce slowly
fleshes out the story for his next film.

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On one level, it is an action film

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showcasing an array
of fighting techniques.

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On the other, it is Bruce's philosophy
for Jeet Kune Do

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literalised in cinematic form.

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No way as way.
No limitation as limitation.

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Whereas <i>The Way of the Dragon</i>
and Lee's prior films

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were rooted in the real world

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and even inspired in some cases
by real-life figures,

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his aim for <i>The Game of Death</i>
was something altogether different,

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something stranger,
perhaps even metaphysical.

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Bruce will play the central character
of Hai Tien,

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a retired champion fighter who,
as the film begins,

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is on a flight to Korea
with his sister and younger brother.

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When they land at the airport,

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the trio are kidnapped by the henchmen
of a local crime boss.

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The gangster holds
Hai Tien's family hostage,

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unless he volunteers to fly out
to a secluded compound

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in the Korean wilderness,

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in the middle of which
is an ancient pagoda, five floors high.

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The boss wants something
from the top of the pagoda,

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and Hai Tien will have to battle his way
through various opponents to get it,

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one level at a time.

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Each opponent is a representative
of a different fighting style,

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with Hai Tien having to assess
each fighter's abilities

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and adapt his own techniques

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in order to climb the tower
and win his siblings' freedom.

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Hai Tien is joined on his mission by
a handful of the crime boss's underlings,

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each motivated by greed and ambition
in their quest to make it to the top.

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When they reach the compound,
Hai Tien and the others

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are confronted by dozens
of nameless karate fighters

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guarding the outside of the pagoda.

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Upon dispatching the fighters,

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a locksmith breaks them
inside the temple.

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The opponent they face on the
ground floor is a master of hapkido

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especially skilled at kicking.

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After defeating him,
they ascend to the second level,

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guarded by an expert
in Praying Mantis kung fu.

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Sadly, though Bruce wrote dialogue

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for many of the aforementioned
sequences,

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he would not live long enough
to actually film them,

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nor would he ever write
the story's grand conclusion.

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Instead, the only scenes
that saw the light of a camera,

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barely coherent out of context,

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show Hai Tien's ascent up
the remaining three floors of the pagoda.

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The Hall of the Tiger,
in which he and two other fighters

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battle an expert
in Filipino eskrima techniques,

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not least mastery
of the deadly nunchaku.

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The Hall of the Dragon, where Hai Tien
fights another hapkido grandmaster,

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this time one adept at grappling
and hand-to-hand combat.

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And finally, the Hall of the Unknown,

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where Hai Tien,
now the last survivor of the mission,

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finds his adaptability tested
against a mysterious foe

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whose fighting style is as formless
and unpredictable as his own.

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As post-production on <i>The Way
of the Dragon</i> approaches its end

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in August of 1972,

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Bruce begins to assemble his co-stars
for <i>The Game of Death.</i>

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For the henchmen
accompanying Hai Tien,

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Lee jots down the names of four actors:

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James Tien, his co-star
in <i>The Big Boss</i> and <i>Fist of Fury,</i>

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Chieh Yuan, a former stuntman
for Shaw Brothers,

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Carter Wong, whom Bruce has met

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on the set
of the Golden Harvest film <i>Hapkido,</i>

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and Tony Liu, who also co-starred
in Lee's three previous films.

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As the latter two characters
were slated to be killed off

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before reaching the Hall of the Tiger,

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Wong and Liu never film any scenes
for <i>The Game of Death,</i>

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and in Liu's case, his name is
ultimately crossed out altogether,

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rumoured to be replaced
with a white American fighter.

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As with his previous film,

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Bruce shows a preference
to cast not trained actors

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with some martial arts skills,
but rather expert martial artists

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with little to no previous experience
on camera.

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Among them are two
of his favourite former students

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and closest friends from America:

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Dan Inosanto, with whom he founded
his Jeet Kune Do school in Los Angeles,

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and rising NBA basketball star,
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

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Neither of them has ever appeared
in a motion picture before.

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As Bruce continues
to flesh out the story

233
00:14:36,584 --> 00:14:39,212
and a single set is built
at Golden Harvest Studios

234
00:14:39,337 --> 00:14:41,714
that will stand for each floor
of the pagoda,

235
00:14:41,839 --> 00:14:44,675
he plans to start filming
at the end of September.

236
00:14:45,176 --> 00:14:48,304
But fate threatens to intervene
when he calls Abdul-Jabbar

237
00:14:48,429 --> 00:14:50,723
and offers him the role
of the final guardian.

238
00:14:50,848 --> 00:14:53,851
Though the basketball star
is currently on three weeks' leave,

239
00:14:53,976 --> 00:14:57,313
he is due to start at NBA training camp
in the middle of the month,

240
00:14:57,438 --> 00:15:00,108
making his participation
in the film impossible.

241
00:15:00,900 --> 00:15:02,944
Determined to get his vision onscreen,

242
00:15:03,069 --> 00:15:06,155
Bruce tells him to board a plane
to Hong Kong as soon as he can.

243
00:15:06,280 --> 00:15:08,783
They will simply film all of his scenes
ahead of schedule

244
00:15:08,908 --> 00:15:12,286
in plenty of time for him
to return to the USA for training.

245
00:15:12,412 --> 00:15:15,206
Thankfully, Abdul-Jabbar agrees,

246
00:15:15,331 --> 00:15:17,875
and so filming
of <i>The Game of Death</i> begins,

247
00:15:18,000 --> 00:15:20,878
perhaps fittingly, at the story's end.

248
00:15:38,688 --> 00:15:42,859
With a handwritten shot list
and choreography notes in place,

249
00:15:42,984 --> 00:15:45,653
Lee assembles much of the crew
from <i>The Way of the Dragon</i>

250
00:15:45,778 --> 00:15:48,614
to join him for filming his battle
against Abdul-Jabbar.

251
00:15:49,449 --> 00:15:51,868
Among them are assistant director
Ricky Chik,

252
00:15:52,785 --> 00:15:56,581
and 50-year-old Japanese
cinematographer Tadashi Nishimoto.

253
00:15:58,666 --> 00:16:00,418
In addition to Abdul-Jabbar,

254
00:16:00,543 --> 00:16:04,589
James Tien, Bruce's co-star
from <i>The Big Boss</i> and <i>Fist of Fury,</i>

255
00:16:04,714 --> 00:16:06,883
joins the first round of filming.

256
00:16:07,008 --> 00:16:11,554
Bruce, Tien and Abdul-Jabbar
participate in a promotional photo shoot

257
00:16:11,679 --> 00:16:13,514
as filming commences.

258
00:16:13,639 --> 00:16:16,225
In the years that follow,
it is these images,

259
00:16:16,350 --> 00:16:18,895
taken by freelance photographer
Chang Yuk,

260
00:16:19,020 --> 00:16:22,273
published far and wide by the media
in the wake of Lee's death,

261
00:16:22,815 --> 00:16:25,568
that propel the incomplete
<i>Game of Death</i> project

262
00:16:25,693 --> 00:16:27,528
to almost a mythic status.

263
00:16:30,698 --> 00:16:34,535
Filming begins on September 7th
on the top-secret project

264
00:16:34,660 --> 00:16:36,787
with Bruce remaining
behind the camera,

265
00:16:36,913 --> 00:16:39,582
directing the fight
between James and Kareem.

266
00:16:39,707 --> 00:16:43,794
The title written on the slate seen
between setups is simply "Audition".

267
00:16:44,504 --> 00:16:48,216
The title "The Game of Death"
will not be confirmed for some weeks,

268
00:16:48,341 --> 00:16:51,802
with the project referred to in a trade
announcement under the working title,

269
00:16:51,928 --> 00:16:53,596
"Yellow-Faced Tiger".

270
00:16:55,264 --> 00:16:58,434
Born in Guangdong, China in 1942,

271
00:16:58,559 --> 00:17:02,230
James Tien moved with his family
to Hong Kong in 1958,

272
00:17:02,355 --> 00:17:05,525
and after a stint at the Fu Sheng
Drama School in Taiwan

273
00:17:05,650 --> 00:17:09,487
began acting as a contract player
for Shaw Brothers in 1969.

274
00:17:10,071 --> 00:17:12,865
He decamped to Golden Harvest
along with director Lo Wei

275
00:17:12,990 --> 00:17:14,283
in the following the year,

276
00:17:14,408 --> 00:17:16,577
and climbed the ladder
to leading-man status

277
00:17:16,702 --> 00:17:18,913
in films such as <i>The Invincible Eight,</i>

278
00:17:19,038 --> 00:17:21,916
<i>The Blade Spares None</i>
and <i>The Chase.</i>

279
00:17:22,667 --> 00:17:27,255
James Tien's character,
referred to in Lee's notes as Tien Da,

280
00:17:27,380 --> 00:17:30,049
is one of the other fighters
sent by the crime boss.

281
00:17:30,591 --> 00:17:34,136
Primarily cast as noble heroes
at this stage in his career,

282
00:17:34,262 --> 00:17:37,723
Bruce cast Tien against type
as a duplicitous schemer

283
00:17:37,848 --> 00:17:40,768
who tricks his way up
to the final floor of the pagoda,

284
00:17:40,893 --> 00:17:44,480
only to get his just deserts
as he is hopelessly outmatched

285
00:17:44,605 --> 00:17:46,440
by the foe awaiting him at the top.

286
00:17:47,608 --> 00:17:49,944
Though this is the third time
James Tien and Bruce Lee

287
00:17:50,069 --> 00:17:51,320
have worked with one another,

288
00:17:51,445 --> 00:17:54,156
their collaboration got off
to a shaky start.

289
00:17:54,282 --> 00:17:56,325
In the first half of <i>The Big Boss,</i>

290
00:17:56,450 --> 00:18:00,454
the apparent star of the film is
arguably not Bruce, but James Tien,

291
00:18:00,580 --> 00:18:03,666
who confidently leads
the film's early fight scenes.

292
00:18:03,791 --> 00:18:05,418
Even when filming started,

293
00:18:05,543 --> 00:18:08,921
it wasn't clear whether Lee or Tien's
character would lead the film,

294
00:18:09,046 --> 00:18:13,092
as Raymond Chow seemed to hedge
his bets against his latest signing.

295
00:18:13,217 --> 00:18:16,470
But as Lee continued to impress
on location in Thailand,

296
00:18:16,596 --> 00:18:18,014
the die was cast.

297
00:18:18,139 --> 00:18:21,017
Tien's character would suddenly
be killed off halfway through,

298
00:18:21,142 --> 00:18:23,477
with Bruce's character
avenging his death,

299
00:18:23,603 --> 00:18:27,106
as well as that of his other friends
and family in the second half.

300
00:18:27,773 --> 00:18:31,235
But following his alleged displacement
from the lead role in <i>The Big Boss,</i>

301
00:18:31,360 --> 00:18:33,988
Tien's stint as a headline name
was short-lived,

302
00:18:34,572 --> 00:18:36,949
and <i>The Game of Death</i>
was the first of several roles

303
00:18:37,074 --> 00:18:38,659
playing heels and villains,

304
00:18:38,784 --> 00:18:43,039
as Tien gradually settled into life
as a busy, dependable character actor.

305
00:18:58,888 --> 00:19:04,560
Born Ferdinand Lewis Alcindor Jr.
in 1947, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar,

306
00:19:04,685 --> 00:19:08,648
his Muslim name,
meaning "noble one, servant of Allah,"

307
00:19:09,190 --> 00:19:11,233
met Bruce Lee in 1968

308
00:19:11,359 --> 00:19:15,821
when he was looking for a martial arts
tutor after graduating from UCLA.

309
00:19:15,946 --> 00:19:19,909
Lee and the well-read,
intellectually curious Abdul-Jabbar,

310
00:19:20,034 --> 00:19:23,120
who had just converted to Islam,
became fast friends.

311
00:19:23,788 --> 00:19:27,166
While tutoring the future NBA star
in Jeet Kune Do

312
00:19:27,291 --> 00:19:30,711
and still dreaming of the prosperous
filmmaking career yet to come,

313
00:19:30,836 --> 00:19:33,130
Lee often considered
the cinematic possibilities

314
00:19:33,255 --> 00:19:35,299
of an onscreen duel between the two,

315
00:19:35,424 --> 00:19:40,096
with Lee standing at 5'7",
and Abdul-Jabbar at 7'2".

316
00:19:41,097 --> 00:19:43,015
The introduction
of Abdul-Jabbar's character

317
00:19:43,140 --> 00:19:46,727
remains one of <i>The Game of Death</i>'s
most enduring images.

318
00:19:46,852 --> 00:19:49,647
One could argue that the design
of the Guardian of the Unknown

319
00:19:49,772 --> 00:19:51,649
was an influence
on Arnold Schwarzenegger's

320
00:19:51,774 --> 00:19:54,735
portrayal of the Terminator
over a decade later:

321
00:19:54,860 --> 00:19:59,532
a tall, mute, seemingly inhuman foe
with superhuman strength,

322
00:20:00,074 --> 00:20:02,326
his impassive features largely hidden

323
00:20:02,451 --> 00:20:05,204
behind a pair of impenetrable
black sunglasses.

324
00:20:28,144 --> 00:20:30,646
In a moment,
there is a break in the action

325
00:20:30,771 --> 00:20:33,023
to be filled with shots
of Bruce's character

326
00:20:33,149 --> 00:20:35,901
still fighting another opponent
on the floor below

327
00:20:36,026 --> 00:20:38,487
that won't be filmed
for another six weeks.

328
00:20:41,157 --> 00:20:42,533
When the scene resumes,

329
00:20:42,658 --> 00:20:45,494
Tien's character is
already fighting for his life.

330
00:21:16,358 --> 00:21:20,112
He makes one futile, final dash
for the top of the pagoda,

331
00:21:20,237 --> 00:21:23,240
but the Guardian of the Unknown
effortless plucks him down

332
00:21:23,365 --> 00:21:26,744
in a move that will doubtless
look familiar to basketball fans.

333
00:21:26,869 --> 00:21:30,289
It is Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's
trademark skyhook,

334
00:21:30,414 --> 00:21:34,251
where he leaps in the air while holding
the ball as high as he can in one hand,

335
00:21:34,376 --> 00:21:36,295
well out of the reach of the other team.

336
00:21:37,379 --> 00:21:40,800
His triumphant trademark
is creatively repurposed by Bruce

337
00:21:40,925 --> 00:21:42,510
into something otherworldly,

338
00:21:42,635 --> 00:21:45,763
unlike anything seen
on Hong Kong cinema screens before.

339
00:21:47,640 --> 00:21:51,060
Not long after James Tien
subtly sticks his neck out enough

340
00:21:51,185 --> 00:21:53,395
for Abdul-Jabbar to reach
and pull him down,

341
00:21:54,855 --> 00:21:57,441
the guardian's superhuman strength
is further demonstrated

342
00:21:57,566 --> 00:21:59,401
in the next few shots,

343
00:22:00,277 --> 00:22:02,530
as he begins to choke
and squeeze Tien's throat

344
00:22:02,655 --> 00:22:04,281
while suspending him in mid-air,

345
00:22:04,406 --> 00:22:06,909
before flinging him across the room
like a ragdoll.

346
00:22:16,210 --> 00:22:18,796
As filming continues, on September 8th,

347
00:22:18,921 --> 00:22:21,882
Tien stands on a box
during the over-the-shoulder shots,

348
00:22:22,007 --> 00:22:24,718
while the wide shots are accomplished
using a wire harness

349
00:22:24,844 --> 00:22:26,679
attached to his back.

350
00:22:51,370 --> 00:22:54,874
Though wirework became ubiquitous
in later Hong Kong action films,

351
00:22:54,999 --> 00:22:58,002
in particular those choreographed
by Yuen Woo-ping,

352
00:22:58,127 --> 00:23:00,129
it was still in its infancy here,

353
00:23:00,254 --> 00:23:03,465
and had only made one prior
appearance in a Bruce Lee film,

354
00:23:03,591 --> 00:23:07,845
in a stunt performed by a young
Jackie Chan at the end of <i>Fist of Fury.</i>

355
00:23:08,846 --> 00:23:10,681
For the second half of the stunt,

356
00:23:10,806 --> 00:23:14,059
in which his character is flung across
to the other side of the room,

357
00:23:14,727 --> 00:23:16,562
Tien achieves the desired height

358
00:23:16,687 --> 00:23:19,398
by jumping off a strategically
placed mattress,

359
00:23:19,523 --> 00:23:22,568
similar to the trampolining effect
already well established

360
00:23:22,693 --> 00:23:26,363
in the <i>wuxia pian</i> swordplay films
still popular in Hong Kong,

361
00:23:26,488 --> 00:23:30,034
whose characters frequently clashed
in gravity-defying duels.

362
00:23:32,161 --> 00:23:35,664
The beginning of the jump isn't intended
to be included in the final film,

363
00:23:35,789 --> 00:23:39,793
but winds up featuring in some later
assemblies of the footage nonetheless.

364
00:23:57,978 --> 00:24:00,814
Ironically filming his character's
final scenes in the film

365
00:24:00,940 --> 00:24:02,942
on only the second day of filming,

366
00:24:03,067 --> 00:24:04,693
the defeated and terrified Tien

367
00:24:04,818 --> 00:24:07,947
attempts to scream for help
from Bruce's character, Hai Tien,

368
00:24:08,072 --> 00:24:10,574
still fighting another foe
on the floor below.

369
00:24:11,533 --> 00:24:14,954
As he reaches for his throat,
Tien can hardly make a sound,

370
00:24:15,079 --> 00:24:18,457
his vocal chords crushed
by the Guardian of the Unknown.

371
00:24:36,558 --> 00:24:39,186
In Bruce Lee's first scene
of the film to be shot,

372
00:24:39,311 --> 00:24:41,814
Hai Tien ascends
to the Hall of the Unknown,

373
00:24:41,939 --> 00:24:45,234
narrowly avoiding a collision
with Tien Da's lifeless body.

374
00:24:46,068 --> 00:24:47,945
Though it is the start of shooting,

375
00:24:48,070 --> 00:24:51,657
Bruce's face is already bruised
from the battles fought thus far,

376
00:24:51,782 --> 00:24:55,452
some yet to be filmed,
others never to be filmed at all.

377
00:25:07,756 --> 00:25:11,427
It is Bruce's first day in front
of the camera on <i>The Game of Death</i>

378
00:25:11,552 --> 00:25:13,554
and his first in costume.

379
00:25:14,096 --> 00:25:16,557
If the introduction
of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's character

380
00:25:16,682 --> 00:25:19,184
is one of <i>The Game of Death</i>'s
most enduring images,

381
00:25:19,309 --> 00:25:22,396
not least the subtle moment
when he mimics the slack-jawed wonder

382
00:25:22,521 --> 00:25:24,606
with which Lee first looks upon him,

383
00:25:24,732 --> 00:25:29,445
then undoubtedly the top spot on the list
must be reserved for Hai Tien's outfit,

384
00:25:29,570 --> 00:25:31,488
a full-length yellow jumpsuit

385
00:25:31,613 --> 00:25:34,908
with black stripes running down
its left and right-hand side.

386
00:25:35,784 --> 00:25:38,078
Designed and commissioned
by Lee himself,

387
00:25:38,203 --> 00:25:41,123
the motivation behind
the jumpsuit's design is simple.

388
00:25:41,248 --> 00:25:44,835
While other characters in the film
select a stark, traditional wardrobe

389
00:25:44,960 --> 00:25:47,504
in keeping with their particular
fighting disciplines,

390
00:25:47,629 --> 00:25:52,092
Hai Tien, who in Lee's script notes
was nicknamed "The Yellow-Faced Tiger"

391
00:25:52,217 --> 00:25:54,094
in his professional fighting days,

392
00:25:54,219 --> 00:25:58,432
embraces a style both colourful
and emphatically non-traditional,

393
00:25:58,557 --> 00:26:01,060
comfortable, bold and fluid,

394
00:26:01,185 --> 00:26:04,855
an embodiment of the pragmatism
and free-form iconoclasm

395
00:26:04,980 --> 00:26:06,899
of the Jeet Kune Do approach.

396
00:26:07,024 --> 00:26:09,359
The jumpsuit's bold colours
are complemented

397
00:26:09,485 --> 00:26:11,653
with a matching set of sneakers
on his feet,

398
00:26:11,779 --> 00:26:15,407
one of three different sets Bruce
will wear during the course of filming,

399
00:26:15,532 --> 00:26:18,827
including the Onitsuka Tiger
Mexico 66 shoes

400
00:26:18,952 --> 00:26:23,373
in the Tai-Chi yellow and black range
originally launched in Japan.

401
00:26:24,249 --> 00:26:26,460
As for where Lee got the idea
for the suit,

402
00:26:26,585 --> 00:26:30,297
several origin stories have been offered,
none of them verified.

403
00:26:30,422 --> 00:26:34,885
One story says he got the idea from
an outfit lent to him by Roman Polanski

404
00:26:35,010 --> 00:26:37,930
during a skiing trip
in Gstaad, Switzerland.

405
00:26:38,055 --> 00:26:40,224
Another says that the suit
was originally designed

406
00:26:40,349 --> 00:26:42,518
to be black with yellow stripes,

407
00:26:42,643 --> 00:26:46,772
only to be inverted when it became clear
that yellow would read better on camera

408
00:26:46,897 --> 00:26:49,233
during the dimly lit fight
with Abdul-Jabbar.

409
00:26:49,817 --> 00:26:52,319
Regardless, the yellow and black
jumpsuit remains

410
00:26:52,444 --> 00:26:54,780
arguably the piece of visual iconography

411
00:26:54,905 --> 00:26:57,449
most associated
with Bruce Lee to this day.

412
00:26:59,535 --> 00:27:01,995
Director of photography
Tadashi Nishimoto,

413
00:27:02,121 --> 00:27:06,875
often credited under the Chinese alias
Ho Lan-shan, had previously shot films

414
00:27:07,000 --> 00:27:10,045
such as King Hu's <i>wuxia</i> landmark
<i>Come Drink with Me</i>

415
00:27:10,170 --> 00:27:11,338
for Shaw Brothers,

416
00:27:11,463 --> 00:27:14,925
and was responsible for bringing over
the TohoScope widescreen lenses

417
00:27:15,050 --> 00:27:18,720
that would form the basis of the studio's
iconic Shawscope system.

418
00:27:18,846 --> 00:27:22,850
His skill at capturing action
in striking, moody compositions,

419
00:27:22,975 --> 00:27:25,686
often shot at low angles
with very wide lenses,

420
00:27:25,811 --> 00:27:29,898
was honed in his native Japan when
filming the <i>chanbara</i> swordplay films

421
00:27:30,023 --> 00:27:34,194
that influenced numerous Hong Kong
filmmakers, not least Bruce Lee.

422
00:27:34,319 --> 00:27:36,905
As if freed from the shackles
of formal convention

423
00:27:37,030 --> 00:27:39,825
by the more heightened,
fantastical elements of the story,

424
00:27:39,950 --> 00:27:43,745
Lee and Nishimoto's camerawork
becomes more playful and expressive,

425
00:27:43,871 --> 00:27:47,291
such as this angle shot from the point
of view of Abdul-Jabbar's character

426
00:27:47,416 --> 00:27:50,043
while sitting in a rocking chair.

427
00:27:51,128 --> 00:27:53,630
While invention was being
encouraged behind the camera,

428
00:27:53,755 --> 00:27:55,257
in many other respects

429
00:27:55,382 --> 00:27:59,052
filming on <i>The Game of Death</i>
adheres to standard operating practices

430
00:27:59,178 --> 00:28:00,762
for Hong Kong filmmaking.

431
00:28:00,888 --> 00:28:04,349
Most infamously,
no sound is recorded on set.

432
00:28:05,350 --> 00:28:07,644
Among other things,
the lack of hindrance

433
00:28:07,769 --> 00:28:11,190
caused by having to accommodate
live sync-sound recording

434
00:28:11,315 --> 00:28:14,193
allows film crews to shoot
up to twice as much material

435
00:28:14,318 --> 00:28:16,028
as they would do otherwise,

436
00:28:16,153 --> 00:28:19,364
a blessing for anyone working
on a densely choreographed fight scene

437
00:28:19,489 --> 00:28:23,076
on a low budget,
often with a multilingual cast and crew.

438
00:28:36,131 --> 00:28:39,718
At a time when filmmakers in the West
were still typically breaking scenes

439
00:28:39,843 --> 00:28:43,513
into a conventional list
of camera angles or setups,

440
00:28:44,056 --> 00:28:46,058
a master, or a wide shot,

441
00:28:46,183 --> 00:28:49,770
that captures most or all
of the action in a single take,

442
00:28:49,895 --> 00:28:52,481
complemented by close-ups
and insert shots

443
00:28:52,606 --> 00:28:55,525
to accentuate certain elements
within a scene,

444
00:28:55,651 --> 00:28:59,279
Hong Kong filmmakers, working
at the height of the kung fu boom,

445
00:28:59,404 --> 00:29:02,658
favoured a style that academic
David Bordwell has referred to

446
00:29:02,783 --> 00:29:04,326
as "segment shooting,"

447
00:29:04,451 --> 00:29:07,955
wherein the scene is broken up
into several short pieces

448
00:29:08,080 --> 00:29:10,582
which are dually filmed one at a time,

449
00:29:10,707 --> 00:29:14,461
even if it involves moving the camera
back and forth multiple times.

450
00:29:15,462 --> 00:29:20,092
While a Western crew might accuse its
Hong Kong counterparts of inefficiency,

451
00:29:20,217 --> 00:29:23,095
in fact, the result was
just the opposite,

452
00:29:23,220 --> 00:29:25,973
with directors choosing
to edit in-camera,

453
00:29:26,098 --> 00:29:28,267
often resulting in a shooting ratio,

454
00:29:28,392 --> 00:29:30,560
meaning the amount of raw film shot

455
00:29:30,686 --> 00:29:33,647
compared to what is actually used
in the completed film,

456
00:29:33,772 --> 00:29:37,276
usually somewhere
between 2:1 and 3:1,

457
00:29:37,401 --> 00:29:41,238
compared to a Hollywood average
of 10:1, or often much higher.

458
00:29:42,114 --> 00:29:44,825
And while a Hollywood director
like Stanley Kubrick

459
00:29:44,950 --> 00:29:48,245
might enjoy the luxury of shooting
as many takes as he likes,

460
00:29:48,370 --> 00:29:51,456
even a big star like Bruce Lee
accepts that in Hong Kong,

461
00:29:51,581 --> 00:29:53,750
if you get it right on the first take,

462
00:29:53,875 --> 00:29:56,003
you move on to the next angle.

463
00:29:56,628 --> 00:29:59,006
The economic rationale
is self-explanatory.

464
00:29:59,131 --> 00:30:02,134
35mm film and studio time
aren't cheap.

465
00:30:02,259 --> 00:30:06,638
But an expected artistic advantage
is a restless, dynamic energy

466
00:30:06,763 --> 00:30:10,517
that puts the action scenes in many
of its Western counterparts to shame.

467
00:30:11,101 --> 00:30:12,686
In spite of the ruthless economy

468
00:30:12,811 --> 00:30:15,439
that came with the segment shooting
production style,

469
00:30:15,564 --> 00:30:18,233
Lee holds firm when it comes
to pursuing perfection

470
00:30:18,358 --> 00:30:20,319
during the combat scenes.

471
00:30:20,444 --> 00:30:23,322
The third day of filming begins
with a wide angle,

472
00:30:23,447 --> 00:30:26,241
showing Lee toppling Abdul-Jabbar
with a leglock.

473
00:30:26,950 --> 00:30:29,578
The following back-and-forth
between Lee and Abdul-Jabbar

474
00:30:29,703 --> 00:30:32,497
ends up taking no less
than seven takes to shoot,

475
00:30:32,622 --> 00:30:35,625
with the timing needing to be
absolutely on point.

476
00:30:36,626 --> 00:30:40,672
You'll notice a pattern emerge in longer
setups that require multiple takes.

477
00:30:40,797 --> 00:30:43,884
Lee and his scene partner may
initially come across as stiff

478
00:30:44,009 --> 00:30:45,761
on the first couple of tries,

479
00:30:45,886 --> 00:30:48,930
as if attempting to remember
the choreography while moving,

480
00:30:49,056 --> 00:30:53,727
but by the final takes
looking far more fluid and spontaneous.

481
00:30:53,852 --> 00:30:57,147
Lee has a keen eye
for how not only his moves

482
00:30:57,272 --> 00:31:00,317
but those of his scene partners'
will read on camera,

483
00:31:00,442 --> 00:31:03,445
and is aided in judging takes
on more dynamic scenes

484
00:31:03,570 --> 00:31:07,074
by his trusted cinematographer,
Tadashi Nishimoto.

485
00:31:08,992 --> 00:31:12,788
As Hai Tien attempts in vain
to best the Guardian of the Unknown,

486
00:31:12,913 --> 00:31:15,207
who smiles eerily
as his long-limbed strength

487
00:31:15,332 --> 00:31:17,376
helps him regain the upper hand

488
00:31:17,501 --> 00:31:19,586
...or should that be the upper leg?

489
00:31:19,711 --> 00:31:22,964
A dramatic dolly shot accompanies
Hai Tien's retreat

490
00:31:23,090 --> 00:31:25,801
as he stands back to consider
his next move.

491
00:31:25,926 --> 00:31:28,053
The guardian sits calmly.

492
00:31:46,863 --> 00:31:50,867
With almost clairvoyant precision,
the guardian thrusts out his hands,

493
00:31:50,992 --> 00:31:53,537
halting Hai Tien's attack
dead in its tracks.

494
00:32:17,644 --> 00:32:20,397
In his handwritten note
for this part of the fight,

495
00:32:20,522 --> 00:32:23,608
Bruce writes in Chinese
a voiceover for his character,

496
00:32:23,733 --> 00:32:26,736
giving the audience an insight
to his inner monologue.

497
00:32:26,862 --> 00:32:29,865
The voiceover says,
referring to the guardian,

498
00:32:29,990 --> 00:32:33,452
"His big advantage is that
he gives no thought to life or death,

499
00:32:33,577 --> 00:32:35,412
and with no distracting thoughts,

500
00:32:35,537 --> 00:32:38,874
he is therefore free to concentrate
on fighting against the attack

501
00:32:38,999 --> 00:32:40,792
from outside."

502
00:32:40,917 --> 00:32:42,377
As the guardian stands,

503
00:32:42,502 --> 00:32:45,255
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar speaks
some of the first dialogue

504
00:32:45,380 --> 00:32:47,090
Bruce has written for the film.

505
00:32:47,215 --> 00:32:48,967
In English, he says,

506
00:32:49,092 --> 00:32:51,970
"Little one, you must have
given up hope of living."

507
00:32:53,346 --> 00:32:56,641
Lee has Abdul-Jabbar film
three takes of the dialogue,

508
00:32:56,766 --> 00:33:00,145
his face more still and inscrutable
with each turn.

509
00:33:29,466 --> 00:33:31,801
The camera reverses for Bruce's reply.

510
00:33:32,844 --> 00:33:37,057
"On the contrary,
I do not let the word 'death' bother me."

511
00:33:41,561 --> 00:33:44,606
The guardian replies,
"Same here, baby."

512
00:33:48,735 --> 00:33:52,239
To which Hai Tien says,
"Then, what are you waiting for?"

513
00:33:54,282 --> 00:33:58,703
For some, Lee's dialogue may risk
sounding inelegant and stilted.

514
00:33:58,828 --> 00:34:01,081
But the stylised nature of the words
are in keeping

515
00:34:01,206 --> 00:34:03,959
with the heightened unreality
of the tale being told.

516
00:34:05,126 --> 00:34:06,545
It is in this dialogue

517
00:34:06,670 --> 00:34:10,423
where the motivation behind the title
<i>The Game of Death</i> becomes clear.

518
00:34:10,549 --> 00:34:14,219
It refers not only to the mortal stakes
of the pagoda heist itself,

519
00:34:14,344 --> 00:34:17,681
but Hai Tien's transcendence
of his own limitations.

520
00:34:17,806 --> 00:34:21,434
In understanding and matching
the guardian's advantage over him

521
00:34:21,560 --> 00:34:25,146
and how his true strength lies
not in his physical abilities

522
00:34:25,272 --> 00:34:27,107
but his transcendent mastery over

523
00:34:27,232 --> 00:34:30,527
and acceptance of
the fear of death itself,

524
00:34:30,652 --> 00:34:35,407
Hai Tien begins to tip the scales back
in his favour, if only for a short while.

525
00:34:36,866 --> 00:34:38,952
The arc of Lee and Abdul-Jabbar's fight

526
00:34:39,077 --> 00:34:41,913
demonstrates the core theme
of Lee's thesis for the film

527
00:34:42,038 --> 00:34:44,207
and Jeet Kune Do in general.

528
00:34:44,332 --> 00:34:46,459
This final fight would be the culmination

529
00:34:46,585 --> 00:34:49,421
of everything demonstrated
throughout the preceding battles

530
00:34:49,546 --> 00:34:51,506
on the lower floors of the pagoda.

531
00:34:51,631 --> 00:34:53,717
Unlike those earlier fights, however,

532
00:34:53,842 --> 00:34:56,761
Hai Tien has two significant
disadvantages:

533
00:34:56,886 --> 00:34:59,598
the Guardian of the Unknown's
physical size and strength,

534
00:34:59,723 --> 00:35:02,767
in particular the long reach
of his arms and legs,

535
00:35:02,892 --> 00:35:06,980
but also his own unpredictable lack
of a specific fighting discipline.

536
00:35:07,522 --> 00:35:10,650
Like the small willow tree
that withstands the snowstorm

537
00:35:10,775 --> 00:35:13,028
while larger oaks around it fall,

538
00:35:13,153 --> 00:35:17,032
his character will ultimately triumph
against the colossus in front of him

539
00:35:17,157 --> 00:35:20,035
not through the mastery
of one specific fighting regimen,

540
00:35:20,160 --> 00:35:23,038
but learning his opponent's strengths
and weaknesses in combat

541
00:35:23,163 --> 00:35:25,832
and adapting his strategy accordingly,

542
00:35:25,957 --> 00:35:28,293
fighting smarter, not harder.

543
00:35:29,044 --> 00:35:32,005
Having already been knocked down
once at the start of the fight,

544
00:35:32,130 --> 00:35:34,758
he starts allowing the guardian
to make the first move,

545
00:35:34,883 --> 00:35:38,303
continually learning as he responds
to each move in turn.

546
00:36:39,656 --> 00:36:41,908
In one of the violent highlights
of the scene,

547
00:36:42,033 --> 00:36:43,660
Hai Tien nearly meets his end

548
00:36:43,785 --> 00:36:45,620
when the guardian attempts
to push his face

549
00:36:45,745 --> 00:36:50,542
onto the sharp end of a broken vase
until he bends his body in such a way

550
00:36:50,667 --> 00:36:54,170
to be able to kick the guardian
in the head, escaping his grasp.

551
00:36:55,422 --> 00:36:58,675
In spite of a debilitating
back injury in 1970

552
00:36:58,800 --> 00:37:00,719
that had been one
of the contributing factors

553
00:37:00,844 --> 00:37:03,179
behind his hiatus from Hollywood acting,

554
00:37:03,304 --> 00:37:05,682
Bruce maintains intense core strength,

555
00:37:05,807 --> 00:37:09,102
allowing him to perform
this difficult stunt single-handedly

556
00:37:09,227 --> 00:37:11,980
without the use of doubles
or wire assistance,

557
00:37:12,105 --> 00:37:15,984
aided only by the counterbalance offered
as Kareem holds the back of his head.

558
00:37:17,527 --> 00:37:19,738
However, the lack of a camera angle

559
00:37:19,863 --> 00:37:23,158
explicitly detailing how Hai Tien
is able to flip himself over

560
00:37:23,283 --> 00:37:25,452
in such a way
where he lands on his feet

561
00:37:25,577 --> 00:37:27,620
means this scene
is cut together awkwardly

562
00:37:27,746 --> 00:37:29,789
in any assembly of the footage.

563
00:37:32,208 --> 00:37:35,920
In a project so deliberately
and ambitiously choreographed,

564
00:37:36,045 --> 00:37:40,341
it stands out as the one move
one could reasonably call a cheat.

565
00:37:42,135 --> 00:37:44,012
We can speculate
that Lee might have planned

566
00:37:44,137 --> 00:37:46,222
for a pick-up shot at a later date,

567
00:37:46,347 --> 00:37:49,684
perhaps being doubled by Yuen Wah,
the acrobatic stuntman

568
00:37:49,809 --> 00:37:52,771
that would later perform backflips
for Bruce on <i>Enter the Dragon.</i>

569
00:37:53,313 --> 00:37:57,317
However, no notes or footage exist
to corroborate this,

570
00:37:57,442 --> 00:38:00,862
and though Yuen Wah will appear
in <i>The Game of Death</i> footage later on,

571
00:38:00,987 --> 00:38:03,198
it is not to double Bruce.

572
00:38:06,659 --> 00:38:09,329
September 10th,
the fourth day of filming.

573
00:38:10,830 --> 00:38:14,292
One interesting flourish that
Lee gives Abdul-Jabbar to perform

574
00:38:14,417 --> 00:38:19,005
is the guardian adjusting his sunglasses
as the fight increases intensity,

575
00:38:19,130 --> 00:38:21,216
showing both his rattled realisation

576
00:38:21,341 --> 00:38:24,719
that Hai Tien may not be the pushover
he originally assumed,

577
00:38:24,844 --> 00:38:28,306
but also cluing the audience in
on his one major weakness

578
00:38:28,431 --> 00:38:31,142
that will be exploited
later in the fight.

579
00:39:10,515 --> 00:39:13,601
As Hai Tien begins to gain
the upper hand against the guardian,

580
00:39:13,726 --> 00:39:17,730
he makes things really personal
with an uppercut punch to the groin.

581
00:40:11,826 --> 00:40:15,204
Once again, Bruce's choreography notes
for the scene

582
00:40:15,330 --> 00:40:19,584
include a line of internal monologue,
potentially to be recorded in voiceover.

583
00:40:20,209 --> 00:40:24,297
Here, Hai Tien assesses the advantage
he now has over the guardian.

584
00:40:25,131 --> 00:40:26,674
"With his great size,

585
00:40:26,799 --> 00:40:30,970
he's going to find it difficult to keep
getting up each time I knock him down."

586
00:41:35,827 --> 00:41:38,913
As Hai Tien senses
the guardian's growing exhaustion,

587
00:41:39,038 --> 00:41:41,416
Bruce writes another piece
of internal monologue

588
00:41:41,541 --> 00:41:43,960
referring to his next plan of attack:

589
00:41:44,085 --> 00:41:47,255
"Look at him.
Give him the fatigue bombing."

590
00:43:01,287 --> 00:43:04,123
One criticism levelled at Lee
on and off through the years

591
00:43:04,248 --> 00:43:06,542
was that he allowed himself
to look too invincible

592
00:43:06,667 --> 00:43:09,337
in many of the fights
he choreographed himself,

593
00:43:09,462 --> 00:43:12,590
always having the upper hand
against whoever he was sparring with,

594
00:43:12,715 --> 00:43:14,759
in contrast to the conventional wisdom

595
00:43:14,884 --> 00:43:17,553
that a fight scene should set
its protagonist against a foe

596
00:43:17,678 --> 00:43:21,099
of equal or greater ability
to heighten the tension,

597
00:43:21,224 --> 00:43:23,309
to put the audience
on the edge of their seat

598
00:43:23,434 --> 00:43:26,145
about whether the hero will survive.

599
00:43:26,270 --> 00:43:29,649
Setting aside Lee's motivations
for not doing so for now,

600
00:43:29,774 --> 00:43:32,193
the arc of this battle with Abdul-Jabbar,

601
00:43:32,318 --> 00:43:34,904
like the fight with Chuck Norris
in <i>The Way of the Dragon,</i>

602
00:43:35,029 --> 00:43:37,990
follows the more common structure
of the vulnerable hero

603
00:43:38,116 --> 00:43:39,992
looking increasingly exhausted,

604
00:43:40,118 --> 00:43:42,203
almost succumbing
to his adversary's strength

605
00:43:42,328 --> 00:43:44,038
two thirds of the way through.

606
00:43:44,163 --> 00:43:46,290
Whereas Lee's character
in his previous film

607
00:43:46,415 --> 00:43:50,503
won the fight against Norris
through the surgical use of Jeet Kune Do,

608
00:43:50,628 --> 00:43:54,006
Hai Tien regains his advantage
against the Guardian of the Unknown

609
00:43:54,132 --> 00:43:56,467
through a lucky discovery,

610
00:43:56,592 --> 00:43:58,886
as Hai Tien accidentally
breaks the paper

611
00:43:59,011 --> 00:44:01,305
covering the square windows
of the pagoda,

612
00:44:01,430 --> 00:44:04,475
causing daylight to flood
the darkened Hall of the Unknown.

613
00:44:04,600 --> 00:44:07,854
The fourth day of filming the scene
ends with a happy occasion,

614
00:44:07,979 --> 00:44:09,939
assistant director Ricky Chik's wedding,

615
00:44:10,064 --> 00:44:13,442
with Bruce, Raymond Chow
and others in attendance.

616
00:44:14,068 --> 00:44:16,445
But before Ricky can head off
on his honeymoon,

617
00:44:16,571 --> 00:44:19,031
there's one more day of filming
left to go.

618
00:44:19,157 --> 00:44:21,701
September 11th, 1972.

619
00:44:21,826 --> 00:44:25,037
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's
last day of filming.

620
00:44:25,163 --> 00:44:28,666
The guardian recoils,
revealing his Achilles' heel.

621
00:44:29,250 --> 00:44:31,711
The sunglasses aren't just to look cool.

622
00:44:31,836 --> 00:44:34,630
He has a crippling sensitivity
to daylight.

623
00:44:37,758 --> 00:44:40,970
Hai Tien seizes the advantage
and lays into the guardian,

624
00:44:41,095 --> 00:44:42,972
sending him to the floor.

625
00:46:22,613 --> 00:46:26,367
Three takes are filmed from
Abdul-Jabbar's character's point of view.

626
00:46:26,492 --> 00:46:29,662
The first maintains a constant focus
from start to finish,

627
00:46:29,787 --> 00:46:32,415
with the next two toying
with a shifting focus,

628
00:46:32,540 --> 00:46:36,919
implying that he's losing concentration
and may even be concussed.

629
00:46:44,468 --> 00:46:48,097
The effect, achieved in-camera
by Tadashi Nishimoto,

630
00:46:48,222 --> 00:46:50,641
is repeated from a similar moment
with Chuck Norris

631
00:46:50,766 --> 00:46:52,601
in <i>The Way of the Dragon.</i>

632
00:46:58,399 --> 00:47:00,109
The guardian's allergy to sunlight

633
00:47:00,234 --> 00:47:03,070
is never explained
in Lee's notes for the film,

634
00:47:03,195 --> 00:47:05,072
nor is it known
whether he ever discussed it

635
00:47:05,197 --> 00:47:07,241
with Abdul-Jabbar or anyone else.

636
00:47:08,409 --> 00:47:12,038
Though Lee's characteristically
grounded, authentic choreography

637
00:47:12,163 --> 00:47:16,000
tempers any notion the film will venture
into the realm of outright fantasy,

638
00:47:16,125 --> 00:47:17,668
unlike many of the <i>wuxia</i> films

639
00:47:17,793 --> 00:47:20,546
inspired by Chinese myth and legend
that preceded it,

640
00:47:20,671 --> 00:47:23,299
or even the wire-fu films that followed,

641
00:47:23,424 --> 00:47:27,053
a vein of magical realism runs
through <i>The Game of Death,</i>

642
00:47:27,178 --> 00:47:29,555
subtle and often unremarked upon.

643
00:47:30,222 --> 00:47:32,433
What we see instead
in <i>The Game of Death,</i>

644
00:47:32,558 --> 00:47:35,353
albeit in controlled, nascent bursts,

645
00:47:35,478 --> 00:47:38,647
is Bruce Lee's imagination
given free rein.

646
00:47:40,441 --> 00:47:41,942
At the story's core,

647
00:47:42,068 --> 00:47:46,405
the far-fetched notion of the remote
ancient temple guarded by expert fighters,

648
00:47:46,530 --> 00:47:50,242
whose lives solely revolve
around mastering their craft in solitude

649
00:47:50,368 --> 00:47:52,620
while fending off
the occasional intruder,

650
00:47:52,745 --> 00:47:56,540
is one steeped in a mythic,
almost dream-like illogic.

651
00:47:57,583 --> 00:47:59,543
Would Lee have clarified
the practicalities

652
00:47:59,668 --> 00:48:03,172
of such an unlikely arrangement
in a finished script had he lived?

653
00:48:03,756 --> 00:48:05,132
Unlikely.

654
00:48:05,257 --> 00:48:07,093
Some have even compared
<i>The Game of Death</i>

655
00:48:07,218 --> 00:48:10,012
to Lee's script for <i>The Silent Flute</i>
from 1970,

656
00:48:10,137 --> 00:48:13,307
a tale much more driven
by esoteric philosophical ideas

657
00:48:13,432 --> 00:48:15,351
and 1960s psychedelia

658
00:48:15,476 --> 00:48:18,020
than anything he would
subsequently film in Hong Kong.

659
00:48:18,729 --> 00:48:21,649
Whether due to the low budgets
offered by Golden Harvest

660
00:48:21,774 --> 00:48:23,984
or simply changing tastes on his part,

661
00:48:24,110 --> 00:48:27,947
Bruce only teases at the otherworldly
potential of his storyline.

662
00:48:28,656 --> 00:48:32,076
Any philosophical breakthroughs
in the script are purely subtextual

663
00:48:32,201 --> 00:48:34,829
and left to the audience's imagination.

664
00:50:15,304 --> 00:50:19,350
However, one brief series of setups
during the filming of this scene

665
00:50:19,475 --> 00:50:22,478
offer two tantalising glimpses
of the fantastical nature

666
00:50:22,603 --> 00:50:24,313
of the Guardian of the Unknown,

667
00:50:24,438 --> 00:50:28,776
unremarked upon in the script
or anywhere in Lee's notes.

668
00:50:28,901 --> 00:50:32,404
The first occurs after Hai Tien
has kicked the guardian's sunglasses

669
00:50:32,530 --> 00:50:37,660
from his face, leaving him blinded
and cowering in the safety of the dark.

670
00:50:51,715 --> 00:50:55,469
Lee and Nishimoto shoot three takes
of a point-of-view shot

671
00:50:55,594 --> 00:50:57,846
filmed from the guardian's perspective.

672
00:50:57,972 --> 00:51:00,641
The initial take is filmed
with a red filter,

673
00:51:00,766 --> 00:51:04,937
almost as if the guardian's eyes
are being flooded with ultraviolet light.

674
00:51:07,231 --> 00:51:10,776
On the second and third takes,
the filter is removed.

675
00:51:10,901 --> 00:51:14,655
Whether this means the red filter was
an experiment that was swiftly abandoned

676
00:51:14,780 --> 00:51:18,784
or if Lee was simply covering his bases
by filming the scene both ways,

677
00:51:18,909 --> 00:51:20,661
we will never know.

678
00:51:22,246 --> 00:51:25,666
However, Bruce attempts
another experiment

679
00:51:25,791 --> 00:51:29,128
as he films a close-up
of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's eyes.

680
00:51:29,753 --> 00:51:33,173
Abdul-Jabbar poses static
for the camera in the single take.

681
00:51:34,717 --> 00:51:38,053
Then, in probably the most mysterious
piece of footage

682
00:51:38,178 --> 00:51:39,722
filmed for <i>The Game of Death,</i>

683
00:51:39,847 --> 00:51:45,060
a still image of Abdul-Jabbar's face
is filmed with serpentine, mutant eyes

684
00:51:45,185 --> 00:51:47,187
painted on top of his own.

685
00:51:48,647 --> 00:51:52,526
How Lee would have incorporated
this twist, what it means,

686
00:51:52,651 --> 00:51:54,695
and whether it would have
even been used at all,

687
00:51:54,820 --> 00:51:56,697
is, again, unknown.

688
00:51:57,489 --> 00:52:00,576
The shot is reminiscent
of the reveal of the father's eyes

689
00:52:00,701 --> 00:52:02,745
in the dream scene
from <i>Rosemary's Baby,</i>

690
00:52:02,870 --> 00:52:05,289
directed by Lee's friend,
Roman Polanski,

691
00:52:05,414 --> 00:52:09,543
and a supernatural, perhaps even
vampiric element seems inevitable,

692
00:52:09,668 --> 00:52:13,088
given the character's super strength
and aversion to light.

693
00:52:13,213 --> 00:52:15,424
But with little else to contextualise it,

694
00:52:15,549 --> 00:52:17,301
the shot of the eyes
has often been omitted

695
00:52:17,426 --> 00:52:19,762
from assemblies
of the footage altogether.

696
00:52:20,888 --> 00:52:23,807
As the confrontation hurtles
towards its final act,

697
00:52:23,932 --> 00:52:26,727
Lee writes more dialogue
for him and Abdul-Jabbar,

698
00:52:26,852 --> 00:52:30,189
including a call-back
to their earlier exchange,

699
00:52:30,314 --> 00:52:33,233
as he pleads for common sense
from the guardian:

700
00:52:33,359 --> 00:52:36,111
"Why continue? Just let me pass."

701
00:52:37,488 --> 00:52:41,659
Abdul-Jabbar's tired response,
delivered through halting breaths,

702
00:52:41,784 --> 00:52:45,037
confirms his character's acceptance
of his impending fate:

703
00:52:47,539 --> 00:52:53,003
"You have forgotten that I, too,
am not bothered by the word 'death'."

704
00:53:55,607 --> 00:53:57,651
And so begins their final battle,

705
00:53:57,776 --> 00:54:01,905
the last of three ground-game fights
peppered throughout the scene.

706
00:54:02,030 --> 00:54:05,033
The first, early on, signalled
Hai Tien's awareness

707
00:54:05,159 --> 00:54:07,619
that he would have
to drastically change his strategy

708
00:54:07,745 --> 00:54:11,623
in order to continue the fight
following a failed attempt at a leglock.

709
00:54:12,458 --> 00:54:14,585
The second, midway through,

710
00:54:14,710 --> 00:54:17,296
comes as another attempt
to defeat the guardian at floor level

711
00:54:17,421 --> 00:54:19,423
almost leads to Hai Tien's defeat,

712
00:54:19,548 --> 00:54:22,926
before he accidentally knocks out
one of the windows.

713
00:54:23,051 --> 00:54:25,512
Finally, with the guardian subdued,

714
00:54:25,637 --> 00:54:28,015
Hai Tien is able to topple the giant
to his level,

715
00:54:28,140 --> 00:54:32,060
and with extreme effort
finally chokes him out.

716
00:56:12,286 --> 00:56:16,582
After five days of exhausting filming
on a hot, sweaty soundstage,

717
00:56:16,707 --> 00:56:20,043
the fight in the Hall of the Unknown
wraps filming.

718
00:56:21,086 --> 00:56:23,755
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar flies
back to the United States

719
00:56:23,881 --> 00:56:26,383
in anticipation of another
record-breaking season

720
00:56:26,508 --> 00:56:28,677
playing for the Milwaukee Bucks.

721
00:56:29,553 --> 00:56:34,057
The following summer, he is en route
to Hong Kong to see his friend again,

722
00:56:34,182 --> 00:56:37,853
when, flying through Singapore,
he receives the terrible news

723
00:56:37,978 --> 00:56:39,855
that Bruce is gone.

724
00:56:43,442 --> 00:56:46,820
Though he did not continue training
in martial arts after Bruce's death,

725
00:56:46,945 --> 00:56:50,324
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar appeared
in a variety of cameo appearances

726
00:56:50,449 --> 00:56:52,826
in films such as <i>Airplane!</i>
and <i>Fletch,</i>

727
00:56:52,951 --> 00:56:56,246
all while maintaining
a record-breaking NBA basketball career

728
00:56:56,371 --> 00:56:59,333
until his retirement in 1989.

729
00:56:59,458 --> 00:57:03,545
Now aged 75,
he remains today a prolific author

730
00:57:03,670 --> 00:57:07,341
and a passionate, outspoken advocate
of social and racial justice,

731
00:57:07,466 --> 00:57:11,595
and in 2016 was awarded
the Presidential Medal of Freedom

732
00:57:11,720 --> 00:57:13,555
by President Barack Obama.

733
00:57:29,988 --> 00:57:31,406
Two weeks later,

734
00:57:31,531 --> 00:57:34,326
Bruce and his crew returned
to the same soundstage,

735
00:57:34,451 --> 00:57:39,623
now re-dressed into the third floor
of the pagoda, the Hall of the Tiger.

736
00:57:39,748 --> 00:57:42,292
The first two days of filming
are largely dedicated

737
00:57:42,417 --> 00:57:46,672
to a fight scene never seen before
and long presumed lost

738
00:57:46,797 --> 00:57:48,632
until now.

739
00:57:53,261 --> 00:57:55,514
As cameras roll on September 25th,

740
00:57:55,639 --> 00:57:59,184
we see James Tien,
his scheming character alive and well,

741
00:57:59,309 --> 00:58:02,437
little knowing his doom
is still two floors ahead.

742
00:58:02,562 --> 00:58:05,649
The actor joining him,
carrying the large pole,

743
00:58:05,774 --> 00:58:08,860
is stuntman turned actor, Chieh Yuan.

744
00:58:18,245 --> 00:58:22,457
The actor waiting for them,
sitting in a chair, is Dan Inosanto.

745
00:58:27,921 --> 00:58:30,257
Though there are no script notes
to indicate this,

746
00:58:30,382 --> 00:58:34,511
we can infer from his late arrival
that Bruce's character, Hai Tien,

747
00:58:34,636 --> 00:58:37,973
is busy fighting the guardian
of the second floor of the pagoda,

748
00:58:38,098 --> 00:58:41,101
an expert in Praying Mantis Kung Fu.

749
00:58:49,401 --> 00:58:53,447
Born in 1945 to a Chinese family
living in Malaysia,

750
00:58:53,572 --> 00:58:56,825
Chieh Yuan had already firmly
established himself for five years

751
00:58:56,950 --> 00:58:59,494
as an in-demand stuntman
at Shaw Brothers

752
00:58:59,619 --> 00:59:01,872
since first appearing
in their record-breaking hit,

753
00:59:01,997 --> 00:59:03,665
<i>The One-Armed Swordsman.</i>

754
00:59:04,541 --> 00:59:07,711
His role in <i>The Game of Death,</i>
originally intended

755
00:59:07,836 --> 00:59:11,673
for then up-and-coming Golden Harvest
fight choreographer Sammo Hung,

756
00:59:11,798 --> 00:59:13,341
is of another one of the fighters

757
00:59:13,467 --> 00:59:16,720
sent by the Korean mobster
to raid the pagoda.

758
00:59:16,845 --> 00:59:21,266
His character, unnamed except
for "Chieh" in Bruce's notes,

759
00:59:21,391 --> 00:59:24,061
is immediately contrasted
with James Tien's.

760
00:59:24,853 --> 00:59:28,523
Dressed in traditional
black karate <i>gi</i> clothing,

761
00:59:28,648 --> 00:59:31,193
Chieh's headstrong
and less sophisticated character

762
00:59:31,318 --> 00:59:34,488
is cannily manipulated
by the stylish James Tien,

763
00:59:34,613 --> 00:59:38,617
who continually goads him
to run into the path of danger first.

764
00:59:48,752 --> 00:59:49,961
The log fight,

765
00:59:50,087 --> 00:59:53,465
as it has become known to legions
of Bruce Lee fans over the years,

766
00:59:53,590 --> 00:59:56,635
has never been incorporated
into any edited assembly

767
00:59:56,760 --> 00:59:59,137
of <i>The Game of Death</i> footage before.

768
00:59:59,262 --> 01:00:03,183
As Chieh wields the large pole,
picked up, allegedly,

769
01:00:03,308 --> 01:00:06,895
from a display of weapons held
on the second floor of the pagoda,

770
01:00:07,020 --> 01:00:11,149
Dan's character is unfazed
as he picks up the two much smaller sticks

771
01:00:11,274 --> 01:00:14,152
known in the Philippines
as kali, or arnis.

772
01:00:18,115 --> 01:00:21,910
Dan begins to tap an insistent,
nagging melody using the kali,

773
01:00:22,035 --> 01:00:25,372
taunting Tien and Yuan
by repeating it over and over.

774
01:00:28,291 --> 01:00:30,877
Tap-tap-tap-tap-tap, tap-tap.

775
01:00:33,547 --> 01:00:36,216
Tap-tap-tap-tap-tap, tap-tap.

776
01:00:37,008 --> 01:00:40,887
The origin of this melody dates back
to Bruce and Dan's early friendship.

777
01:00:41,888 --> 01:00:43,640
It was the secret knock they devised

778
01:00:43,765 --> 01:00:46,309
for entrance
to the Jun Fan Gung Fu Institute

779
01:00:46,434 --> 01:00:50,647
the pair opened in the Chinatown area
of Los Angeles in 1967.

780
01:00:52,607 --> 01:00:55,152
Having only appeared
on camera once before

781
01:00:55,277 --> 01:00:59,614
as a fight double in an episode
of <i>The Green Hornet</i> opposite Bruce,

782
01:00:59,739 --> 01:01:04,035
Dan's character in <i>The Game of Death</i> is
the guardian of the pagoda's third floor.

783
01:01:04,161 --> 01:01:07,831
Expert in the art of eskrima
stick fighting from the Philippines.

784
01:01:08,456 --> 01:01:12,085
The third-floor guardian's red headband
and open-chested black shirt

785
01:01:12,210 --> 01:01:13,879
indicate he is a Moro,

786
01:01:14,004 --> 01:01:17,382
one of the Muslim communities
native to the southern Philippines.

787
01:01:21,887 --> 01:01:26,725
As Chieh turns to James Tien,
intimidated by Dan's display of force,

788
01:01:26,850 --> 01:01:30,687
James Tien snorts derisively,
provoking Chieh to continue.

789
01:01:34,816 --> 01:01:39,112
Born to Filipino parents
in Stockton, California in 1936,

790
01:01:39,237 --> 01:01:42,199
Dan Inosanto began learning karate
at the age of 11,

791
01:01:42,324 --> 01:01:45,785
and by the time he met Bruce Lee
at Long Beach in 1964

792
01:01:45,911 --> 01:01:49,206
was already proficient in a range
of different fighting techniques,

793
01:01:49,331 --> 01:01:52,125
learning from an eclectic mix
of masters and teachers.

794
01:01:53,293 --> 01:01:57,005
His deftness at combining different
methods greatly influenced Bruce

795
01:01:57,130 --> 01:01:58,965
as he developed Jeet Kune Do,

796
01:01:59,090 --> 01:02:02,552
and soon Dan became one
of only three Jeet Kune Do instructors

797
01:02:02,677 --> 01:02:05,180
personally appointed by Bruce.

798
01:02:11,686 --> 01:02:14,105
Chieh turns to Tien for guidance.

799
01:02:15,148 --> 01:02:17,817
Tien goads him to proceed,
telling him:

800
01:02:17,943 --> 01:02:19,945
"Don't let him psyche you out."

801
01:02:21,863 --> 01:02:24,115
As with the fight
with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar,

802
01:02:24,241 --> 01:02:26,534
the message is that
it's not the size of the fighter

803
01:02:26,660 --> 01:02:28,662
or their chosen weapon that counts,

804
01:02:28,787 --> 01:02:31,790
but rather the skill and strategy
with which they attack.

805
01:02:32,791 --> 01:02:35,794
This fight philosophy unfolds
through numerous stages,

806
01:02:35,919 --> 01:02:37,963
and with the log fight footage
found again,

807
01:02:38,088 --> 01:02:41,216
we get a much clearer view
of what Lee strived for.

808
01:02:42,968 --> 01:02:47,222
In many ways, the Hall of the Tiger
sequence expands on the Colosseum fight

809
01:02:47,347 --> 01:02:49,391
from <i>The Way of the Dragon.</i>

810
01:02:49,516 --> 01:02:52,435
That classic confrontation
between Lee and Chuck Norris

811
01:02:52,560 --> 01:02:54,604
progressed in two phases.

812
01:02:54,729 --> 01:02:59,317
The first had Lee attempting to match
Norris's hard style of traditional karate

813
01:02:59,442 --> 01:03:01,444
but coming up short.

814
01:03:01,569 --> 01:03:05,240
But on the second phase,
Lee overcomes his mammoth opponent

815
01:03:05,365 --> 01:03:08,785
through Jeet Kune Do's ethos
of adaptability and flexibility,

816
01:03:08,910 --> 01:03:12,414
visually signified by the Ali shuffle
in his footwork

817
01:03:12,539 --> 01:03:14,958
and an overall unpredictability
of movement

818
01:03:15,083 --> 01:03:17,836
that doesn't fit with any
traditional martial system.

819
01:03:18,962 --> 01:03:20,797
In the Hall of the Tiger sequence,

820
01:03:20,922 --> 01:03:23,675
this philosophy is expressed
through four phases.

821
01:03:23,800 --> 01:03:25,802
Each one has its own sub-phases

822
01:03:25,927 --> 01:03:29,514
that unveil a more nuanced expression
of Lee's martial ethos,

823
01:03:29,639 --> 01:03:32,851
while never losing sight
of entertaining his audience.

824
01:03:33,977 --> 01:03:37,397
In particular, Lee had
a keen sense of storytelling

825
01:03:37,522 --> 01:03:40,608
and understood that for action
to not be monotonous,

826
01:03:40,734 --> 01:03:44,279
danger and escalation were key
to gripping the viewer's attention.

827
01:03:45,363 --> 01:03:48,408
Phase one is entirely dedicated
to Chieh Yuan,

828
01:03:48,533 --> 01:03:51,077
as he attempts to bypass
the third-floor guardian.

829
01:03:52,579 --> 01:03:54,789
He strikes at Inosanto with a large log,

830
01:03:54,914 --> 01:03:59,419
and does so with appropriate gusto,
desperate to prove his worth.

831
01:03:59,544 --> 01:04:02,339
But Chieh's chosen weapon
proves too unwieldy

832
01:04:02,464 --> 01:04:06,676
for the dexterity and speed
of the guardian's duo eskrima sticks.

833
01:04:06,801 --> 01:04:10,638
Chieh Yuan switches gears
and resorts to empty-hand combat.

834
01:04:10,764 --> 01:04:12,974
Inosanto discards his own weapons

835
01:04:13,099 --> 01:04:17,228
and employs kenpo karate
to take down his foolhardy opponent.

836
01:04:30,325 --> 01:04:33,161
The first day's filming ends,

837
01:04:33,286 --> 01:04:37,207
and after a one-day break
from shooting for reasons unknown,

838
01:04:37,332 --> 01:04:40,877
the second day,
Wednesday 27th September,

839
01:04:41,002 --> 01:04:43,755
begins with one more take
of the same shot.

840
01:04:48,802 --> 01:04:51,596
This entire first phase
perfectly establishes

841
01:04:51,721 --> 01:04:54,099
Dan Inosanto's
formidable martial prowess

842
01:04:54,224 --> 01:04:57,060
in both armed
and then unarmed combat.

843
01:04:57,727 --> 01:05:01,272
But these two skillsets are presented
in isolation from each other,

844
01:05:01,398 --> 01:05:05,485
separated by the third-level
guardian's pride in his own abilities.

845
01:05:07,779 --> 01:05:12,409
With this information brought to light,
Lee as a choreographer and director

846
01:05:12,534 --> 01:05:16,037
also smartly foreshadows
Inosanto's limitation.

847
01:06:26,858 --> 01:06:29,903
Phase two,
and it is James Tien's turn.

848
01:06:31,279 --> 01:06:36,284
He pulls out his own stick, wanting
to fight Inosanto at his own game.

849
01:08:03,454 --> 01:08:05,290
Unlike the brash Chieh,

850
01:08:05,415 --> 01:08:08,710
Tien is more cautious
and takes a more defensive approach.

851
01:08:09,877 --> 01:08:12,547
But as soon as he uses
any offensive manoeuvre,

852
01:08:12,672 --> 01:08:14,507
he falters.

853
01:09:11,981 --> 01:09:15,109
Though it is only onscreen
for a fraction of a second,

854
01:09:15,234 --> 01:09:17,654
the slate seen at the beginning
of the next take

855
01:09:17,779 --> 01:09:19,864
shows an important milestone.

856
01:09:20,990 --> 01:09:24,327
For the very first time,
the title written at the top,

857
01:09:24,452 --> 01:09:28,164
as opposed to "Audition"
or "Yellow-Faced Tiger",

858
01:09:28,289 --> 01:09:30,291
is "The Game of Death".

859
01:11:55,937 --> 01:11:58,397
Many martial arts
that specialise in weapons

860
01:11:58,523 --> 01:12:02,568
lay the claim that any object held
should be an extension of one's body.

861
01:12:03,861 --> 01:12:07,406
If this is the case,
the Tien versus Inosanto bout

862
01:12:07,532 --> 01:12:10,159
has them wield only a single arm each.

863
01:12:10,284 --> 01:12:13,037
It is only when Inosanto
gains a second stick

864
01:12:13,162 --> 01:12:15,206
that the tides turn in his favour.

865
01:12:16,249 --> 01:12:19,794
As in phase one,
a nuance is at play here.

866
01:12:19,919 --> 01:12:23,214
Are these sticks extensions
of the third guardian's body?

867
01:12:23,339 --> 01:12:26,467
Or are they simply chains
that restrict it?

868
01:12:26,592 --> 01:12:31,597
These questions will later be answered
once Inosanto faces our main hero.

869
01:13:18,019 --> 01:13:22,023
Day three of filming, and Bruce Lee
finally makes his appearance,

870
01:13:22,148 --> 01:13:24,734
marking the beginning of phase three.

871
01:13:30,781 --> 01:13:33,326
Our hero presents
his own extended limb,

872
01:13:33,451 --> 01:13:36,120
a wiry, emerald-hue bamboo stick.

873
01:13:53,387 --> 01:13:55,181
After reacting to James Tien,

874
01:13:55,306 --> 01:13:58,935
who is still nursing
his wounded pride on the floor,

875
01:13:59,060 --> 01:14:01,145
Bruce turns to Dan Inosanto

876
01:14:01,270 --> 01:14:04,065
and speaks his first line of dialogue
in the scene:

877
01:14:06,192 --> 01:14:08,194
"Do you speak any English?"

878
01:14:09,236 --> 01:14:11,864
Like the scenes opposite
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar,

879
01:14:11,989 --> 01:14:15,618
Bruce films all of his dialogue
with Dan Inosanto in English

880
01:14:15,743 --> 01:14:18,371
even as other actors in the film,
like James Tien,

881
01:14:18,496 --> 01:14:20,373
speak Cantonese on set,

882
01:14:20,498 --> 01:14:22,875
and in one later instance, Korean.

883
01:14:23,709 --> 01:14:25,795
Dan Inosanto responds:

884
01:14:25,920 --> 01:14:28,339
"Of course I speak English."

885
01:14:29,757 --> 01:14:32,760
Bruce looks down at the wounded Chieh
as he says to Dan:

886
01:14:33,844 --> 01:14:37,473
"I hope you don't mind us
moving our man,

887
01:14:37,598 --> 01:14:41,018
so that the two of us
will have more room to groove."

888
01:14:57,994 --> 01:15:00,788
Dan accepts, with one condition:

889
01:15:00,913 --> 01:15:06,961
"But have your men stay as far away
from that stairway as possible."

890
01:15:09,088 --> 01:15:12,717
The idea that the three of them could
ambush the third-floor guardian,

891
01:15:12,842 --> 01:15:15,636
or, indeed, any of the adversaries
in the pagoda

892
01:15:15,761 --> 01:15:17,972
is seemingly out of the question.

893
01:15:18,931 --> 01:15:21,183
Like the Colosseum
in <i>The Way of the Dragon,</i>

894
01:15:21,308 --> 01:15:23,144
the rules of combat apply,

895
01:15:23,269 --> 01:15:27,690
and to break them,
even during a heist, is to lose face.

896
01:15:30,526 --> 01:15:33,237
Though films made
in Hong Kong in 1972

897
01:15:33,362 --> 01:15:35,740
were overwhelmingly
distributed in Mandarin,

898
01:15:35,865 --> 01:15:37,825
in contrast to the Cantonese language

899
01:15:37,950 --> 01:15:39,952
more commonly spoken
by Hong Kongers

900
01:15:40,077 --> 01:15:43,205
that had yet to reassert itself
in the cultural mainstream,

901
01:15:43,956 --> 01:15:47,668
it was not unknown for films made
in Hong Kong to feature English as well,

902
01:15:47,793 --> 01:15:51,130
especially as the country was still
under British colonial rule.

903
01:15:52,423 --> 01:15:54,425
Bruce himself had
even dubbed the voices

904
01:15:54,550 --> 01:15:57,511
of English-speaking characters
in the original Mandarin dub tracks

905
01:15:57,636 --> 01:15:59,930
for <i>Fist of Fury</i>
and <i>The Way of the Dragon.</i>

906
01:16:00,056 --> 01:16:02,266
But whether the English dialogue
in <i>The Game of Death</i>

907
01:16:02,391 --> 01:16:05,311
would have been maintained
for its original release in Hong Kong

908
01:16:05,436 --> 01:16:08,314
if it had ever been finished,
we will never know.

909
01:16:28,292 --> 01:16:30,544
Inosanto attempts to intimidate our hero

910
01:16:30,669 --> 01:16:35,424
by swinging both sticks in flashy and
perfectly coordinated figures of eight,

911
01:16:35,549 --> 01:16:37,927
a physical declaration of war,
if you will.

912
01:16:39,261 --> 01:16:40,971
But, unlike James Tien,

913
01:16:41,097 --> 01:16:44,892
Lee has no intention of matching
Inosanto's fighting repertoire,

914
01:16:45,017 --> 01:16:48,687
or, as he dubs it later,
a rehearsed routine.

915
01:17:21,887 --> 01:17:23,639
Before battle commences,

916
01:17:23,764 --> 01:17:26,809
Bruce allows himself
one more lengthy line of dialogue

917
01:17:26,934 --> 01:17:29,603
that serves partly
as a warning to Inosanto,

918
01:17:29,728 --> 01:17:34,191
but also as a summation of the film's
themes and Jeet Kune Do in general:

919
01:17:36,402 --> 01:17:38,154
"You know, baby."

920
01:17:39,738 --> 01:17:41,782
"This bamboo is longer,

921
01:17:43,617 --> 01:17:47,329
more flexible and very much alive."

922
01:17:49,248 --> 01:17:50,958
"And when your flashy routine

923
01:17:51,083 --> 01:17:55,838
cannot keep up with the speed
and elusiveness of this thing here,

924
01:17:55,963 --> 01:18:00,009
all I can is that
you're gonna be in deep trouble."

925
01:18:04,388 --> 01:18:06,849
The third-floor guardian
does not heed his warning.

926
01:18:11,312 --> 01:18:14,732
He taps his teasing beat
once more, and says:

927
01:18:14,857 --> 01:18:17,693
"That we will have to find out."

928
01:18:26,619 --> 01:18:30,164
Lee's dialogue stresses the importance
of the speed and elusiveness

929
01:18:30,289 --> 01:18:32,124
of his chosen weapon.

930
01:18:33,250 --> 01:18:37,463
He simply holds the bamboo stick
over his head in a striking pose,

931
01:18:37,588 --> 01:18:40,925
not a fighting stance
from any traditional martial art,

932
01:18:41,050 --> 01:18:45,512
but a personal stamp to the physical
dynamism burning to be released.

933
01:19:02,404 --> 01:19:07,368
And as these two warriors collide,
we see this dynamism in a single strike.

934
01:19:08,160 --> 01:19:10,579
Efficient and non-complex,

935
01:19:10,704 --> 01:19:15,167
Lee strikes his bamboo stick
akin to the snap of his famous backfist.

936
01:19:16,126 --> 01:19:20,714
Suddenly, Inosanto's flashy routine
unveils its restrictive nature.

937
01:19:21,674 --> 01:19:25,386
Two hefty sticks simply can't keep up
with the fast whipping motion

938
01:19:25,511 --> 01:19:28,138
of one thin and more elusive stick.

939
01:19:29,348 --> 01:19:32,726
In addition, the defensive stance
of crossing two sticks

940
01:19:32,851 --> 01:19:35,437
proves to also be futile.

941
01:19:35,562 --> 01:19:38,691
Hai Tien, using the bamboo stick
like a whip,

942
01:19:38,816 --> 01:19:41,235
strikes the third-floor guardian
on the forehead,

943
01:19:41,360 --> 01:19:44,113
branding him with the first of two scars.

944
01:19:44,238 --> 01:19:45,906
He taunts him further

945
01:19:46,031 --> 01:19:51,453
with another line of dialogue expressing
his and Bruce's martial philosophy:

946
01:19:51,578 --> 01:19:57,084
"I'm telling you, it's difficult to have
a rehearsed routine to fit in with...

947
01:19:58,585 --> 01:20:00,254
broken rhythm."

948
01:20:02,214 --> 01:20:05,968
Already, one of our questions
from phase two is answered.

949
01:20:06,093 --> 01:20:10,764
The swinging duo sticks are indeed
extensions of Inosanto's body,

950
01:20:10,889 --> 01:20:13,350
and we can see the years
of drilling these patterns

951
01:20:13,475 --> 01:20:17,813
have concocted a powerful formula,
but only to a point.

952
01:20:19,023 --> 01:20:22,026
Once Inosanto becomes reliant
on that formula,

953
01:20:22,151 --> 01:20:24,737
he corners himself
from expressing these objects

954
01:20:24,862 --> 01:20:26,572
in any other way.

955
01:20:26,697 --> 01:20:30,534
The sticks are no longer extensions
of his body, but chains.

956
01:20:30,659 --> 01:20:33,162
Or, as Bruce taunts him further:

957
01:20:33,287 --> 01:20:39,126
"You see? A rehearsed routine
lacks the flexibility to adapt."

958
01:20:46,425 --> 01:20:50,054
As Bruce effortlessly steals
one of the guardian's kali sticks

959
01:20:50,179 --> 01:20:51,680
and bobs and weaves,

960
01:20:51,805 --> 01:20:56,101
Bruce adds another line of dialogue
not found in his original script notes.

961
01:20:57,436 --> 01:21:00,356
Reading his lips, he appears to say:

962
01:21:00,481 --> 01:21:02,816
"It's a challenge, isn't it?"

963
01:21:02,941 --> 01:21:05,986
"When bamboo strikes, it's a sword."

964
01:21:09,448 --> 01:21:11,658
Others have interpreted the line
differently,

965
01:21:11,784 --> 01:21:15,412
and on the second take,
it could be argued that he says:

966
01:21:15,537 --> 01:21:18,874
"When bamboo strikes, it's hard."

967
01:21:38,060 --> 01:21:43,148
It is at this point the fight switches
gear, and a fourth phase commences.

968
01:21:51,490 --> 01:21:54,660
To counter such an elusive
and unpredictable opponent,

969
01:21:54,785 --> 01:21:57,830
Inosanto employs the nunchaku,

970
01:21:57,955 --> 01:21:59,998
a weapon derived from Okinawa

971
01:22:00,124 --> 01:22:03,085
where two sticks are joined
by a chain or cord.

972
01:22:03,669 --> 01:22:07,172
He swings and waves it
with a dextrous, flashy blur,

973
01:22:07,297 --> 01:22:09,716
even more so than his eskrima sticks,

974
01:22:09,842 --> 01:22:13,720
perhaps to demonstrate that he can be
just as flexible and unpredictable.

975
01:22:16,348 --> 01:22:19,309
Hai Tien gives his two companions
a signal to approach

976
01:22:19,435 --> 01:22:22,563
and give him something
he'd passed to James Tien earlier on:

977
01:22:22,688 --> 01:22:26,567
a black leather sleeve,
perhaps picked up from the floor below,

978
01:22:26,692 --> 01:22:29,153
containing his own set of nunchaku.

979
01:22:47,463 --> 01:22:50,007
Of course, Lee is undeterred,

980
01:22:51,550 --> 01:22:53,677
and as if to meet his opponent halfway,

981
01:22:53,802 --> 01:22:57,014
he demonstrates his own mastery
of the nunchaku.

982
01:23:03,520 --> 01:23:05,272
Day four of filming the scene

983
01:23:05,397 --> 01:23:08,609
begins with the guardian's
stunned response to Hai Tien's skills,

984
01:23:09,985 --> 01:23:13,572
to which Bruce cheekily responds:
"Surprised?"

985
01:23:40,182 --> 01:23:42,851
Both warriors give
further demonstrations,

986
01:23:42,976 --> 01:23:46,146
circling each other
in a sort of pre-battle ritual.

987
01:23:47,606 --> 01:23:50,192
But this nunchaku
versus nunchaku section

988
01:23:50,317 --> 01:23:53,278
was not just a novel way
to escalate the conflict.

989
01:23:53,403 --> 01:23:56,698
It was another chance for Lee
to hammer home his martial ethos.

990
01:23:57,658 --> 01:24:00,661
Seemingly similar in the way
they wield their weapons,

991
01:24:00,786 --> 01:24:05,165
on closer inspection, both warriors
carry over their physical ticks and traits

992
01:24:05,290 --> 01:24:07,167
from the previous phase.

993
01:24:17,469 --> 01:24:20,597
Inosanto swings his nunchakus
around his body

994
01:24:20,722 --> 01:24:23,141
much in the same way
as his eskrima sticks,

995
01:24:23,976 --> 01:24:27,187
showing he's unable to break away
from the codified system

996
01:24:27,312 --> 01:24:29,398
he trained his body so well in.

997
01:24:31,567 --> 01:24:34,486
Lee, on the other hand,
employs the freestyle movements

998
01:24:34,611 --> 01:24:37,114
from his bamboo stick
swings and strikes,

999
01:24:37,239 --> 01:24:39,741
even carrying over his cheeky taunts.

1000
01:24:41,201 --> 01:24:43,787
The nunchaku used during
the making of <i>The Game of Death</i>

1001
01:24:43,912 --> 01:24:47,958
are custom-made by Bruce's friends,
Taky Kimura and George Lee.

1002
01:24:49,042 --> 01:24:52,671
For scenes in which Dan and Bruce
merely pose with the weapons,

1003
01:24:52,796 --> 01:24:55,048
allowing the audience a close look,

1004
01:24:55,173 --> 01:24:59,177
authentic lacquered wood versions
are used for maximum realism.

1005
01:25:00,470 --> 01:25:03,348
For shots such as this,
where there is a risk of injury,

1006
01:25:03,473 --> 01:25:06,977
a backup set likely made
of foam rubber is used,

1007
01:25:07,102 --> 01:25:09,271
allowing for multiple takes to be filmed

1008
01:25:09,396 --> 01:25:12,274
even if the sticks make contact
with someone's face.

1009
01:25:13,233 --> 01:25:16,111
Bruce had already popularised
the use of nunchaku onscreen

1010
01:25:16,236 --> 01:25:18,530
in <i>Fist of Fury</i>
and <i>The Way of the Dragon,</i>

1011
01:25:19,281 --> 01:25:23,368
and had been introduced to them
in 1964 by Dan Inosanto.

1012
01:25:25,579 --> 01:25:27,956
According to Dan,
Bruce thought the chain sticks

1013
01:25:28,081 --> 01:25:31,293
were a worthless piece of junk
when they were first handed to him,

1014
01:25:31,418 --> 01:25:34,880
but within three months,
he was, in Dan's words,

1015
01:25:35,005 --> 01:25:37,633
"swinging them like he'd been doing it
for a lifetime."

1016
01:25:38,592 --> 01:25:42,054
His pose after licking the tip
of one of the nunchaku sticks

1017
01:25:42,179 --> 01:25:44,473
is even reminiscent
of the beginning of the fight

1018
01:25:44,598 --> 01:25:46,475
where he held the bamboo
over his head.

1019
01:25:47,142 --> 01:25:51,021
Again, not an indicator of being
trapped in a rigid system,

1020
01:25:51,146 --> 01:25:55,150
but showing one's personal stamp
within another system of combat.

1021
01:25:56,526 --> 01:26:01,073
The other noticeable difference is
that Lee is working with his entire body.

1022
01:26:01,698 --> 01:26:04,951
He isn't just swinging
the nunchakus in isolation.

1023
01:26:05,077 --> 01:26:08,664
He bounces and pops as he moves
from one spot to the other.

1024
01:26:09,289 --> 01:26:12,000
It is as if something within him
is about to burst,

1025
01:26:12,125 --> 01:26:14,586
showing his unpredictability
as a fighter,

1026
01:26:14,711 --> 01:26:19,091
but also that individualistic
screen charisma that Bruce Lee oozed.

1027
01:26:19,925 --> 01:26:24,554
But it is also here that the other nuance
from an earlier phase comes into play.

1028
01:26:25,097 --> 01:26:26,848
As mentioned in phase one,

1029
01:26:26,973 --> 01:26:29,267
Inosanto's character is shown
to be proficient

1030
01:26:29,393 --> 01:26:32,062
in both armed and unarmed combat.

1031
01:26:32,187 --> 01:26:34,856
Both categories are
demonstrated in isolation.

1032
01:26:35,440 --> 01:26:37,567
However, up till this point,

1033
01:26:37,693 --> 01:26:41,279
we truly see that he is unable
to merge these two together.

1034
01:26:42,739 --> 01:26:44,241
A skilful man indeed,

1035
01:26:44,366 --> 01:26:47,661
but unable to mix things up
and truly be present in the moment

1036
01:26:47,786 --> 01:26:50,664
and react according to spontaneity.

1037
01:26:50,789 --> 01:26:55,836
In comparison, Lee employed
numerous bursts of hook and spin kicks

1038
01:26:55,961 --> 01:26:58,171
in conjunction with his nunchaku strikes,

1039
01:26:58,296 --> 01:27:03,093
thus showing his character's
adaptability and versatility in combat.

1040
01:27:03,677 --> 01:27:09,141
Lee is broken rhythm personified,
unique and truly present.

1041
01:27:09,266 --> 01:27:13,228
Because to possess broken rhythm
is to be present in the moment,

1042
01:27:13,353 --> 01:27:15,605
reacting fast and well enough

1043
01:27:15,731 --> 01:27:17,983
to whatever life throws at him.

1044
01:27:27,826 --> 01:27:32,330
While a weapons versus weapons fight
was nothing new for a Bruce Lee film,

1045
01:27:32,456 --> 01:27:36,042
whether it was the nunchaku
versus sword battle in <i>Fist of Fury,</i>

1046
01:27:36,168 --> 01:27:39,212
the nunchaku versus switchblade fight
in <i>The Way of the Dragon</i>

1047
01:27:39,337 --> 01:27:42,257
or even just the knife fights
in <i>The Big Boss,</i>

1048
01:27:42,382 --> 01:27:45,469
it perhaps seems inevitable
that he would choreograph a fight

1049
01:27:45,594 --> 01:27:50,015
where both opponents wield the weapon
that was swiftly becoming his trademark.

1050
01:27:51,141 --> 01:27:53,643
Granted, a majority of the fight
becomes a matter

1051
01:27:53,769 --> 01:27:57,022
of defence over offence
because of this,

1052
01:27:57,147 --> 01:28:00,901
but it gives a more unique spin
on a Bruce Lee fight in the long run.

1053
01:28:01,860 --> 01:28:05,113
It's well documented that Inosanto
was Lee's teacher of the weapon,

1054
01:28:05,238 --> 01:28:09,284
so, of course, by Lee casting Inosanto
in the nunchaku fight,

1055
01:28:09,409 --> 01:28:13,246
it becomes a direct case
of the student becoming the master.

1056
01:28:13,914 --> 01:28:16,917
But, as emphasised by Lee's
strong eye for the camera,

1057
01:28:17,042 --> 01:28:19,419
his approach to certain
nunchaku manoeuvres,

1058
01:28:19,544 --> 01:28:21,087
such as stance-shifting,

1059
01:28:21,213 --> 01:28:25,050
is shown to have more
of a flourish to them than Inosanto's.

1060
01:28:25,175 --> 01:28:28,261
Inosanto, or rather
the third-floor guardian,

1061
01:28:28,386 --> 01:28:31,640
tends to stay hand-locked when shifting
from shoulder to shoulder,

1062
01:28:31,765 --> 01:28:33,350
guarded and stiff,

1063
01:28:33,475 --> 01:28:37,270
while Lee as Hai Tien goes
for the over-the-shoulder swings,

1064
01:28:37,395 --> 01:28:39,606
more casual and exhibitionist.

1065
01:28:48,532 --> 01:28:52,494
At last, the guardian's nunchaku
connects with Hai Tien's face.

1066
01:28:55,247 --> 01:28:59,835
And he allows himself a brief moment
of self-congratulation, as he says:

1067
01:28:59,960 --> 01:29:01,920
"How do you like that--"

1068
01:29:02,045 --> 01:29:03,922
But he hasn't even finished
his sentence

1069
01:29:04,047 --> 01:29:06,383
before Bruce strikes him
square in the nose

1070
01:29:06,508 --> 01:29:10,136
and mimics his words back to him,
retaining the upper hand.

1071
01:29:12,013 --> 01:29:16,226
If there was ever any doubt about who
was truly in control of this situation,

1072
01:29:16,351 --> 01:29:18,103
we now know for sure.

1073
01:29:18,854 --> 01:29:20,814
And as the formerly
unflappable guardian

1074
01:29:20,939 --> 01:29:25,402
looks increasingly angry and frustrated,
we sense his doom approaches.

1075
01:29:27,320 --> 01:29:29,531
The last day of filming
the Hall of the Tiger

1076
01:29:29,656 --> 01:29:32,409
begins as Bruce Lee reprises
his Ali shuffle,

1077
01:29:32,534 --> 01:29:34,995
Hai Tien toying with his foe.

1078
01:32:47,187 --> 01:32:50,356
As filming on the Hall of the Tiger
approaches its end,

1079
01:32:50,482 --> 01:32:53,860
one of the final displays
of nunchaku mastery from Lee

1080
01:32:53,985 --> 01:32:56,821
takes no less than ten takes
to get right.

1081
01:32:58,406 --> 01:33:01,284
While he already showed
earlier signs of perfectionism

1082
01:33:01,409 --> 01:33:04,204
in the filming of this scene
and the Hall of the Unknown,

1083
01:33:04,329 --> 01:33:06,664
some may read this fastidiousness
as a sign

1084
01:33:06,790 --> 01:33:11,544
as to how much harder Bruce was going
to be on himself in the months to come

1085
01:33:11,669 --> 01:33:15,840
to make sure he got everything down
to no less than perfect.

1086
01:34:28,705 --> 01:34:32,625
Having played the guardian at his own
game of death for long enough,

1087
01:34:32,750 --> 01:34:36,671
Hai Tien knocks him to the floor with
another one of Bruce Lee's trademarks,

1088
01:34:36,796 --> 01:34:40,633
the triple spin kick, as demonstrated
in his three previous films,

1089
01:34:40,758 --> 01:34:42,844
not least the scene in <i>Fist of Fury</i>

1090
01:34:42,969 --> 01:34:46,097
where he takes on a dojo
of Japanese karate fighters,

1091
01:34:46,222 --> 01:34:48,183
also armed with a nunchaku,

1092
01:34:48,308 --> 01:34:51,102
using one of their own weapons
against them.

1093
01:35:55,375 --> 01:35:58,753
In the end,
Lee takes his opponent's life,

1094
01:35:58,878 --> 01:36:02,632
albeit more willingly than he did
Chuck Norris in <i>The Way of the Dragon,</i>

1095
01:36:03,716 --> 01:36:07,971
though we do see the briefest pause
as his character soaks in his deed.

1096
01:36:08,763 --> 01:36:10,431
Is it regret?

1097
01:36:10,556 --> 01:36:12,809
Perhaps a growing weariness?

1098
01:36:12,934 --> 01:36:15,728
It's vague, yet no less compelling,

1099
01:36:15,853 --> 01:36:19,899
and just another example of Lee's
unique screen presence at play.

1100
01:36:21,442 --> 01:36:23,069
As behind the scenes

1101
01:36:23,194 --> 01:36:26,739
Lee tries to assemble a cast
for the next round of filming,

1102
01:36:26,864 --> 01:36:31,160
sending Taky Kimura a plane ticket
so he can fly from Seattle to Hong Kong

1103
01:36:31,286 --> 01:36:34,289
in a couple of weeks to play
the second-floor guardian,

1104
01:36:34,414 --> 01:36:38,918
the Hall of the Tiger shoot ends
as Lee, Chieh Yuan and James Tien

1105
01:36:39,043 --> 01:36:41,921
all ascend the fake stairway to nowhere.

1106
01:36:42,046 --> 01:36:44,257
In a letter,
in which he also tells Kimura

1107
01:36:44,382 --> 01:36:49,595
to bring his "old and blue
classical gung fu uniform," Lee says:

1108
01:36:49,721 --> 01:36:52,849
"If something comes up,
I will call you personally."

1109
01:36:52,974 --> 01:36:58,730
"If not, I will see you upon
your arrival on or around October 8th."

1110
01:36:58,855 --> 01:37:01,816
But Kimura is forced to cancel
his trip to Hong Kong,

1111
01:37:01,941 --> 01:37:04,527
and filming on <i>The Game of Death</i>
will not resume

1112
01:37:04,652 --> 01:37:07,030
for almost another month.

1113
01:37:07,822 --> 01:37:10,283
During shooting,
the set for <i>The Game of Death</i>

1114
01:37:10,408 --> 01:37:13,328
regularly receives a number
of friendly visitors,

1115
01:37:13,453 --> 01:37:18,458
among them King Hu,
former collaborator of Tadashi Nishimoto,

1116
01:37:18,583 --> 01:37:21,627
and, of course, Bruce's wife Linda,

1117
01:37:21,753 --> 01:37:25,757
often with their children
Brandon and Shannon in tow.

1118
01:37:26,382 --> 01:37:29,344
But it is during the filming
of the Hall of the Tiger sequence

1119
01:37:29,469 --> 01:37:32,055
that Bruce receives a visit
from Fred Weintraub,

1120
01:37:32,180 --> 01:37:35,391
an old friend from the States
and an up-and-coming executive

1121
01:37:35,516 --> 01:37:37,352
at Warner Bros.

1122
01:37:37,477 --> 01:37:39,354
Fred comes with stunning news.

1123
01:37:40,355 --> 01:37:44,025
Warner are offering Bruce
the lead role in a new feature film.

1124
01:37:44,650 --> 01:37:46,402
It will be filmed in Hong Kong,

1125
01:37:46,527 --> 01:37:48,863
but is unmistakably
a Hollywood production

1126
01:37:48,988 --> 01:37:52,033
with the budget, resources
and wide distribution

1127
01:37:52,158 --> 01:37:54,160
only a major studio can afford.

1128
01:37:54,827 --> 01:37:57,497
The script goes through
several names in preproduction,

1129
01:37:57,622 --> 01:38:00,124
before settling on Bruce's
own preferred title:

1130
01:38:01,167 --> 01:38:02,794
<i>Enter the Dragon.</i>

1131
01:38:03,586 --> 01:38:06,214
It is the biggest opportunity
of Bruce's career,

1132
01:38:06,339 --> 01:38:08,257
the one he's been chasing for years.

1133
01:38:09,133 --> 01:38:13,012
And it is the catalyst that seals
the fate of not just <i>The Game of Death,</i>

1134
01:38:13,137 --> 01:38:16,057
but perhaps Bruce himself.

1135
01:38:35,993 --> 01:38:37,161
In October, 1972,

1136
01:38:38,079 --> 01:38:42,375
early negotiations take place between
Warner Bros. and Concord Productions

1137
01:38:42,500 --> 01:38:46,129
for the film that will eventually
become <i>Enter the Dragon.</i>

1138
01:38:47,004 --> 01:38:49,632
Its production not yet
an assured outcome,

1139
01:38:49,757 --> 01:38:52,635
Bruce continues work
on <i>The Game of Death,</i>

1140
01:38:52,760 --> 01:38:55,179
drawing upon the Golden Harvest
talent pool

1141
01:38:55,304 --> 01:38:57,390
to cast Hai Tien's next opponent,

1142
01:38:57,974 --> 01:39:02,270
the Guardian of the Hall of the Dragon,
the fourth floor of the pagoda.

1143
01:39:04,147 --> 01:39:08,484
Ji Han-jae was born in 1936
in Andong, South Korea.

1144
01:39:09,110 --> 01:39:12,321
Already an eighth-dan black belt
by his early twenties,

1145
01:39:12,447 --> 01:39:16,492
in 1957 he combined
all of his knowledge into a hybrid form

1146
01:39:16,617 --> 01:39:18,744
he called hapkido.

1147
01:39:19,412 --> 01:39:22,498
Though some dispute whether
Ji actually invented hapkido,

1148
01:39:22,623 --> 01:39:26,169
it cannot be argued that he was foremost
in promoting and teaching it

1149
01:39:26,294 --> 01:39:27,587
far and wide,

1150
01:39:27,712 --> 01:39:32,592
eventually founding
the Korea Hapkido Association in 1965.

1151
01:39:33,384 --> 01:39:36,846
Bruce Lee first met Ji Han-jae in 1969,

1152
01:39:36,971 --> 01:39:38,806
when the latter was in the United States

1153
01:39:38,931 --> 01:39:41,809
to teach hapkido to members
of the Secret Service

1154
01:39:41,934 --> 01:39:43,895
and other branches
of the US government,

1155
01:39:44,020 --> 01:39:47,231
including President Richard Nixon's
security detail.

1156
01:39:48,191 --> 01:39:50,485
While staying
at Andrews Air Force Base,

1157
01:39:50,610 --> 01:39:54,614
a mutual friend,
taekwondo grandmaster Jhoon Rhee,

1158
01:39:54,739 --> 01:39:58,534
introduced the pair, and Lee asked Ji
to teach him some moves.

1159
01:39:59,243 --> 01:40:03,080
In 1972, Golden Harvest director
Huang Feng

1160
01:40:03,206 --> 01:40:06,834
recruits Ji, along with
his right-hand man Hwang In-shik,

1161
01:40:06,959 --> 01:40:10,421
to train the cast
of his upcoming film, <i>Hapkido.</i>

1162
01:40:10,546 --> 01:40:13,174
Ji and Hwang also play roles in the film,

1163
01:40:13,299 --> 01:40:16,093
and it is on the set
at Golden Harvest Studios

1164
01:40:16,219 --> 01:40:19,180
where Ji once again makes
the acquaintance of Bruce Lee,

1165
01:40:19,305 --> 01:40:22,141
who is filming <i>The Way of the Dragon</i>
at the same time.

1166
01:40:23,226 --> 01:40:26,938
Bruce enlists Hwang In-shik's services
as an actor on <i>The Way of the Dragon,</i>

1167
01:40:27,063 --> 01:40:30,149
playing a Japanese fighter
near the end of the film,

1168
01:40:30,274 --> 01:40:34,070
and soon enough, he has offered
both Hwang and Ji acting roles

1169
01:40:34,195 --> 01:40:35,488
in <i>The Game of Death.</i>

1170
01:40:35,613 --> 01:40:38,824
Hwang's role is the guardian
of the first floor of the pagoda,

1171
01:40:38,950 --> 01:40:41,869
but other than some exterior footage
we'll discuss later,

1172
01:40:42,411 --> 01:40:44,622
his scenes never make it
before a camera.

1173
01:40:46,707 --> 01:40:50,628
Ji Han-jae, on the other hand,
plays the guardian of the fourth floor,

1174
01:40:50,753 --> 01:40:52,129
and as it happens,

1175
01:40:52,255 --> 01:40:55,675
his is the last of the major fight scenes
for <i>The Game of Death</i>

1176
01:40:55,800 --> 01:40:57,969
that Bruce Lee ever lives to film.

1177
01:41:00,179 --> 01:41:02,682
Filming resumes on October 22nd,

1178
01:41:02,807 --> 01:41:05,851
exactly where we left off
nearly a month prior,

1179
01:41:05,977 --> 01:41:08,938
with Bruce Lee,
James Tien and Chieh Yuan

1180
01:41:09,063 --> 01:41:12,483
ascending the stairs and arriving
at the Hall of the Dragon,

1181
01:41:12,608 --> 01:41:14,819
a level in which the action demonstrates

1182
01:41:14,944 --> 01:41:18,489
some Lee's most inventive
and imaginative choreography.

1183
01:41:21,117 --> 01:41:24,120
To begin our breakdown
with Lee's choreographic approach,

1184
01:41:24,245 --> 01:41:26,872
we must look at one aspect
often overlooked:

1185
01:41:27,498 --> 01:41:29,667
the space.

1186
01:41:29,792 --> 01:41:33,796
For the second time, the soundstage
is re-dressed to differentiate it

1187
01:41:33,921 --> 01:41:36,882
from the previous two levels
already shot,

1188
01:41:37,008 --> 01:41:41,470
and it is for this level Lee opted
for a more visually off-kilter look.

1189
01:41:42,930 --> 01:41:44,390
As mentioned previously,

1190
01:41:44,515 --> 01:41:47,977
the somewhat illogical and dreamlike
setting of <i>The Game of Death</i>

1191
01:41:48,102 --> 01:41:51,689
has often been compared
to a previously scrapped project of Lee's,

1192
01:41:51,814 --> 01:41:53,691
<i>The Silent Flute.</i>

1193
01:41:53,816 --> 01:41:57,320
In that film, Lee would mix
his esoteric philosophical ideas

1194
01:41:57,445 --> 01:41:59,655
with 1960s psychedelia.

1195
01:41:59,780 --> 01:42:03,451
This creative impulse is most
pronounced in this fourth level,

1196
01:42:03,576 --> 01:42:07,955
where the overall art direction leans
towards more otherworldly sensibilities.

1197
01:42:08,497 --> 01:42:13,002
We immediately see this as Ji Han-jae
emerges behind a ghostly, white veil

1198
01:42:13,127 --> 01:42:15,254
his <i>gi</i> seamed with gold lapels

1199
01:42:15,379 --> 01:42:19,550
and, wrapped around his waist,
an equally blinding gold belt.

1200
01:42:19,675 --> 01:42:23,888
They constantly glimmer in the light,
almost as if to distort the senses

1201
01:42:24,013 --> 01:42:26,474
of anyone who lays eyes
on this guardian.

1202
01:42:27,683 --> 01:42:31,228
Even Ji's choice to drench the room
with a harsh red light

1203
01:42:31,354 --> 01:42:33,898
evokes a mildly psychedelic sensation.

1204
01:42:41,364 --> 01:42:44,033
The red light is explained
in the fourth-floor guardian's

1205
01:42:44,158 --> 01:42:48,120
only major line of dialogue,
written by Bruce as follows:

1206
01:42:49,497 --> 01:42:52,958
"As you gentlemen know,
red spells danger."

1207
01:42:53,084 --> 01:42:57,171
"Therefore, I advise you people
not to step into this warning arena."

1208
01:42:57,713 --> 01:43:02,176
"If you want to go on living,
stop here and go back downstairs."

1209
01:43:02,301 --> 01:43:03,719
"Life is precious."

1210
01:43:05,596 --> 01:43:08,015
In a moment,
you'll see a break in the action

1211
01:43:08,140 --> 01:43:10,059
when Chieh Yuan charges at Ji.

1212
01:43:10,810 --> 01:43:16,065
The ensuing fight in which Ji easily
beats both Chieh and James Tien

1213
01:43:16,190 --> 01:43:20,069
is not filmed until three days later,
on October 25th.

1214
01:43:23,489 --> 01:43:26,617
Was the fight filmed on the 22nd
and deemed insufficient,

1215
01:43:26,742 --> 01:43:28,536
having to be reshot later?

1216
01:43:29,120 --> 01:43:31,580
No footage survives
to corroborate this theory.

1217
01:43:32,915 --> 01:43:35,793
Instead, we return to a similar angle,

1218
01:43:35,918 --> 01:43:38,337
where Chieh and Tien rub their wounds

1219
01:43:38,462 --> 01:43:41,757
as Lee approaches Ji
for his turn at combat.

1220
01:43:43,342 --> 01:43:47,012
The Hall of the Dragon marks
a significant departure for Lee,

1221
01:43:47,138 --> 01:43:49,348
as the choreography
would involve heavy amounts

1222
01:43:49,473 --> 01:43:51,976
of locks, throws and grapples.

1223
01:43:52,601 --> 01:43:56,355
As a screen fighter,
Lee was primarily a striker,

1224
01:43:56,480 --> 01:43:58,190
given his roots in Wing Chun

1225
01:43:58,315 --> 01:44:01,235
and his later employment
of more boxing fundamentals

1226
01:44:01,360 --> 01:44:03,070
in his Jeet Kune Do.

1227
01:44:03,195 --> 01:44:06,157
Employing Ji Han-jae's
specific hapkido skills

1228
01:44:06,282 --> 01:44:11,036
shows Lee's ongoing impetus to widen
his cinematic martial vocabulary.

1229
01:44:11,829 --> 01:44:16,250
It was clearly a challenge,
as, unlike Inosanto and Abdul-Jabbar,

1230
01:44:16,375 --> 01:44:19,795
Ji Han-jae was not someone
Lee had trained extensively with.

1231
01:44:20,546 --> 01:44:23,132
As such, there was a lack of familiarity

1232
01:44:23,257 --> 01:44:25,134
with how they would move
with one another.

1233
01:44:25,760 --> 01:44:30,681
Of course, Lee was no less tenacious
in wanting to create a spectacular duel

1234
01:44:30,806 --> 01:44:33,100
while also keeping true
to his philosophy,

1235
01:44:33,809 --> 01:44:36,228
and it shows with take after take,

1236
01:44:36,353 --> 01:44:39,064
experimentation after experimentation,

1237
01:44:39,190 --> 01:44:42,318
all to best capture this clash
of martial bodies.

1238
01:44:43,360 --> 01:44:47,448
Lee is most renowned for his martial arts
ability on and off the screen,

1239
01:44:47,573 --> 01:44:48,991
and rightfully so.

1240
01:44:49,617 --> 01:44:51,076
But this iconic status,

1241
01:44:51,202 --> 01:44:54,789
coupled with the often critical dismissal
of kung fu cinema

1242
01:44:54,914 --> 01:44:58,417
often belied his skills
as a cinematic storyteller.

1243
01:44:59,460 --> 01:45:01,962
Many forget that Lee was an actor first,

1244
01:45:02,087 --> 01:45:07,259
and appreciated the craftsmanship
of American and Japanese filmmakers.

1245
01:45:07,384 --> 01:45:10,054
In fact, he believed
the Hong Kong film industry

1246
01:45:10,179 --> 01:45:12,556
should employ
the same standard of artistry

1247
01:45:12,681 --> 01:45:15,351
if it were to compete
with the worldwide circuit.

1248
01:45:15,893 --> 01:45:20,147
We can see this incentive at work
as Lee gained more creative control,

1249
01:45:20,272 --> 01:45:23,192
and it's particularly true
in this penultimate duel.

1250
01:45:24,944 --> 01:45:29,073
The first day's filming concludes
with Bruce's first blow against Ji,

1251
01:45:29,198 --> 01:45:32,076
shot at a number of speeds
over multiple takes.

1252
01:45:32,743 --> 01:45:37,081
When Lee first approaches Ji,
he raises one hand to his opponent.

1253
01:45:37,206 --> 01:45:40,626
The pose is a peculiar amalgamation
of a fighting stance

1254
01:45:40,751 --> 01:45:43,128
and a gesture to beckon
his opponent to attack.

1255
01:45:43,754 --> 01:45:46,590
It becomes obvious that
Lee must make the first move.

1256
01:45:47,758 --> 01:45:49,635
With the most deliberate pace,

1257
01:45:49,760 --> 01:45:53,347
Lee retracts his hand and eventually
reaches a crescendo,

1258
01:45:53,931 --> 01:45:56,308
that being a dynamic roundhouse kick.

1259
01:45:57,268 --> 01:45:59,103
To quote his choreography notes,

1260
01:45:59,228 --> 01:46:03,107
he "relaxes, smiles,
and puts his hand back,

1261
01:46:03,232 --> 01:46:04,567
and while keeping his smile,

1262
01:46:04,692 --> 01:46:07,695
initiates a lightning
right finger-jab feint,

1263
01:46:07,820 --> 01:46:11,240
follows instantaneously
with a low-high hook kick

1264
01:46:11,365 --> 01:46:16,120
with fluid speed, intense grace
and powerful one, two, three."

1265
01:46:17,037 --> 01:46:20,040
Each gesture and movement
are simple by design,

1266
01:46:20,165 --> 01:46:24,169
but when utilised with the correct
intent and rhythm, as Lee does,

1267
01:46:24,295 --> 01:46:27,089
it effectively establishes
the narrative conflict

1268
01:46:27,214 --> 01:46:30,467
and adds a level of anticipation
and suspense.

1269
01:46:31,760 --> 01:46:33,429
Through these rushes,

1270
01:46:33,554 --> 01:46:37,099
we not only see the breakdown
of Lee's choreographic decisions,

1271
01:46:37,224 --> 01:46:41,437
but also his directorial decisions
and his approach to storytelling.

1272
01:46:42,187 --> 01:46:44,899
It must be stressed that
these are rushes, after all,

1273
01:46:45,024 --> 01:46:48,110
far away from being
a completed and refined product.

1274
01:46:48,235 --> 01:46:53,073
But as with the previous two levels
involving Inosanto and Abdul-Jabbar,

1275
01:46:53,198 --> 01:46:56,493
there is enough evidence here
to show Lee wanting to elevate

1276
01:46:56,619 --> 01:46:59,413
what would be another
one-on-one martial arts duel.

1277
01:47:00,164 --> 01:47:02,333
Structurally, the Hall of the Dragon

1278
01:47:02,458 --> 01:47:05,920
is no different to the Hall of the Tiger
and the Hall of the Unknown,

1279
01:47:06,503 --> 01:47:09,381
but they all possess
their own key characteristic

1280
01:47:09,506 --> 01:47:12,551
that influences the action
unfolding at their centres.

1281
01:47:13,302 --> 01:47:15,387
That characteristic could be obtrusive,

1282
01:47:15,512 --> 01:47:17,890
like the darkness
in the Abdul-Jabbar fight,

1283
01:47:18,015 --> 01:47:21,310
or insidious like the harsh red light
in this one.

1284
01:47:21,435 --> 01:47:24,104
But given the planned order
of these three levels,

1285
01:47:24,229 --> 01:47:27,149
we do get a sense that
the higher we climb the pagoda,

1286
01:47:27,274 --> 01:47:29,902
the more otherworldly
the surroundings become.

1287
01:47:30,736 --> 01:47:32,947
All this is further evidence
that, for Lee,

1288
01:47:33,072 --> 01:47:37,284
the choreography isn't just about
the interaction between two individuals,

1289
01:47:37,409 --> 01:47:39,787
it is also the interaction
with the space,

1290
01:47:39,912 --> 01:47:43,499
and how the action escalates
when said space changes.

1291
01:47:45,167 --> 01:47:48,212
The second day's filming
begins with the second angle,

1292
01:47:48,337 --> 01:47:51,090
only this time shot at regular speed.

1293
01:47:51,799 --> 01:47:53,676
Two takes of an additional angle

1294
01:47:53,801 --> 01:47:57,680
will also be filmed as part
of the pickup filming three days later.

1295
01:47:59,056 --> 01:48:01,016
If this feint is intended to demonstrate

1296
01:48:01,141 --> 01:48:03,686
Hai Tien's canniness
and unpredictability,

1297
01:48:03,811 --> 01:48:07,147
then the next shot shows that
he will have his work cut out for him,

1298
01:48:07,272 --> 01:48:10,985
as Ji lands gracefully
and regains his fighting stance,

1299
01:48:11,110 --> 01:48:13,112
seemingly unfazed.

1300
01:48:41,223 --> 01:48:44,935
Another aspect of Lee's choreography
is the camerawork.

1301
01:48:46,020 --> 01:48:49,648
Many fans and critics championed
his naturalistic approach

1302
01:48:49,773 --> 01:48:51,734
to capturing fight scenes,

1303
01:48:51,859 --> 01:48:54,903
specifically the use
of a wide-angle lens,

1304
01:48:55,029 --> 01:48:58,490
which represents the audience's
objective standpoint,

1305
01:48:58,615 --> 01:49:02,953
a clear window that authenticates
the physical abilities being exhibited.

1306
01:49:03,787 --> 01:49:05,414
This is certainly true,

1307
01:49:05,539 --> 01:49:09,251
but also an oversimplification
of Lee's creative stamp.

1308
01:49:10,210 --> 01:49:14,298
Much credit goes to the film's
cinematographer, Tadashi Nishimoto,

1309
01:49:14,423 --> 01:49:18,260
for injecting such visual dynamism
in each of these wide shots.

1310
01:49:18,802 --> 01:49:21,764
But it's when the camera moves,
even slightly,

1311
01:49:21,889 --> 01:49:25,434
that it becomes a third participant
in Lee's choreography.

1312
01:49:25,559 --> 01:49:29,063
A good example would be the shaky
point-of-view shot of Ji Han-jae

1313
01:49:29,188 --> 01:49:30,981
as he kicks Bruce back to the floor,

1314
01:49:31,732 --> 01:49:33,650
an impressionistic design choice

1315
01:49:33,776 --> 01:49:37,196
showing what it would be like to be
on the receiving end of such a blow.

1316
01:49:37,905 --> 01:49:41,617
And it's no accident that we are
seeing this through the hero's eyes.

1317
01:49:42,326 --> 01:49:45,287
For this reason, we, as an audience,

1318
01:49:45,412 --> 01:49:48,540
are both Bruce Lee's observer
and his advocate.

1319
01:49:49,792 --> 01:49:54,213
Further evidence of this would be
when Lee circles around his opponent.

1320
01:49:54,338 --> 01:49:57,424
He extends out one arm
to keep his distance,

1321
01:49:57,549 --> 01:50:00,761
all the while searching for a way in
for his next strike.

1322
01:50:01,553 --> 01:50:04,473
Here, the camera moves
in tandem with Lee,

1323
01:50:04,598 --> 01:50:08,352
capturing not only his movement,
but also his screen energy,

1324
01:50:09,186 --> 01:50:13,023
and we, as an audience,
are pulled in by this energy,

1325
01:50:13,148 --> 01:50:16,652
which ultimately helps us identify
with Lee's character.

1326
01:50:18,070 --> 01:50:20,155
With these creative choices highlighted,

1327
01:50:20,280 --> 01:50:23,200
it becomes apparent that
the camerawork has two functions.

1328
01:50:23,951 --> 01:50:26,537
It is objective in capturing
the authenticity

1329
01:50:26,662 --> 01:50:28,705
of highly skilled bodies in motion,

1330
01:50:29,373 --> 01:50:33,127
but it's also subjective
in capturing the unfolding story

1331
01:50:33,252 --> 01:50:36,130
and the emotional content of our hero.

1332
01:50:37,297 --> 01:50:39,133
At this point in the narrative,

1333
01:50:39,258 --> 01:50:42,678
we've become well acquainted
with James Tien's scheming ways.

1334
01:50:43,303 --> 01:50:45,472
But this isn't an exercise in repetition.

1335
01:50:46,682 --> 01:50:49,393
Tien's underhand method
to reach the top level

1336
01:50:49,518 --> 01:50:53,897
becomes a recurring character trait
that we, as an audience, take notice of.

1337
01:50:55,065 --> 01:50:57,317
This links directly
with two narrative plants

1338
01:50:57,442 --> 01:51:00,195
that also occur
in this fourth-level bout.

1339
01:51:00,320 --> 01:51:02,156
We see a break in between the action

1340
01:51:02,281 --> 01:51:04,324
where James Tien
convinces Chieh Yuan

1341
01:51:04,449 --> 01:51:06,451
to clear his way to the top level.

1342
01:51:07,035 --> 01:51:10,414
In the dialogue in Lee's script notes,
Tien says:

1343
01:51:10,539 --> 01:51:11,999
"You are my brother."

1344
01:51:12,124 --> 01:51:14,918
"I will let you do
this first deed of merit."

1345
01:51:15,043 --> 01:51:17,921
"You go ahead. I wish you success."

1346
01:51:47,326 --> 01:51:50,454
Lee fails to stop Chieh
from ascending the stairway,

1347
01:51:50,579 --> 01:51:52,748
and as Ji Han-jae runs forward,

1348
01:51:52,873 --> 01:51:55,417
presumably in his own attempt
to stop Chieh,

1349
01:51:55,542 --> 01:51:59,338
Hai Tien unleashes a multitude
of snapping side kicks towards him.

1350
01:52:34,414 --> 01:52:36,833
The violence is interrupted once again,

1351
01:52:36,959 --> 01:52:39,503
when Chieh is thrown back down
to the fourth level

1352
01:52:39,628 --> 01:52:41,171
by an unknown assailant.

1353
01:52:41,880 --> 01:52:44,466
It is here the audience
will gasp and question

1354
01:52:44,591 --> 01:52:47,970
what powerful individual could be
guarding the fifth and final level.

1355
01:52:48,929 --> 01:52:52,057
We obviously know that the assailant
is Kareem Abdul-Jabbar,

1356
01:52:52,641 --> 01:52:54,726
but in this unfolding story,

1357
01:52:54,851 --> 01:52:58,772
this moment of dark humour interrupts
the danger happening onscreen

1358
01:52:58,897 --> 01:53:01,275
by foreshadowing
a larger danger ahead.

1359
01:53:02,359 --> 01:53:03,860
Some fans have speculated

1360
01:53:03,986 --> 01:53:07,030
that Chieh Yuan did not in fact
perform the jump,

1361
01:53:07,155 --> 01:53:10,701
in spite of his considerable
experience as a stuntman,

1362
01:53:10,826 --> 01:53:13,120
largely due to on-set photographs

1363
01:53:13,245 --> 01:53:16,665
showing Hwang In-shik dressed
in Chieh's character's clothing.

1364
01:53:17,499 --> 01:53:22,254
In fact, we can clearly see Chieh's face
in the flashes between takes,

1365
01:53:22,379 --> 01:53:25,299
proving he did indeed
make the fall himself.

1366
01:53:26,675 --> 01:53:31,388
However, he is doubled by Hwang In-shik
elsewhere in this scene,

1367
01:53:31,513 --> 01:53:34,016
and his lifeless corpse, seen later on,

1368
01:53:34,141 --> 01:53:38,979
is in fact doubled by Bruce's long-time
friend and housekeeper, Wu Ngan.

1369
01:53:43,817 --> 01:53:47,112
Regardless of Chieh's fate
and the ease with which his dead body

1370
01:53:47,237 --> 01:53:49,614
has been thrown back down
to the floor below,

1371
01:53:50,365 --> 01:53:54,911
James Tien's ruthless ambition to reach
the top floor has not dimmed one iota.

1372
01:53:56,788 --> 01:53:58,707
And as we already know,

1373
01:53:58,832 --> 01:54:01,585
that ambition will soon prove
to be his downfall.

1374
01:54:02,961 --> 01:54:07,466
In the following sequence, we see Tien
trying to sneak over to the stairway.

1375
01:54:07,591 --> 01:54:11,345
However, he is quickly stopped
and knocked down by Ji.

1376
01:54:36,661 --> 01:54:40,749
What follows this is another
silent, humorous exchange,

1377
01:54:40,874 --> 01:54:45,212
as Lee gestures Tien to stand aside,
almost like a parent figure

1378
01:54:45,337 --> 01:54:48,131
ordering a mischievous child
to stand in the corner.

1379
01:54:54,763 --> 01:54:58,558
Bruce Lee had many misgivings
about Hong Kong's filmmaking practices,

1380
01:54:59,309 --> 01:55:02,854
in particular the overabundance
of classical shapes

1381
01:55:02,979 --> 01:55:04,689
and the dance-like choreography

1382
01:55:04,815 --> 01:55:07,901
in the contemporary crop
of martial arts pictures.

1383
01:55:08,026 --> 01:55:11,613
The visual rhythm was
overly rehearsed and tiresome,

1384
01:55:11,738 --> 01:55:14,282
the same old tune
played over and over.

1385
01:55:14,950 --> 01:55:18,328
His own brand of choreography
was a direct reaction to this.

1386
01:55:18,453 --> 01:55:21,081
Based on the ethos
of his Jeet Kune Do,

1387
01:55:21,206 --> 01:55:25,585
Lee wanted to present
the spontaneity of real-life combat,

1388
01:55:25,710 --> 01:55:28,463
the practicality
and improvisation involved

1389
01:55:28,588 --> 01:55:30,298
when using the body as a weapon,

1390
01:55:30,424 --> 01:55:34,177
and the emotional volcano that erupts
whenever that weapon is swung.

1391
01:55:35,053 --> 01:55:39,099
He strived for a visual rhythm
that didn't follow a set pattern,

1392
01:55:39,224 --> 01:55:43,603
rather something that constantly
breaks and resets that pattern.

1393
01:55:44,396 --> 01:55:45,647
We have seen this already

1394
01:55:45,772 --> 01:55:49,192
when after reacting
to Chieh Yuan's fall from the top floor,

1395
01:55:49,317 --> 01:55:51,570
Lee attempts to strike Ji Han-jae,

1396
01:55:51,695 --> 01:55:55,073
but the current of Ji's hapkido throws
proves too overwhelming.

1397
01:55:55,866 --> 01:55:57,451
After a brief respite,

1398
01:55:57,576 --> 01:56:00,829
Lee manages to adapt
and overcome Ji's throws,

1399
01:56:00,954 --> 01:56:04,666
riding his opponent's current
before landing two clean strikes,

1400
01:56:04,791 --> 01:56:07,377
one in the rib
and the other in the groin,

1401
01:56:07,502 --> 01:56:09,588
just like the willow tree
riding with the wind

1402
01:56:09,713 --> 01:56:12,007
in the film's planned opening.

1403
01:56:13,467 --> 01:56:17,888
As mentioned, Lee disliked the dance-like
martial spectacles of the time.

1404
01:56:18,013 --> 01:56:22,100
But that doesn't mean his own kung fu
spectacles weren't musically inclined.

1405
01:56:22,225 --> 01:56:26,146
Any type of choreography is still
a composition of moments,

1406
01:56:26,271 --> 01:56:30,400
a through line where one's emotional
content is being expressed.

1407
01:56:31,234 --> 01:56:34,738
It's a whimsical,
even overly romantic cliche

1408
01:56:34,863 --> 01:56:37,449
that martial arts are
often compared to music.

1409
01:56:38,116 --> 01:56:39,993
But just like music,

1410
01:56:40,118 --> 01:56:44,372
martial arts screen fighting employs
a rhythm and song-like structure

1411
01:56:44,498 --> 01:56:46,249
to captivate its audience.

1412
01:56:47,000 --> 01:56:50,879
In these rushes, we get a real sense
of Lee's distinctive rhythm

1413
01:56:51,004 --> 01:56:53,965
and its role in advancing
the characters and story.

1414
01:56:54,925 --> 01:56:56,885
The actual movements themselves

1415
01:56:57,010 --> 01:57:01,014
are indeed an impressive collage
of Lee's cinematic violence.

1416
01:57:02,182 --> 01:57:06,478
However, these are just the high
and powerful notes of a chorus,

1417
01:57:06,603 --> 01:57:08,855
and a chorus is never continuous.

1418
01:57:09,564 --> 01:57:13,693
There needs to be build-up,
quiet melodies in between the violence

1419
01:57:13,818 --> 01:57:16,947
that allow the emotional content
to unfold,

1420
01:57:17,656 --> 01:57:19,407
or, in musical terms,

1421
01:57:19,533 --> 01:57:22,869
the verse that unfolds
a song's story and theme.

1422
01:57:23,537 --> 01:57:27,374
It is in these quiet moments
we latch to Lee's point of view,

1423
01:57:27,499 --> 01:57:30,001
his emotional disposition
in the stillness,

1424
01:57:30,126 --> 01:57:32,921
as he re-evaluates
the circumstances around him.

1425
01:57:33,672 --> 01:57:35,257
These will be the vital springboards

1426
01:57:35,382 --> 01:57:37,634
to the next barrage
of punches and kicks.

1427
01:57:47,561 --> 01:57:48,687
In many ways,

1428
01:57:48,812 --> 01:57:52,399
these have more to do with Lee's
acting ability than his martial ability,

1429
01:57:53,191 --> 01:57:56,319
and it's largely the reason
why his would-be imitators

1430
01:57:56,444 --> 01:57:59,114
fail to recapture his uniqueness.

1431
01:59:16,024 --> 01:59:18,777
As we return to the advancing stage
of the bout,

1432
01:59:18,902 --> 01:59:22,113
we see James Tien's second attempt
to reach the top level.

1433
01:59:23,156 --> 01:59:25,200
This time, he succeeds.

1434
01:59:26,034 --> 01:59:28,870
However, as we are already privy to,

1435
01:59:29,454 --> 01:59:32,499
the Guardian of the Unknown
proves far too formidable.

1436
01:59:34,292 --> 01:59:37,587
Tien's actions in the fourth level
provide story context

1437
01:59:37,712 --> 01:59:40,131
to the fifth-level material already shot.

1438
01:59:40,840 --> 01:59:43,885
So when he finally faces
the Guardian of the Unknown,

1439
01:59:44,010 --> 01:59:46,012
it is actually a character payoff,

1440
01:59:46,638 --> 01:59:49,641
that being the comeuppance
for his scheming ways.

1441
01:59:51,476 --> 01:59:55,105
The events as noted will directly impact
the actions in the fourth level,

1442
01:59:55,230 --> 01:59:58,608
as we get another break in between
the Lee versus Ji bout.

1443
01:59:59,484 --> 02:00:01,736
Dust falls on Hai Tien's head,

1444
02:00:01,861 --> 02:00:05,240
and in a point-of-view shot,
we see the ceiling shake.

1445
02:00:06,116 --> 02:00:09,911
Again, a narrative plant
is signposted for the audience.

1446
02:00:10,036 --> 02:00:13,498
This time, the falling dust
is a visual foreshadowing

1447
02:00:13,623 --> 02:00:17,627
of the enormous ability and power
the fifth-level guardian has.

1448
02:00:19,087 --> 02:00:22,340
The amount of narrative
and philosophical cogs at work here

1449
02:00:22,465 --> 02:00:25,593
makes Bruce Lee's choreography
all the more impressive,

1450
02:00:26,177 --> 02:00:29,597
and a strong indication
that he was thinking far beyond

1451
02:00:29,723 --> 02:00:32,100
wanting to flex fancy shapes.

1452
02:00:32,225 --> 02:00:34,978
Punches and kicks weren't
just random movements to Lee.

1453
02:00:35,603 --> 02:00:39,983
They were choices of how to display
his fighting philosophy effectively.

1454
02:00:40,692 --> 02:00:44,738
Likewise, there was no dead space
in between the violence,

1455
02:00:44,863 --> 02:00:47,615
as they would provide
the characters' emotional content

1456
02:00:47,741 --> 02:00:50,118
in forward momentum to the story.

1457
02:00:51,327 --> 02:00:54,372
This is arguably the key component
in Lee's philosophy,

1458
02:00:54,914 --> 02:00:57,959
as it allows the audience
to emotionally connect

1459
02:00:58,084 --> 02:01:00,503
with these spectacular fighting bodies.

1460
02:01:01,337 --> 02:01:04,841
In an interview with Pierre Burton,
Lee commented:

1461
02:01:04,966 --> 02:01:08,303
"It is easy for me to put on a show
and be cocky."

1462
02:01:08,428 --> 02:01:10,805
"I can show you
some really fancy movements."

1463
02:01:11,765 --> 02:01:15,477
"But to express oneself honestly
is very hard to do."

1464
02:01:17,061 --> 02:01:20,148
Applying this quote too literally
would be missing the point,

1465
02:01:20,273 --> 02:01:24,486
especially on such an exaggerated
premise as <i>The Game of Death</i>'s.

1466
02:01:24,611 --> 02:01:27,614
But the honest expression
doesn't come from the premise,

1467
02:01:27,739 --> 02:01:29,949
nor the character Lee's playing.

1468
02:01:30,617 --> 02:01:32,786
After all, it's all make-believe.

1469
02:01:33,620 --> 02:01:35,789
But make-believe is not his voice,

1470
02:01:35,914 --> 02:01:38,583
but a vessel for his voice
to reach his audience.

1471
02:01:39,167 --> 02:01:42,337
As such, to honestly express oneself

1472
02:01:42,462 --> 02:01:46,591
is to resonate with some form
of truthful human connection.

1473
02:01:46,716 --> 02:01:49,052
Even within the exaggerated backdrop,

1474
02:01:49,177 --> 02:01:51,846
we see Lee as always trying
to find these moments

1475
02:01:51,971 --> 02:01:54,974
to truly connect with us, the audience.

1476
02:01:56,017 --> 02:01:58,353
And if an emotion stirs within us,

1477
02:01:58,478 --> 02:02:03,983
then, in that sense, his expression
is most certainly truthful and honest.

1478
02:02:19,457 --> 02:02:22,460
As we see Hai Tien reacting
to the sound of James Tien

1479
02:02:22,585 --> 02:02:25,004
screaming for help
from the floor above,

1480
02:02:25,129 --> 02:02:28,341
the final stage of his bout
with Ji Han-jae commences.

1481
02:02:29,551 --> 02:02:31,636
Both men trade a series of kicks,

1482
02:02:31,761 --> 02:02:35,598
before Lee's attempt to subdue Ji
results in getting kicked in the face.

1483
02:02:37,016 --> 02:02:39,936
As both men lie on the floor, exhausted,

1484
02:02:40,061 --> 02:02:43,022
Hai Tien backs off
and considers his next move.

1485
02:02:59,080 --> 02:03:02,584
Over the years, rumours have swirled
that Bruce Lee was unhappy

1486
02:03:02,709 --> 02:03:04,669
with the Hall of the Dragon footage,

1487
02:03:04,794 --> 02:03:07,839
whether it was dissatisfaction
with his own choreography

1488
02:03:07,964 --> 02:03:10,216
or Ji Han-jae's performance.

1489
02:03:10,341 --> 02:03:13,845
Nothing, however, that can be
corroborated through interviews,

1490
02:03:13,970 --> 02:03:17,473
Lee's notes or anything we see
in the footage itself.

1491
02:03:18,224 --> 02:03:22,604
Indeed, we frequently see Lee smiling
and in a positive mood

1492
02:03:22,729 --> 02:03:24,439
in the flashes between takes

1493
02:03:24,564 --> 02:03:27,984
as well as the photographs
taken on set by Chan Yuk.

1494
02:03:30,528 --> 02:03:33,323
It's not out of the question
that the Hall of the Dragon shoot

1495
02:03:33,448 --> 02:03:36,784
may have been more challenging
than the filming of the other two levels,

1496
02:03:36,910 --> 02:03:41,581
if only because in comparison
to Dan Inosanto and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar,

1497
02:03:41,706 --> 02:03:44,626
close friends with whom
Bruce had trained for years,

1498
02:03:44,751 --> 02:03:48,630
Ji was a relative stranger
who spoke little to no English,

1499
02:03:48,755 --> 02:03:51,132
making the process
of getting a performance from him

1500
02:03:51,257 --> 02:03:53,259
more difficult by comparison.

1501
02:03:54,469 --> 02:03:58,431
Furthermore, while Ji's hapkido skills
are beyond reproach,

1502
02:03:58,556 --> 02:04:02,268
and he is obviously capable
of matching Bruce blow for blow,

1503
02:04:02,393 --> 02:04:05,146
there's inarguably something
lacking in the Hall of the Dragon

1504
02:04:05,271 --> 02:04:07,231
compared to the other two levels,

1505
02:04:07,357 --> 02:04:10,360
a real sense of menace
or palpable threat.

1506
02:04:11,903 --> 02:04:14,405
Regardless,
despite persistent rumours

1507
02:04:14,530 --> 02:04:17,533
that Bruce wanted to reshoot
the scene entirely,

1508
02:04:17,659 --> 02:04:21,537
some say with another actor playing
the role of the fourth-floor guardian,

1509
02:04:21,663 --> 02:04:25,416
the fact remains that there is
no evidence to corroborate this.

1510
02:04:25,541 --> 02:04:29,212
And in any event,
what we see now is all there is,

1511
02:04:29,337 --> 02:04:31,422
and all there will ever be.

1512
02:04:38,304 --> 02:04:40,139
As the scene nears its end,

1513
02:04:40,264 --> 02:04:43,601
both men are covered with sweat
and running on fumes.

1514
02:04:44,310 --> 02:04:47,730
But, of course,
Bruce emerges triumphant,

1515
02:04:47,855 --> 02:04:51,734
as he hoists Ji up and brings him
crashing down on his knee,

1516
02:04:51,859 --> 02:04:53,695
breaking his back.

1517
02:04:54,612 --> 02:04:58,241
Unlike the third-floor guardian,
Hai Tien leaves Ji alive

1518
02:04:58,366 --> 02:05:00,410
but crippled beyond repair.

1519
02:05:02,787 --> 02:05:07,083
He stumbles to the stairway
and barely has time to catch his breath,

1520
02:05:07,208 --> 02:05:10,128
before he reacts
to a sound from upstairs,

1521
02:05:10,253 --> 02:05:12,088
most likely James Tien's character

1522
02:05:12,213 --> 02:05:15,508
being pummelled by whoever
is waiting for Hai Tien above.

1523
02:05:16,259 --> 02:05:19,512
The third day of filming ends
as Bruce Lee ascends,

1524
02:05:19,637 --> 02:05:22,974
his epic battle with
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar awaiting him.

1525
02:05:59,761 --> 02:06:02,346
But the Hall of the Dragon shoot
isn't over yet,

1526
02:06:02,472 --> 02:06:05,391
with one more day
of pickup filming left to go,

1527
02:06:05,516 --> 02:06:07,977
filling the gaps left three days earlier.

1528
02:06:09,562 --> 02:06:13,900
The headstrong Chieh Yuan launches
himself into battle against Ji Han-jae,

1529
02:06:14,025 --> 02:06:16,652
and is quickly and thoroughly beaten.

1530
02:07:08,996 --> 02:07:10,957
And it is in the wide shots of Ji

1531
02:07:11,082 --> 02:07:13,459
repeatedly flipping Chieh
over on his back,

1532
02:07:13,584 --> 02:07:16,337
where Chieh's face is pointedly
kept out of view,

1533
02:07:16,462 --> 02:07:19,382
where Yuan is being doubled
by Hwang In-shik,

1534
02:07:19,507 --> 02:07:22,009
who is well practised
at demonstrating flips

1535
02:07:22,135 --> 02:07:24,720
alongside his hapkido grandmaster.

1536
02:07:24,846 --> 02:07:26,180
One could even theorise

1537
02:07:26,305 --> 02:07:29,392
that perhaps the reason
this part of the scene was left until last

1538
02:07:29,517 --> 02:07:33,020
was simply Hwang's availability,
or lack thereof.

1539
02:09:29,220 --> 02:09:31,639
Bruce and James Tien
watch at the sidelines,

1540
02:09:31,764 --> 02:09:34,558
as Tien once again
encourages Chieh to continue.

1541
02:09:36,102 --> 02:09:38,145
These quiet moments crop up frequently,

1542
02:09:38,271 --> 02:09:41,357
showing the ebb and flow
of this physical interaction.

1543
02:09:59,041 --> 02:10:03,170
One other quality these moments reveal
is Lee's keen sense of humour.

1544
02:10:04,297 --> 02:10:06,257
Lee had worked with comedy before,

1545
02:10:06,382 --> 02:10:08,259
most notably in
<i>The Way of the Dragon.</i>

1546
02:10:08,801 --> 02:10:12,930
In <i>The Game of Death,</i> we see
his use of humour grow in sophistication,

1547
02:10:13,055 --> 02:10:15,808
as the humour injects
the action with personality,

1548
02:10:15,933 --> 02:10:18,894
while never losing sight
of advancing the narrative.

1549
02:10:19,020 --> 02:10:22,982
The interplay between Lee and James Tien
perfectly demonstrates this.

1550
02:10:23,107 --> 02:10:25,484
In one shot, we see the two debate

1551
02:10:25,609 --> 02:10:28,362
about who should next battle
the fourth-floor guardian.

1552
02:10:29,071 --> 02:10:30,948
It's a wordless exchange,

1553
02:10:31,073 --> 02:10:34,243
communicated only
through movements and gestures,

1554
02:10:34,368 --> 02:10:37,663
each one carefully timed
to hit its intended mark.

1555
02:10:38,664 --> 02:10:41,417
If <i>The Game of Death</i>
was completed as intended,

1556
02:10:41,542 --> 02:10:43,878
this moment would most likely act
as a payoff

1557
02:10:44,003 --> 02:10:47,048
to the character interplay
between Lee and Tien,

1558
02:10:47,173 --> 02:10:51,594
that being our hero finally
one-upping Tien's duplicitous schemer.

1559
02:11:59,286 --> 02:12:02,123
As well as being the last day
of filming <i>The Game of Death</i>

1560
02:12:02,248 --> 02:12:03,958
at Golden Harvest Studios,

1561
02:12:04,083 --> 02:12:06,919
October 25th is also
the last day of filming

1562
02:12:07,044 --> 02:12:09,463
for James Tien and Chieh Yuan.

1563
02:12:10,214 --> 02:12:13,926
Though Chieh appears in several
more films over the next five years,

1564
02:12:14,051 --> 02:12:18,889
including 1976's box office
record breaker <i>The Private Eyes,</i>

1565
02:12:19,014 --> 02:12:22,435
he arguably never quite gets
an opportunity to shine

1566
02:12:22,560 --> 02:12:24,562
like he did in <i>The Game of Death.</i>

1567
02:12:26,439 --> 02:12:31,026
Similarly, James Tien's career as a star
never quite regained the momentum

1568
02:12:31,152 --> 02:12:33,446
of his earliest days at Golden Harvest,

1569
02:12:33,571 --> 02:12:35,156
and as a character actor,

1570
02:12:35,281 --> 02:12:37,700
he became a mainstay
of Hong Kong action cinema

1571
02:12:37,825 --> 02:12:42,079
for many more years, playing villains
for directors like John Woo,

1572
02:12:42,204 --> 02:12:44,540
Sammo Hung and Jackie Chan.

1573
02:12:45,124 --> 02:12:50,087
He retired from acting in 1997 and
vanished from the public eye entirely,

1574
02:12:50,212 --> 02:12:52,548
his current whereabouts unknown.

1575
02:13:09,064 --> 02:13:13,110
And so the filming of the pagoda scenes
on <i>The Game of Death</i> concludes.

1576
02:13:14,028 --> 02:13:16,405
There's still a bit more shooting
left to go outside,

1577
02:13:16,530 --> 02:13:20,784
but these two additional angles
of Bruce's feint and jump kick against Ji

1578
02:13:20,910 --> 02:13:24,538
are the last studio sequences
ever shot for the film.

1579
02:13:24,663 --> 02:13:29,251
The sets are dismantled and
the project is officially put on pause.

1580
02:13:32,838 --> 02:13:36,717
Ten months later,
Bruce Lee's dream has come true.

1581
02:13:36,842 --> 02:13:40,471
He is the star of the number one film
in the United States.

1582
02:13:40,596 --> 02:13:44,350
But he has not lived long enough
to see that dream manifested.

1583
02:13:59,698 --> 02:14:02,868
According to Golden Harvest
producer Andre Morgan,

1584
02:14:02,993 --> 02:14:06,288
every delay and gap in filming
on <i>The Game of Death</i>

1585
02:14:06,413 --> 02:14:07,873
was welcomed by Bruce

1586
02:14:07,998 --> 02:14:11,293
as an opportunity to solve the puzzle
that most eluded him:

1587
02:14:11,877 --> 02:14:15,005
what exactly would be the treasure
on the top floor of the pagoda,

1588
02:14:15,589 --> 02:14:18,300
the MacGuffin that sets
the whole plot in motion?

1589
02:14:18,926 --> 02:14:21,512
In his scene-by-scene breakdown
of the story,

1590
02:14:21,637 --> 02:14:25,140
Bruce only offers three sentences
for the latter part of the film.

1591
02:14:25,891 --> 02:14:29,144
"The big fight", referring to the scenes
in the pagoda.

1592
02:14:29,270 --> 02:14:33,691
"The arrest", possibly referring
to the defeat of the Korean crime boss.

1593
02:14:33,816 --> 02:14:36,652
And "the airport", where one assumes
Hai Tien and his family

1594
02:14:36,777 --> 02:14:38,988
would return home as the film ends.

1595
02:14:39,655 --> 02:14:42,199
When it comes to deciding
the treasure on the top floor,

1596
02:14:42,324 --> 02:14:45,869
Bruce changes his mind
on an almost daily basis.

1597
02:14:45,995 --> 02:14:48,038
Rumours of how
the ending might play out

1598
02:14:48,163 --> 02:14:50,624
and what would have awaited
Hai Tien on the top floor

1599
02:14:50,749 --> 02:14:52,960
have been shared
among fans for years.

1600
02:14:53,085 --> 02:14:56,338
A floor of bountiful treasures?
Another fighter?

1601
02:14:56,463 --> 02:15:00,050
The most common theory is that
Bruce may have recycled an idea

1602
02:15:00,175 --> 02:15:02,219
from his treatment
for <i>The Silent Flute,</i>

1603
02:15:02,344 --> 02:15:04,555
with Hai Tien finding a sacred book

1604
02:15:04,680 --> 02:15:07,433
filled with nothing
but mirrors on each page,

1605
02:15:07,558 --> 02:15:10,269
perhaps indicating
that knowledge of the self

1606
02:15:10,394 --> 02:15:12,563
was the treasure
he was seeking all along.

1607
02:15:12,688 --> 02:15:16,567
How much relevance this may have had
in the overall context of the pagoda heist

1608
02:15:16,692 --> 02:15:18,110
is a moot point.

1609
02:15:18,235 --> 02:15:19,945
Beyond some second-hand accounts,

1610
02:15:20,070 --> 02:15:24,116
there is nothing concrete to verify
Bruce considering this as an option.

1611
02:15:25,659 --> 02:15:30,539
Instead, all we have to go on
is what was filmed in 1972.

1612
02:15:32,207 --> 02:15:34,376
Having repeatedly asked
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

1613
02:15:34,501 --> 02:15:36,712
to let him pass up to the top floor,

1614
02:15:36,837 --> 02:15:38,547
upon defeating him,

1615
02:15:38,672 --> 02:15:41,592
Bruce does not give the stairway
to the treasure a second look.

1616
02:15:44,011 --> 02:15:49,141
Instead, he walks to the window
and shouts down below to the locksmith

1617
02:15:49,266 --> 02:15:52,936
and whoever else is waiting outside,
giving them the all-clear.

1618
02:16:01,570 --> 02:16:04,615
Rather than take the treasure
down with him, however,

1619
02:16:04,740 --> 02:16:08,869
Bruce leaves it behind
and starts the long walk downstairs.

1620
02:16:14,541 --> 02:16:15,959
Two months later,

1621
02:16:16,085 --> 02:16:19,546
once the rest of the Hall of the Dragon
scene has concluded filming,

1622
02:16:19,672 --> 02:16:23,133
Bruce films three takes of him
passing through this floor.

1623
02:16:23,258 --> 02:16:26,428
He briefly stops as he descends,
and reacts to something.

1624
02:16:27,429 --> 02:16:29,848
Exhaustion at what he has undergone

1625
02:16:29,973 --> 02:16:32,976
and at knowing how many steps down
are left to go?

1626
02:16:33,102 --> 02:16:35,020
Or sounds from outside,

1627
02:16:35,145 --> 02:16:38,941
indicating that another fight awaits him
as he exits the pagoda,

1628
02:16:39,066 --> 02:16:41,443
perhaps from the criminals
double-crossing him

1629
02:16:41,568 --> 02:16:44,154
now he has served his purpose?

1630
02:16:44,279 --> 02:16:46,657
We will never know for sure.

1631
02:16:46,782 --> 02:16:49,827
Without these missing pieces
to clarify his intent,

1632
02:16:49,952 --> 02:16:52,621
the conclusion
to <i>The Game of Death</i> as filmed

1633
02:16:52,746 --> 02:16:54,790
becomes something more ambiguous,

1634
02:16:54,915 --> 02:16:59,545
with Hai Tien on a haunting death march
towards an uncertain fate.

1635
02:16:59,670 --> 02:17:01,714
Does he sense the game is rigged,

1636
02:17:01,839 --> 02:17:04,299
but doesn't intend to go out
without a fight?

1637
02:17:13,684 --> 02:17:15,894
Regardless of what
Bruce might have planned,

1638
02:17:16,019 --> 02:17:19,189
the last scene he films,
in terms of plot chronology,

1639
02:17:19,314 --> 02:17:21,859
is on the Hall of the Tiger set
in September,

1640
02:17:21,984 --> 02:17:24,903
likely on the heels of receiving
the <i>Enter the Dragon</i> offer

1641
02:17:25,028 --> 02:17:27,281
from Fred Weintraub.

1642
02:17:27,406 --> 02:17:29,158
Does he already know
that <i>The Game of Death</i>

1643
02:17:29,283 --> 02:17:33,203
is going to go on the back burner,
perhaps never to be revived?

1644
02:17:33,328 --> 02:17:35,497
We don't know.

1645
02:17:39,084 --> 02:17:42,629
Instead, what we have is this.

1646
02:17:54,057 --> 02:17:57,853
Hai Tien walks to the window,
punches out the panels,

1647
02:17:57,978 --> 02:18:01,231
and shouts something unknown
to the people outside.

1648
02:18:02,149 --> 02:18:04,109
Perhaps a cry for help.

1649
02:18:04,234 --> 02:18:06,236
Perhaps someone's name.

1650
02:18:07,196 --> 02:18:09,198
His expression changes.

1651
02:18:13,160 --> 02:18:14,870
He descends.

1652
02:18:17,790 --> 02:18:19,541
He is gone.

1653
02:18:20,375 --> 02:18:22,002
The end.

1654
02:18:36,391 --> 02:18:39,478
Over two separate days
three weeks apart,

1655
02:18:40,229 --> 02:18:44,066
Bruce leads a small crew
to the hills of the New Territories,

1656
02:18:44,191 --> 02:18:47,986
the countryside on the border
of Hong Kong's bustling metropolis.

1657
02:18:48,529 --> 02:18:52,366
There they will film some of the most
hotly debated footage in the film

1658
02:18:52,491 --> 02:18:56,078
in which three of the pagoda's
guardians, Dan Inosanto,

1659
02:18:56,787 --> 02:18:57,913
Ji Han-jae,

1660
02:18:58,914 --> 02:19:03,043
and Hwang In-shik, Bruce's top choice
to play the first-floor guardian

1661
02:19:03,168 --> 02:19:05,587
are shown fighting
a handful of subordinates

1662
02:19:05,712 --> 02:19:07,714
dressed in white karate outfits.

1663
02:19:08,173 --> 02:19:10,133
Is it training footage meant to establish

1664
02:19:10,259 --> 02:19:12,594
some of the key villains
at the start of the film?

1665
02:19:13,178 --> 02:19:16,849
Or just a camera test never intended
to make it to the final film?

1666
02:19:17,683 --> 02:19:20,811
Bruce left no indication
in his notes or script pages,

1667
02:19:20,936 --> 02:19:23,480
which means we will never
really know for sure.

1668
02:19:34,575 --> 02:19:35,951
On the 4th of October,

1669
02:19:37,452 --> 02:19:40,038
days after filming his scenes
in the Hall of the Tiger,

1670
02:19:40,497 --> 02:19:42,207
Dan Inosanto returns,

1671
02:19:43,292 --> 02:19:47,588
once again demonstrating his
eskrima prowess opposite Wu Ngan,

1672
02:19:47,713 --> 02:19:50,382
Bruce's childhood friend
and present-day butler,

1673
02:19:50,507 --> 02:19:52,134
playing one of the <i>karateka.</i>

1674
02:19:55,137 --> 02:19:58,223
The pair have already
extensively rehearsed the sequence

1675
02:19:58,348 --> 02:20:01,226
in the backyard of Bruce's home
on Cumberland Road,

1676
02:20:01,351 --> 02:20:04,730
but shoot numerous takes
filmed at various speeds.

1677
02:24:11,685 --> 02:24:14,062
Though Inosanto is one of a few actors

1678
02:24:14,187 --> 02:24:16,481
to film all of his scenes
for <i>The Game of Death</i>

1679
02:24:16,982 --> 02:24:21,319
and the only one to reprise his role
when called to do so five years later,

1680
02:24:21,444 --> 02:24:24,322
he did not pursue a career
in film acting full-time.

1681
02:24:25,115 --> 02:24:27,242
Today, aged 87,

1682
02:24:27,701 --> 02:24:30,662
he continues to teach
Jeet Kune Do, eskrima

1683
02:24:30,787 --> 02:24:32,831
and many other fighting techniques

1684
02:24:32,956 --> 02:24:37,669
at the Inosanto Academy of Martial Arts
in Marina del Rey, California.

1685
02:24:50,182 --> 02:24:52,142
On the 26th of October,

1686
02:24:52,267 --> 02:24:55,187
the day after filming
on the Hall of the Dragon concludes,

1687
02:24:56,730 --> 02:24:59,858
Ji Han-jae also films his last scenes
for <i>The Game of Death</i>

1688
02:24:59,983 --> 02:25:01,067
at the New Territories,

1689
02:25:01,943 --> 02:25:04,905
fighting off fellow hapkido master
Hwang In-shik

1690
02:25:05,030 --> 02:25:07,490
and a handful of Bruce's
regular stunt team

1691
02:25:07,616 --> 02:25:11,494
playing more members of the <i>karateka</i>
that guard the outside of the pagoda.

1692
02:25:12,579 --> 02:25:16,875
The stuntmen are Billy Chan,
Lam Ching-ying and Yuen Wah.

1693
02:26:25,944 --> 02:26:27,862
After the release of the film <i>Hapkido,</i>

1694
02:26:28,405 --> 02:26:31,491
Ji Han-jae only acted
in two more films in Hong Kong

1695
02:26:31,992 --> 02:26:34,786
before moving to
the United States in 1984

1696
02:26:35,203 --> 02:26:39,249
where, aged 86,
he lives and teaches to this day.

1697
02:26:53,263 --> 02:26:57,309
Hwang In-shik, born
in Sunchon, Korea in 1949

1698
02:26:57,809 --> 02:27:00,645
was a key figure in
the Korea Hapkido Association

1699
02:27:00,770 --> 02:27:04,274
alongside Ji Han-jae,
and followed him to Hong Kong

1700
02:27:04,399 --> 02:27:06,943
when the pair were recruited
by Golden Harvest

1701
02:27:07,068 --> 02:27:11,489
to instruct and star alongside the cast
of Huang Feng's film <i>Hapkido.</i>

1702
02:27:12,782 --> 02:27:16,244
It was on the set of that film
earlier in 1972,

1703
02:27:16,369 --> 02:27:19,497
where Bruce Lee cast him in
a memorable role as a Japanese fighter

1704
02:27:19,622 --> 02:27:20,707
in <i>The Way of the Dragon.</i>

1705
02:27:21,958 --> 02:27:24,461
He was especially noted
for his kicking abilities,

1706
02:27:24,878 --> 02:27:28,298
which would have been foregrounded
in his role as the first-floor guardian.

1707
02:27:31,134 --> 02:27:33,261
Sadly, these few takes

1708
02:27:33,678 --> 02:27:37,599
opposite stuntmen Wu Ngan,
Billy Chan and Lam Ching-ying

1709
02:27:38,016 --> 02:27:41,644
are the only footage he ever filmed
for <i>The Game of Death.</i>

1710
02:27:42,771 --> 02:27:46,566
His film roles, though limited
in number following Lee's death,

1711
02:27:46,691 --> 02:27:49,152
helped popularise
Korean fighting methods

1712
02:27:49,277 --> 02:27:50,487
in martial arts cinema,

1713
02:27:51,112 --> 02:27:55,658
and at the age of 82, he continues
to train students at his school

1714
02:27:56,117 --> 02:27:57,452
in Toronto, Canada.

1715
02:28:14,052 --> 02:28:18,223
Rumours have persisted that Bruce
shot footage of himself fighting here

1716
02:28:18,348 --> 02:28:20,350
thanks largely to
behind-the-scenes photos

1717
02:28:20,475 --> 02:28:22,394
of him fighting with the <i>karateka,</i>

1718
02:28:22,519 --> 02:28:25,271
but outside of split-second flashes
between takes,

1719
02:28:25,397 --> 02:28:28,316
no footage apparently exists
to corroborate this.

1720
02:28:29,317 --> 02:28:34,155
In any event, the material
filmed on October 26th

1721
02:28:34,572 --> 02:28:37,742
will end up being the last footage
Bruce will ever film

1722
02:28:38,201 --> 02:28:39,411
for <i>The Game of Death.</i>

1723
02:29:04,018 --> 02:29:05,937
The rest of 1972

1724
02:29:06,062 --> 02:29:10,316
is taken up with contract negotiations
and rehearsals for <i>Enter the Dragon,</i>

1725
02:29:10,442 --> 02:29:15,447
until, finally, shooting begins
on January 25th, 1973,

1726
02:29:15,572 --> 02:29:17,740
a week before the Chinese New Year.

1727
02:29:19,701 --> 02:29:22,996
The production of <i>Enter the Dragon</i>
takes a heavy toll on Bruce.

1728
02:29:23,997 --> 02:29:26,624
He fights with American director
Robert Clouse

1729
02:29:26,749 --> 02:29:30,086
and executives from Warner Bros.
almost every day,

1730
02:29:30,211 --> 02:29:32,839
attempting to improve
the action choreography,

1731
02:29:32,964 --> 02:29:36,509
writing and filming new scenes,
even changing the title.

1732
02:29:37,469 --> 02:29:40,597
He has gone from being a man
in charge of his own destiny

1733
02:29:40,722 --> 02:29:43,850
to his fate being back in the hands
of white Hollywood.

1734
02:29:43,975 --> 02:29:47,979
And while he wins many battles
behind the camera as well as in front,

1735
02:29:48,104 --> 02:29:50,231
it is not without a cost.

1736
02:29:50,356 --> 02:29:54,652
Even after the film wraps,
he pushes his body to its utmost limits,

1737
02:29:54,777 --> 02:29:58,865
and rumours of a heavy,
all-hours lifestyle persist.

1738
02:29:58,990 --> 02:30:01,784
He takes harder drugs
in greater quantities.

1739
02:30:02,452 --> 02:30:07,123
His behaviour becomes more volatile,
unpredictable and paranoid.

1740
02:30:08,374 --> 02:30:13,129
During a dubbing session in May, 1973,
Bruce collapses,

1741
02:30:13,254 --> 02:30:17,675
losing consciousness until doctors
revive him at Queen Elizabeth Hospital,

1742
02:30:17,800 --> 02:30:21,888
diagnosing it as a cerebral edema,
a swelling of the brain.

1743
02:30:22,680 --> 02:30:26,309
In the maelstrom of momentum
ahead of <i>Enter the Dragon</i>'s completion,

1744
02:30:26,434 --> 02:30:30,647
Bruce himself is the first to dismiss it
as an isolated incident.

1745
02:30:30,772 --> 02:30:34,108
He flies to Los Angeles
and receives a clean bill of health,

1746
02:30:34,234 --> 02:30:37,570
claiming to have been told
he has the body of an 18-year-old.

1747
02:30:37,695 --> 02:30:39,989
Instead, he ploughs onwards,

1748
02:30:40,114 --> 02:30:42,575
completing post-production
on <i>Enter the Dragon,</i>

1749
02:30:42,700 --> 02:30:46,496
and looking back to the project
he abandoned the previous autumn.

1750
02:30:46,621 --> 02:30:48,581
What Bruce may have done
with <i>The Game of Death</i>

1751
02:30:48,706 --> 02:30:51,334
after <i>Enter the Dragon</i>
is debated to this day.

1752
02:30:51,876 --> 02:30:54,671
Would he have discarded much
of which he had already filmed

1753
02:30:54,796 --> 02:30:57,298
and retooled the concept
with a new plotline?

1754
02:30:57,882 --> 02:30:59,592
Would he have dropped it altogether,

1755
02:30:59,717 --> 02:31:02,011
once <i>Enter the Dragon</i> hit big
at the box office?

1756
02:31:02,929 --> 02:31:06,015
We know that in the months
prior to his death

1757
02:31:06,140 --> 02:31:09,060
he goes back to work
on developing <i>The Game of Death,</i>

1758
02:31:09,185 --> 02:31:11,980
and plans to resume filming
at the end of the summer.

1759
02:31:12,647 --> 02:31:14,691
He calls Tadashi Nishimoto

1760
02:31:14,816 --> 02:31:17,777
and tells him that they will soon
be filming the exterior scenes

1761
02:31:17,902 --> 02:31:20,655
at Songnisan National Park
in South Korea,

1762
02:31:20,780 --> 02:31:23,324
where the five-storey
Palsangjeon Temple

1763
02:31:23,449 --> 02:31:25,410
will double for the outside
of the pagoda.

1764
02:31:26,160 --> 02:31:28,955
While filming <i>Enter the Dragon,</i>
Bruce films a camera test

1765
02:31:29,080 --> 02:31:32,417
with his former Wing Chun mentor,
Wong Shun-leung,

1766
02:31:32,542 --> 02:31:35,712
sparring with Wu Ngan,
body double Joey Chen

1767
02:31:35,837 --> 02:31:37,755
and stuntman Peter Chan.

1768
02:31:38,298 --> 02:31:41,426
He's auditioning Wong for the role
of the second-floor guardian.

1769
02:32:56,376 --> 02:32:59,003
Bruce has already offered the role
of the second-floor guardian

1770
02:32:59,128 --> 02:33:03,341
to a close friend and former student
of his from Seattle, Taky Kimura,

1771
02:33:03,466 --> 02:33:06,302
who had been forced to cancel
the previous October.

1772
02:33:06,427 --> 02:33:08,763
Eventually, Kimura relents,

1773
02:33:08,888 --> 02:33:11,265
and Bruce even buys him
another plane ticket

1774
02:33:11,391 --> 02:33:13,643
and tells him to get
to Hong Kong for filming,

1775
02:33:13,768 --> 02:33:15,478
but fate will soon intervene.

1776
02:33:16,229 --> 02:33:18,272
On the morning of July 20th,

1777
02:33:18,398 --> 02:33:21,317
he meets former James Bond star
George Lazenby

1778
02:33:21,442 --> 02:33:23,486
and promises him a part in the film,

1779
02:33:23,611 --> 02:33:26,906
allegedly as one of the initial partners
to raid the pagoda.

1780
02:33:27,740 --> 02:33:31,285
Less than 12 hours later,
Bruce is gone.

1781
02:33:33,037 --> 02:33:35,623
The events of that day
are still a matter of debate,

1782
02:33:36,249 --> 02:33:38,626
but the commonly held version is this.

1783
02:33:38,751 --> 02:33:41,421
That evening,
Bruce and Raymond Chow

1784
02:33:41,546 --> 02:33:43,715
visit the apartment of Betty Ting Pei,

1785
02:33:43,840 --> 02:33:47,093
an actress with whom Bruce has been
romantically linked in the press,

1786
02:33:47,218 --> 02:33:50,555
ostensibly to discuss offering her
a role in <i>The Game of Death.</i>

1787
02:33:51,222 --> 02:33:53,641
Bruce has complained all day
of a migraine,

1788
02:33:53,766 --> 02:33:57,145
and Betty offers him a painkiller
so he can take a nap.

1789
02:33:57,270 --> 02:34:00,189
Raymond Chow goes ahead
to the restaurant to meet Lazenby,

1790
02:34:00,314 --> 02:34:04,068
but when he gets there, he receives
a panicked phone call from Betty.

1791
02:34:04,652 --> 02:34:06,237
Bruce will not wake up.

1792
02:34:06,362 --> 02:34:09,699
And by the time
the paramedics arrive, he is dead.

1793
02:34:11,451 --> 02:34:14,203
The coroner diagnoses
the official cause of death

1794
02:34:14,328 --> 02:34:17,665
as a cerebral edema,
like the one he had in May,

1795
02:34:17,790 --> 02:34:21,461
the likely cause of which is determined
to be an allergic reaction

1796
02:34:21,586 --> 02:34:23,588
to the Equagesic painkiller.

1797
02:34:23,713 --> 02:34:27,508
But such a prosaic explanation
will not suffice for many people.

1798
02:34:28,301 --> 02:34:30,094
Fuelled by a tabloid press

1799
02:34:30,219 --> 02:34:33,514
hungry to spill ink
regardless of the collateral damage,

1800
02:34:33,639 --> 02:34:36,309
increasingly outlandish
conspiracy theories

1801
02:34:36,434 --> 02:34:38,352
begin to spread like wildfire,

1802
02:34:38,478 --> 02:34:40,772
implicating everyone from the Triads

1803
02:34:40,897 --> 02:34:44,066
to ancient curses
and even Raymond Chow

1804
02:34:44,192 --> 02:34:46,194
as culpable in Bruce's death.

1805
02:34:46,319 --> 02:34:48,738
Some even refuse to believe
Bruce has died at all,

1806
02:34:48,863 --> 02:34:50,656
and suggest he has faked his death,

1807
02:34:50,782 --> 02:34:53,826
perhaps as a publicity stunt
for <i>Enter the Dragon.</i>

1808
02:34:53,951 --> 02:34:57,497
Perhaps the main drive behind
these theories was simply denial,

1809
02:34:57,622 --> 02:35:00,416
a widespread inability
to accept the loss of a man

1810
02:35:00,541 --> 02:35:03,085
who had recently been
immortalised in freeze-frame

1811
02:35:03,211 --> 02:35:06,631
as he leapt towards a firing squad
at the end of <i>Fist of Fury.</i>

1812
02:35:07,298 --> 02:35:09,550
How could someone
so iconic and beloved

1813
02:35:09,675 --> 02:35:11,260
who would come
to be revered by many

1814
02:35:11,385 --> 02:35:14,180
as the greatest warrior
the silver screen had ever seen

1815
02:35:14,305 --> 02:35:16,390
be felled by something so intangible,

1816
02:35:16,516 --> 02:35:20,436
so unexpected
and perhaps even self-inflicted?

1817
02:35:21,312 --> 02:35:24,565
Regardless,
two certain truths remained:

1818
02:35:24,690 --> 02:35:26,526
Bruce Lee was gone forever,

1819
02:35:26,651 --> 02:35:29,362
and if production on <i>The Game of Death</i>
were ever to continue,

1820
02:35:29,904 --> 02:35:31,948
it would be without him.

1821
02:35:34,534 --> 02:35:39,288
His open-casket funeral, held in
Hong Kong only five days after his death,

1822
02:35:39,413 --> 02:35:41,457
is a media circus.

1823
02:35:41,582 --> 02:35:44,460
Cameras film every mourner
from every possible angle,

1824
02:35:44,585 --> 02:35:47,213
and footage of his dead body
lying in state

1825
02:35:47,338 --> 02:35:50,967
is rushed onto cinema and television
screens across the country.

1826
02:35:54,554 --> 02:35:56,556
In the wake of every public tragedy

1827
02:35:56,681 --> 02:36:00,351
is a long line of opportunists
out to make a quick buck out of it,

1828
02:36:00,476 --> 02:36:04,772
and before Bruce Lee's body is even
in the ground, the vultures sweep in.

1829
02:36:06,649 --> 02:36:10,361
Right away, eager to satiate
an audience hungry for more films

1830
02:36:10,486 --> 02:36:12,655
by a man no longer alive to make them,

1831
02:36:12,780 --> 02:36:15,616
the film industry spawns
a whole new subgenre,

1832
02:36:15,741 --> 02:36:20,496
one that has come to be known
in later years as "Brucesploitation",

1833
02:36:20,621 --> 02:36:24,625
a unique phenomenon only possible
in a country like Hong Kong

1834
02:36:24,750 --> 02:36:29,005
where trademark laws and likeness rights
have never even been heard of.

1835
02:36:29,130 --> 02:36:31,591
Hundreds of counterfeit
Bruce Lee films are made,

1836
02:36:31,716 --> 02:36:36,053
designed to entice audiences either too
naive to realise they're being sold a fake

1837
02:36:36,178 --> 02:36:38,681
or too desperate for more to care.

1838
02:36:54,238 --> 02:36:58,242
<i>Bruce is back in his first action film
at the age of 18.</i>

1839
02:36:58,367 --> 02:37:02,455
<i>We repeat this dramatic development,
a film no one believed existed,</i>

1840
02:37:02,580 --> 02:37:07,043
<i>a film held in China and
never before seen is finally here.</i>

1841
02:37:07,168 --> 02:37:10,171
Unauthorised biopics
professed to tell the true story

1842
02:37:10,296 --> 02:37:11,714
of Bruce's life and death,

1843
02:37:11,839 --> 02:37:15,760
but often dramatised the wild scenarios
invented by the tabloid press.

1844
02:37:15,885 --> 02:37:17,553
<i>The martial arts
community was shocked</i>

1845
02:37:17,678 --> 02:37:19,639
<i>by his sudden death.</i>

1846
02:37:19,764 --> 02:37:23,559
<i>Kung fu people especially mourned
the loss of their most popular hero.</i>

1847
02:37:24,101 --> 02:37:27,188
<i>The early reports of his death
were unclear and confusing.</i>

1848
02:37:30,983 --> 02:37:34,070
Man, look at his face.
Doesn't even seem like the same person.

1849
02:37:34,195 --> 02:37:36,072
<i>It's the life story,</i>

1850
02:37:36,197 --> 02:37:39,241
<i>the true story,
it's</i> The Bruce Lee Story!

1851
02:37:39,367 --> 02:37:42,495
<i>It reveals secrets of his personal life
you've never seen before,</i>

1852
02:37:42,620 --> 02:37:45,498
<i>a life more violent
than his movie roles.</i>

1853
02:37:46,666 --> 02:37:49,961
Betty Ting Pei even stars
in one such film for Shaw Brothers.

1854
02:37:50,086 --> 02:37:52,546
<i>The film
that separates truth from fiction.</i>

1855
02:37:52,672 --> 02:37:54,799
<i>See</i> Bruce Lee: His Last Days,

1856
02:37:54,924 --> 02:37:58,386
<i>as told by the one person who was
with him during his final hours.</i>

1857
02:37:58,511 --> 02:38:01,514
Another film even depicts
the widely held fantasy

1858
02:38:01,639 --> 02:38:05,393
that Bruce has faked his own death,
planning to re-emerge in 1983

1859
02:38:05,518 --> 02:38:08,479
on the tenth anniversary
of his exodus from public life.

1860
02:38:08,604 --> 02:38:10,606
You must announce
that you are dead.

1861
02:38:10,731 --> 02:38:15,069
Your wife, your children,
your friend and, above all, your work.

1862
02:38:15,194 --> 02:38:16,237
That's gone.

1863
02:38:16,362 --> 02:38:19,115
You will live as a recluse
for ten years.

1864
02:38:19,240 --> 02:38:22,702
Inevitably, with the public
eager to see <i>The Game of Death,</i>

1865
02:38:23,411 --> 02:38:26,622
Brucesploitation producers
step in to fill the void,

1866
02:38:26,747 --> 02:38:29,000
cannily spinning their own storylines

1867
02:38:29,125 --> 02:38:33,170
from the few scraps of information
publicly known about Lee's script.

1868
02:38:34,422 --> 02:38:37,091
<i>Now, through
the miracle of motion pictures,</i>

1869
02:38:37,216 --> 02:38:40,761
<i>we bring you the story and the film
that superstar Bruce Lee</i>

1870
02:38:40,886 --> 02:38:42,555
<i>wanted you to see.</i>

1871
02:38:47,852 --> 02:38:52,732
Goodbye, Bruce Lee:
His Last Game of Death.

1872
02:38:55,192 --> 02:38:57,820
Few would ever mistake
these for the real thing,

1873
02:38:57,945 --> 02:39:00,531
but the success of these films
only demonstrated

1874
02:39:00,656 --> 02:39:02,992
that in the absence
of the genuine article,

1875
02:39:03,117 --> 02:39:06,037
fans would happily take
whatever they could get.

1876
02:39:06,871 --> 02:39:12,460
Then, in 1976, the Lee family sells
all of its shares in Concord

1877
02:39:12,585 --> 02:39:15,046
to Raymond Chow and Golden Harvest.

1878
02:39:15,171 --> 02:39:17,590
Knowing that money
is being left on the table

1879
02:39:17,715 --> 02:39:20,134
and that a unique opportunity
presents itself

1880
02:39:20,259 --> 02:39:22,428
to make one last Bruce Lee film,

1881
02:39:22,553 --> 02:39:26,432
the studio immediately gets to work
on reviving <i>The Game of Death.</i>

1882
02:39:26,557 --> 02:39:29,852
A documentary that merely presents
the footage as Bruce has shot it

1883
02:39:29,977 --> 02:39:31,896
is deemed commercially unviable,

1884
02:39:32,021 --> 02:39:35,483
and the notion of presenting outtakes
through the medium of home video

1885
02:39:35,608 --> 02:39:37,651
is still several years away.

1886
02:39:37,777 --> 02:39:40,738
Only a new, feature-length narrative film

1887
02:39:40,863 --> 02:39:43,324
will satiate demand
and recoup the investment

1888
02:39:43,449 --> 02:39:46,494
Golden Harvest have already
sunk into the project.

1889
02:39:46,619 --> 02:39:49,038
A promotional film is quickly distributed

1890
02:39:49,163 --> 02:39:51,957
that shows Golden Harvest
auditioning lookalike actors

1891
02:39:52,083 --> 02:39:53,876
to replace Bruce in the lead,

1892
02:39:54,001 --> 02:39:56,796
working with Hollywood companies
to develop a new storyline,

1893
02:39:56,921 --> 02:39:59,090
and even states that James Coburn,

1894
02:39:59,215 --> 02:40:02,176
Steve McQueen,
Muhammad Ali and Pelé

1895
02:40:02,301 --> 02:40:04,470
are lined up to star in the new footage.

1896
02:40:05,638 --> 02:40:09,183
Enter, once again, Robert Clouse.

1897
02:40:10,267 --> 02:40:12,853
Following the runaway success
of <i>Enter the Dragon,</i>

1898
02:40:12,978 --> 02:40:17,024
none of his subsequent films
has enjoyed the acclaim or box office

1899
02:40:17,149 --> 02:40:19,527
of his fleeting collaboration
with Bruce Lee,

1900
02:40:19,652 --> 02:40:21,946
and when Raymond Chow
offers him the opportunity

1901
02:40:22,071 --> 02:40:24,782
to finish <i>The Game of Death,</i>
Clouse accepts.

1902
02:40:24,907 --> 02:40:27,368
He views the two hours of raw footage,

1903
02:40:27,493 --> 02:40:31,997
entirely without sound and not even
a completed script or plot outline

1904
02:40:32,123 --> 02:40:35,167
to help contextualise the events
taking place onscreen.

1905
02:40:35,709 --> 02:40:39,421
Nonetheless, he eventually completes
a script of his own

1906
02:40:39,547 --> 02:40:43,467
and begins filming in Hong Kong
towards the end of 1977.

1907
02:40:44,343 --> 02:40:48,139
When Clouse's film, <i>Game of Death,</i>
is finally unveiled to the public

1908
02:40:48,264 --> 02:40:50,432
in the summer of 1978,

1909
02:40:50,558 --> 02:40:53,394
the answer as to how the filmmaker
has been able to incorporate

1910
02:40:53,519 --> 02:40:57,064
Bruce Lee's incomplete vision
into a finished feature film

1911
02:40:57,189 --> 02:40:59,191
quickly becomes apparent.

1912
02:40:59,316 --> 02:41:01,277
He has ignored it altogether.

1913
02:41:01,819 --> 02:41:05,823
Instead of Lee's tale of Hai Tien
using his nimble adeptness in combat

1914
02:41:05,948 --> 02:41:08,951
to take down every foe
on each level of the pagoda

1915
02:41:09,076 --> 02:41:11,287
in order to win his family's freedom,

1916
02:41:11,412 --> 02:41:14,832
and in doing so depicting
the importance of adaptability

1917
02:41:14,957 --> 02:41:17,168
to Lee's Jeet Kune Do philosophy,

1918
02:41:17,293 --> 02:41:20,421
Clouse's script tells
a completely different story,

1919
02:41:20,546 --> 02:41:23,841
one almost certainly inspired
by some of the more inane rumours

1920
02:41:23,966 --> 02:41:27,303
that circulated around Lee in
the tabloid press following his death.

1921
02:41:27,428 --> 02:41:29,889
<i>He is an international superstar.</i>

1922
02:41:31,140 --> 02:41:33,642
<i>They call him a living legend.</i>

1923
02:41:33,767 --> 02:41:36,937
<i>But the woman he loves
belongs to the mob.</i>

1924
02:41:37,062 --> 02:41:39,982
<i>And now they're out to own him.</i>

1925
02:41:40,107 --> 02:41:41,942
Don't be a slow learner, Billy.

1926
02:41:42,067 --> 02:41:43,110
Billy!

1927
02:41:44,028 --> 02:41:47,198
<i>If they can't buy him,
they'll have to kill him.</i>

1928
02:41:47,323 --> 02:41:48,365
Billy!

1929
02:41:49,450 --> 02:41:50,910
You don't have too many choices.

1930
02:41:51,035 --> 02:41:52,786
A final warning.

1931
02:41:55,247 --> 02:41:59,251
<i>And so begins the</i> Game of Death.

1932
02:41:59,376 --> 02:42:03,047
In Clouse's film,
Lee's character is Billy Lo,

1933
02:42:03,172 --> 02:42:05,049
a famous action film star

1934
02:42:05,174 --> 02:42:07,718
who is pressured
by a vicious American syndicate

1935
02:42:07,843 --> 02:42:10,012
that subsequently attempt
to assassinate him

1936
02:42:10,137 --> 02:42:12,097
when he doesn't give in
to their demands.

1937
02:42:12,890 --> 02:42:15,809
Billy Lo survives, but fakes his death,

1938
02:42:15,935 --> 02:42:18,062
at which point Clouse
tastelessly reprises

1939
02:42:18,187 --> 02:42:21,106
the actual footage
of Lee's open-casket funeral

1940
02:42:21,232 --> 02:42:22,775
filmed by Golden Harvest,

1941
02:42:22,900 --> 02:42:26,570
complete with a jaw-dropping scene
in which his character's plot is exposed

1942
02:42:26,695 --> 02:42:28,656
when one of the mobsters
mutilates the face

1943
02:42:28,781 --> 02:42:31,575
of a wax facsimile of Lee's corpse.

1944
02:42:31,700 --> 02:42:33,202
And if that kind of bad taste

1945
02:42:33,327 --> 02:42:35,746
sounds like something you'd see
in a Brucesploitation film,

1946
02:42:35,871 --> 02:42:37,748
that's because it is.

1947
02:42:43,712 --> 02:42:45,005
Someone important died?

1948
02:42:45,130 --> 02:42:49,301
Oh, it's Bruce Lee,
kung fu star, at age 34.

1949
02:42:49,426 --> 02:42:51,220
His death is still the headlines here.

1950
02:42:53,639 --> 02:42:56,850
<i>Today, the funeral ceremony
for Bruce Lee, kung fu superstar.</i>

1951
02:42:56,976 --> 02:43:00,521
<i>Tens of thousands of people turn out
to pay homage to this brilliant young man</i>

1952
02:43:00,646 --> 02:43:03,399
<i>whose untimely death will be mourned
by a great many people.</i>

1953
02:43:03,524 --> 02:43:06,193
<i>In the funeral procession were
leading names in the movie business</i>

1954
02:43:06,318 --> 02:43:09,697
<i>and, of course, thousands
of Bruce Lee's loyal fans.</i>

1955
02:43:12,533 --> 02:43:17,413
<i>The mourners, many
who kept the long vigil through the night,</i>

1956
02:43:17,955 --> 02:43:20,916
<i>now file in to pay their final tribute.</i>

1957
02:43:22,376 --> 02:43:25,587
<i>Family, friends and admirers,</i>

1958
02:43:26,297 --> 02:43:31,135
<i>some from distant lands,
Rome, Tokyo, London,</i>

1959
02:43:31,969 --> 02:43:34,847
<i>all shocked by this sudden tragedy.</i>

1960
02:43:36,307 --> 02:43:38,851
<i>Bruce Lee's love for the martial arts</i>

1961
02:43:39,435 --> 02:43:43,564
<i>was perhaps only surpassed
by his love of friends.</i>

1962
02:43:43,689 --> 02:43:47,443
<i>As the "Dragon", it was said
he was feared by many</i>

1963
02:43:47,568 --> 02:43:49,778
<i>but loved by all.</i>

1964
02:43:50,738 --> 02:43:52,614
Out of the two hours of footage,

1965
02:43:52,740 --> 02:43:56,243
Clouse has been able to edit together
barely 11 minutes of material

1966
02:43:56,368 --> 02:43:59,913
featuring Bruce Lee,
which, even then, is liberally intercut

1967
02:44:00,039 --> 02:44:02,666
with newly filmed inserts
featuring lookalikes

1968
02:44:02,791 --> 02:44:05,461
as well as recycled footage
from his other films.

1969
02:44:05,586 --> 02:44:09,715
The fights with Dan Inosanto,
Ji Han-jae and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

1970
02:44:09,840 --> 02:44:12,217
all feature in the film,
but only fleetingly,

1971
02:44:12,343 --> 02:44:14,928
the setting changed
from a Korean pagoda

1972
02:44:15,054 --> 02:44:17,222
to a Chinese restaurant.

1973
02:44:17,348 --> 02:44:22,519
Of Lee's original cast, only Dan Inosanto
returns to film new scenes,

1974
02:44:22,644 --> 02:44:26,231
the other actors either unable
or unwilling to participate,

1975
02:44:27,441 --> 02:44:31,737
replaced by body doubles
or their characters cut out altogether.

1976
02:44:34,823 --> 02:44:38,994
To be generous to Clouse for a moment,
he had an impossible task in front of him,

1977
02:44:39,828 --> 02:44:42,831
and it is difficult to imagine anyone
who could have acquitted themselves

1978
02:44:42,956 --> 02:44:45,876
with the task of fashioning
a coherent feature film

1979
02:44:46,001 --> 02:44:48,670
out of the disparate odds and ends
that were available.

1980
02:44:49,380 --> 02:44:53,133
Indeed, Bruce Lee himself
had yet to decide the specifics

1981
02:44:53,258 --> 02:44:56,804
of much of the connecting tissue that
would have held these strands together

1982
02:44:56,929 --> 02:44:59,223
even up to the day he died.

1983
02:44:59,348 --> 02:45:02,101
But it is difficult to imagine
a more thorough vandalism

1984
02:45:02,226 --> 02:45:06,021
of Bruce's original intent,
or a more committed misunderstanding

1985
02:45:06,146 --> 02:45:09,441
of the philosophical underpinnings
he imbued his work with

1986
02:45:09,566 --> 02:45:13,070
than that which Clouse
achieved in 1978.

1987
02:45:15,364 --> 02:45:16,824
In the years that followed,

1988
02:45:16,949 --> 02:45:20,494
rumours of a curse surrounding
the production grew in prominence,

1989
02:45:20,619 --> 02:45:24,289
with superstitious Chinese tabloids
blaming, among other things,

1990
02:45:24,415 --> 02:45:26,375
the title of the project itself,

1991
02:45:26,500 --> 02:45:28,794
blaming Lee's careless use
of the word "death"

1992
02:45:28,919 --> 02:45:31,964
for all the ills that befell him and it.

1993
02:45:32,089 --> 02:45:34,007
Like all films purported to be cursed,

1994
02:45:34,133 --> 02:45:38,846
<i>The Game of Death</i> is, of course,
only the victim of tragic coincidences,

1995
02:45:38,971 --> 02:45:41,682
but those coincidences
did not stop with Lee's death,

1996
02:45:41,807 --> 02:45:45,102
and indeed became more troubling
as time passed.

1997
02:45:48,439 --> 02:45:53,152
On November 16th, 1977,
Chieh Yuan suddenly died.

1998
02:45:53,861 --> 02:45:55,362
Just like Bruce,

1999
02:45:55,487 --> 02:45:58,949
the coroner diagnosed his cause
of death as a cerebral edema.

2000
02:45:59,741 --> 02:46:05,622
He died just 32 years and eight months,
the same age as Bruce when he died.

2001
02:46:07,708 --> 02:46:10,627
While filming Robert Clouse's
<i>Game of Death</i> the same year,

2002
02:46:10,752 --> 02:46:12,963
Academy Award-winning actor
Gig Young

2003
02:46:13,088 --> 02:46:16,592
fell in love with the film's
young script supervisor, Kim Schmidt.

2004
02:46:17,676 --> 02:46:22,139
A year later, in September, 1978,
they married in Manhattan,

2005
02:46:22,890 --> 02:46:24,641
and only three weeks later,

2006
02:46:24,766 --> 02:46:27,352
Young shot and killed Schmidt
in their apartment

2007
02:46:27,478 --> 02:46:29,563
before turning the gun on himself.

2008
02:46:30,189 --> 02:46:32,483
<i>Game of Death</i> was his last film.

2009
02:46:34,526 --> 02:46:35,986
Fifteen years later,

2010
02:46:36,111 --> 02:46:39,781
Bruce's son Brandon was tragically
killed on the set of <i>The Crow</i>

2011
02:46:39,907 --> 02:46:43,202
in an accident involving
improperly loaded blank rounds.

2012
02:46:44,161 --> 02:46:46,205
Some were quick to note
the eerie similarity

2013
02:46:46,330 --> 02:46:48,290
to a scene in Clouse's <i>Game of Death,</i>

2014
02:46:48,415 --> 02:46:51,376
where Bruce Lee's character is shot
on the set of his latest film.

2015
02:46:53,795 --> 02:46:55,797
Regardless of what anyone believed,

2016
02:46:55,923 --> 02:47:00,552
there was no denying <i>The Game of Death</i>
was already a film shrouded in notoriety,

2017
02:47:00,677 --> 02:47:05,307
unfinished, unlucky, unseen.

2018
02:47:19,821 --> 02:47:21,490
For whatever sins we can accuse

2019
02:47:21,615 --> 02:47:23,492
Robert Clouse's <i>Game of Death</i> of,

2020
02:47:23,617 --> 02:47:28,372
its success was pivotal in keeping the
spectre of Lee's original project alive,

2021
02:47:28,497 --> 02:47:30,832
and one could argue that
the most enduring image of Bruce

2022
02:47:30,958 --> 02:47:34,711
to audiences today is him
in the yellow and black jumpsuit.

2023
02:47:36,004 --> 02:47:38,757
Filmmakers who have paid tribute
to <i>Game of Death</i> over the years

2024
02:47:38,882 --> 02:47:42,052
range from Stephen Chow
to Quentin Tarantino,

2025
02:47:42,177 --> 02:47:43,679
and its influence was keenly felt

2026
02:47:43,804 --> 02:47:46,598
on the next generation
of kung fu superstars as well,

2027
02:47:46,723 --> 02:47:50,060
some of whom directly
paid homage to it in their films.

2028
02:48:04,533 --> 02:48:06,368
It's often been argued
that <i>The Game of Death</i>

2029
02:48:06,493 --> 02:48:10,289
had the greatest impact not on cinema,
but on video games.

2030
02:48:10,414 --> 02:48:14,876
Lee's original multi-level concept
and escalating series of antagonists

2031
02:48:15,002 --> 02:48:18,297
evoked in many early
eight-bit electronic favourites.

2032
02:48:19,506 --> 02:48:21,383
One can't help but wonder, though,

2033
02:48:21,508 --> 02:48:24,011
what impact Lee's <i>Game of Death</i>
might have had

2034
02:48:24,136 --> 02:48:26,263
if it had ever been finished.

2035
02:48:26,388 --> 02:48:29,933
As a new millennium approached,
there were finally signs of hope.

2036
02:48:30,642 --> 02:48:32,227
After gathering dust in the vaults

2037
02:48:32,352 --> 02:48:34,438
following the sale
of Golden Harvest's assets

2038
02:48:34,563 --> 02:48:36,898
to Media Asia in 1993,

2039
02:48:37,024 --> 02:48:41,278
nine of the eleven reels of footage
are uncovered in 1998.

2040
02:48:41,403 --> 02:48:45,073
Almost simultaneously,
Lee's original notes for the project,

2041
02:48:45,198 --> 02:48:50,078
including dialogue and a shot list for
almost all of the footage shot in 1972,

2042
02:48:50,203 --> 02:48:52,623
are discovered by biographer John Little

2043
02:48:52,748 --> 02:48:56,168
in a storage unit in Seattle
belonging to Bruce's family.

2044
02:48:56,293 --> 02:48:59,963
At last, not only is most
of the footage rediscovered,

2045
02:49:00,088 --> 02:49:03,508
but a written guide exists
on how to make some sense of it.

2046
02:49:04,176 --> 02:49:07,638
In the year 2000,
two documentaries are released,

2047
02:49:07,763 --> 02:49:09,389
each containing different attempts

2048
02:49:09,514 --> 02:49:13,226
at reassembling and reclaiming
Lee's original vision

2049
02:49:13,352 --> 02:49:15,437
for <i>The Game of Death.</i>

2050
02:49:15,562 --> 02:49:20,108
Now, two decades later,
the other two reels have been found,

2051
02:49:20,233 --> 02:49:23,111
including the fight between
Chieh Yuan and Dan Inosanto

2052
02:49:23,236 --> 02:49:25,280
thought lost for 50 years,

2053
02:49:25,405 --> 02:49:28,909
and with it a new opportunity
to assemble the footage

2054
02:49:29,034 --> 02:49:31,703
into something resembling
its creators intentions.

2055
02:49:32,412 --> 02:49:35,415
It would be dishonest to call
any presentation of this footage

2056
02:49:35,540 --> 02:49:39,002
an accurate representation
of Lee's wishes for <i>The Game of Death.</i>

2057
02:49:39,127 --> 02:49:42,547
We can never know what shape the project
would have taken had he not died,

2058
02:49:42,673 --> 02:49:46,218
or even how much of the film's material
he would have used at all.

2059
02:49:46,343 --> 02:49:49,221
Too many pieces of the puzzle
are forever missing.

2060
02:49:49,846 --> 02:49:53,517
However, we now have the raw materials
to present something else,

2061
02:49:53,642 --> 02:49:57,020
a short film, finished in the style
of Lee's other films,

2062
02:49:57,145 --> 02:50:00,232
presented as if he had completed it
sometime in the hiatus

2063
02:50:00,357 --> 02:50:03,360
between <i>The Way of the Dragon</i>
and <i>Enter the Dragon.</i>

2064
02:50:03,485 --> 02:50:07,197
Using music and sound effects
from the Golden Harvest archives

2065
02:50:07,322 --> 02:50:09,116
and a newly recorded voice track,

2066
02:50:09,241 --> 02:50:11,910
sound exists where
there was none before.

2067
02:50:12,035 --> 02:50:15,580
The illusion of a freshly
uncovered film from 1972

2068
02:50:15,706 --> 02:50:18,792
is completed with the help
of newly animated opening credits

2069
02:50:18,917 --> 02:50:21,294
in the style of other films
from the period,

2070
02:50:21,420 --> 02:50:23,505
as well as some newly filmed material

2071
02:50:23,630 --> 02:50:27,759
incorporated into a prologue
intended to clarify the plot.

2072
02:50:27,884 --> 02:50:31,054
What you are about to see is not
Bruce Lee's <i>The Game of Death.</i>

2073
02:50:31,763 --> 02:50:34,266
That film is lost forever.

2074
02:50:34,391 --> 02:50:37,519
Instead, it is an attempt
at harnessing the creativity

2075
02:50:37,644 --> 02:50:42,274
that fuelled him in the fall of 1972
into a completed form,

2076
02:50:42,399 --> 02:50:46,486
something that might stand alongside
the four films that made him a legend.

2077
02:50:47,154 --> 02:50:50,490
Other pieces of the puzzle may reveal
themselves in the years to come.

2078
02:50:51,199 --> 02:50:56,371
But for now,
this is the final <i>Game of Death.</i>

2079
02:51:54,930 --> 02:51:57,516
Welcome to Korea, Hai Tien.

2080
02:51:58,642 --> 02:52:00,310
Now, listen up.

2081
02:52:00,435 --> 02:52:02,938
You may not be
a champion fighter anymore,

2082
02:52:03,063 --> 02:52:05,357
but I don't care
if you put that behind you.

2083
02:52:05,899 --> 02:52:08,193
As long as we have your family,

2084
02:52:08,318 --> 02:52:12,113
you're playing my game
and following my rules.

2085
02:52:12,781 --> 02:52:18,078
You win the game,
you, your sister and your brother go free.

2086
02:52:18,620 --> 02:52:21,081
You lose, you die.

2087
02:52:21,206 --> 02:52:22,958
So, listen carefully.

2088
02:52:23,083 --> 02:52:26,169
Tomorrow morning,
you drive out to a hidden compound

2089
02:52:26,294 --> 02:52:28,922
surrounded by 50 miles of forest
in every direction.

2090
02:52:29,756 --> 02:52:33,343
And in the middle of this compound
is an ancient pagoda,

2091
02:52:33,468 --> 02:52:35,470
five floors high.

2092
02:52:35,595 --> 02:52:40,016
On the top floor of this temple
is something I want very badly.

2093
02:52:40,141 --> 02:52:42,561
And you're going to get it for me.

2094
02:52:42,686 --> 02:52:44,896
You don't need to know what it is.

2095
02:52:45,021 --> 02:52:49,067
Just know that if you don't get it,
you lose the game.

2096
02:52:49,192 --> 02:52:52,362
Sound easy enough so far?
Think again.

2097
02:52:53,697 --> 02:52:55,907
Getting into the compound is one thing.

2098
02:52:56,032 --> 02:52:58,702
Getting into the pagoda is another.

2099
02:52:58,827 --> 02:53:04,499
I've sent ten men in there before,
and none of them ever made it out alive.

2100
02:53:04,624 --> 02:53:08,295
We don't know much,
but here's what our spies have told us.

2101
02:53:09,087 --> 02:53:10,630
Once you get to the pagoda,

2102
02:53:10,755 --> 02:53:13,884
you'll have to fight your way
through the deadliest karate fighters

2103
02:53:14,009 --> 02:53:16,261
this part of the world has ever produced.

2104
02:53:16,386 --> 02:53:18,597
Most guys never get inside.

2105
02:53:18,722 --> 02:53:21,057
But I think you'll make
short work of them.

2106
02:53:21,683 --> 02:53:25,896
Once you're inside the temple,
that's where this game really gets going.

2107
02:53:26,563 --> 02:53:28,857
Each floor is guarded by a fighter

2108
02:53:28,982 --> 02:53:31,860
trained in the deadliest skills
known to man.

2109
02:53:31,985 --> 02:53:33,820
And when they're not in training,

2110
02:53:33,945 --> 02:53:37,991
their sole purpose in life is to guard
whatever's at the top of that temple,

2111
02:53:38,116 --> 02:53:41,161
even if it means fighting to the death.

2112
02:53:41,286 --> 02:53:45,373
The fighter on the first floor is said
to be the world's greatest kickboxer.

2113
02:53:45,498 --> 02:53:48,919
His feet are mightier
and faster than your fists,

2114
02:53:49,044 --> 02:53:50,712
so watch out.

2115
02:53:54,716 --> 02:53:58,762
Once you get past him,
you reach the Hall of the Tiger.

2116
02:53:58,887 --> 02:54:00,722
The man who guards that floor

2117
02:54:00,847 --> 02:54:03,308
is an eskrima grandmaster
from the Philippines.

2118
02:54:03,433 --> 02:54:07,479
He won't need to kick you.
His sticks will do the job for him.

2119
02:54:26,331 --> 02:54:29,167
If, by some miracle,
you survive him,

2120
02:54:29,292 --> 02:54:32,003
you'll reach the Hall of the Dragon,

2121
02:54:32,128 --> 02:54:34,631
where you'll face
the greatest hapkido master

2122
02:54:34,756 --> 02:54:36,800
this country's ever seen.

2123
02:54:52,649 --> 02:54:55,443
Should you succeed in making it
to the floor above that...

2124
02:54:56,111 --> 02:55:00,615
Well, they don't call it
the Hall of the Unknown for nothing.

2125
02:55:00,740 --> 02:55:05,453
No one knows who,
or what, is waiting for you up there.

2126
02:55:06,371 --> 02:55:09,499
Like any good gambler,
I like to hedge my bets,

2127
02:55:09,624 --> 02:55:11,584
so you won't be on your own.

2128
02:55:12,168 --> 02:55:15,338
Four of my men
will be heading out with you.

2129
02:55:15,463 --> 02:55:18,258
Two to wait outside
and guard the pagoda,

2130
02:55:18,383 --> 02:55:20,510
the other two to finish the job

2131
02:55:20,635 --> 02:55:24,848
if it turns out you're not
the champion they all say you are.

2132
02:55:24,973 --> 02:55:28,309
Now, I've got a good feeling
you'll do what it takes to win this

2133
02:55:28,435 --> 02:55:30,270
and keep your family safe.

2134
02:55:30,395 --> 02:55:33,106
But I have to incentivise my people, too.

2135
02:55:33,231 --> 02:55:35,191
Which is why I've already told them

2136
02:55:35,316 --> 02:55:39,696
that whoever gets to the top first
wins fifty grand in cash

2137
02:55:39,821 --> 02:55:42,949
and a seat at the table for life.

2138
02:55:43,074 --> 02:55:45,952
They win, you lose.

2139
02:55:46,077 --> 02:55:49,122
Just in case you thought
about sitting this one out

2140
02:55:49,247 --> 02:55:50,957
or trying to escape.

2141
02:55:51,666 --> 02:55:53,543
Those are the rules of the game.

2142
02:55:54,461 --> 02:55:57,505
You play to win, or you die.

2143
02:55:57,630 --> 02:55:59,049
Your choice.

2144
02:55:59,841 --> 02:56:01,092
Begin!

2145
02:57:27,762 --> 02:57:29,139
Huh?

2146
02:57:37,313 --> 02:57:38,606
Huh?

2147
02:57:45,113 --> 02:57:48,616
Those red sticks look pretty cute.

2148
02:57:48,741 --> 02:57:52,370
But still, size always wins out.

2149
02:57:53,204 --> 02:57:54,622
Show him.

2150
02:58:46,799 --> 02:58:47,842
Huh?

2151
02:58:49,177 --> 02:58:51,596
Two little sticks. Ha!

2152
02:59:01,064 --> 02:59:03,274
Don't let him psyche you out.

2153
03:02:22,765 --> 03:02:24,809
Do you speak English?

2154
03:02:26,853 --> 03:02:28,938
Of course I speak English.

2155
03:02:33,693 --> 03:02:37,238
I hope you don't mind us
moving our man,

2156
03:02:37,363 --> 03:02:40,491
so that the two of us
have more room to groove.

2157
03:02:44,829 --> 03:02:51,836
But have your men stay as far away
from that stairway as possible.

2158
03:03:06,434 --> 03:03:08,060
Hey, wake up.

2159
03:03:58,653 --> 03:04:00,404
You know, baby.

2160
03:04:02,073 --> 03:04:04,325
This bamboo is longer,

2161
03:04:06,160 --> 03:04:10,540
more flexible and very much alive.

2162
03:04:11,874 --> 03:04:15,211
And when your flashy routine
cannot keep up with the speed

2163
03:04:15,336 --> 03:04:18,297
and elusiveness of this thing here,

2164
03:04:18,422 --> 03:04:22,677
all I can say is that
you'll be in deep trouble.

2165
03:04:26,931 --> 03:04:29,392
That we will have to find out.

2166
03:05:09,348 --> 03:05:10,933
I'm telling you,

2167
03:05:11,058 --> 03:05:14,895
it's difficult to have
a rehearsed routine to fit in with...

2168
03:05:16,355 --> 03:05:18,190
broken rhythm.

2169
03:05:28,951 --> 03:05:30,453
You see?

2170
03:05:30,578 --> 03:05:35,124
A rehearsed routine lacks
the flexibility to adapt.

2171
03:05:53,100 --> 03:05:55,144
It's a challenge, isn't it?

2172
03:05:56,062 --> 03:05:59,315
When bamboo strikes, it's hard.

2173
03:06:26,676 --> 03:06:28,052
Hmm?

2174
03:06:52,952 --> 03:06:54,578
Surprised?

2175
03:08:53,739 --> 03:08:55,449
How do you like that--

2176
03:09:02,122 --> 03:09:04,250
How do <i>you</i> like that?

2177
03:09:04,375 --> 03:09:05,918
Uh-uh.

2178
03:11:40,739 --> 03:11:42,449
Hmm.

2179
03:12:46,513 --> 03:12:51,477
In this red light, the floor before you
becomes an arena of war.

2180
03:12:51,602 --> 03:12:53,729
If you value your lives,

2181
03:12:53,854 --> 03:12:56,398
go down those stairs
and leave this place.

2182
03:12:56,523 --> 03:12:59,109
If you step forward,
you must leave your weapons

2183
03:12:59,234 --> 03:13:01,445
and take your lives into your own hands.

2184
03:13:02,446 --> 03:13:03,864
Hmm.

2185
03:13:03,989 --> 03:13:05,407
Hmm?

2186
03:13:22,508 --> 03:13:24,301
Again.

2187
03:17:13,488 --> 03:17:14,906
My friend,

2188
03:17:15,032 --> 03:17:18,827
now's our chance to get up those stairs
while they're still distracted.

2189
03:17:19,786 --> 03:17:21,538
- Oh...
- You go first.

2190
03:17:22,622 --> 03:17:24,333
Right. Thank you.

2191
03:17:28,545 --> 03:17:29,671
Wait, stop!

2192
03:17:30,213 --> 03:17:31,631
Watch me!

2193
03:19:47,184 --> 03:19:48,560
Huh?

2194
03:22:50,979 --> 03:22:52,661
Hai Tien...

2195
03:22:54,245 --> 03:22:55,664
Hai Tien...

2196
03:22:56,998 --> 03:22:58,333
Hai Tien!

2197
03:26:36,009 --> 03:26:40,138
His big advantage is that
he gives no thought to life or death,

2198
03:26:40,263 --> 03:26:44,142
and with no distracted thoughts,
he is therefore free to concentrate

2199
03:26:44,267 --> 03:26:47,186
on fighting against the attack
from the outside.

2200
03:27:04,579 --> 03:27:07,832
Little one, you must have given up
on hope of living.

2201
03:27:12,337 --> 03:27:16,674
On the contrary,
I do not let the word "death" bother me.

2202
03:27:20,219 --> 03:27:21,846
Same here, baby.

2203
03:27:23,389 --> 03:27:25,516
Then what are you waiting for?

2204
03:29:07,577 --> 03:29:09,162
With his great size,

2205
03:29:09,287 --> 03:29:13,583
he is going to find it difficult to keep
getting up each time I knock him down.

2206
03:29:32,477 --> 03:29:36,064
Look at him.
Give him the fatigue bombing.

2207
03:31:43,524 --> 03:31:45,860
I'm so tired.

2208
03:31:45,985 --> 03:31:47,862
No. No, Hai Tien.

2209
03:31:49,447 --> 03:31:51,949
He must be much more tired than you.

2210
03:31:53,492 --> 03:31:55,703
Calm down your soul.

2211
03:31:59,624 --> 03:32:02,084
This tough son of a gun
is wearing me out.

2212
03:33:40,725 --> 03:33:42,143
Why continue?

2213
03:33:43,019 --> 03:33:44,895
Just let me pass.

2214
03:33:47,023 --> 03:33:48,649
You have forgotten

2215
03:33:48,774 --> 03:33:52,945
that I too am not bothered
by the word "death".

2216
03:35:32,711 --> 03:35:36,298
Come on!

2217
03:35:39,093 --> 03:35:41,178
Who is that up there?

2218
03:35:43,514 --> 03:35:45,349
Hai Tien!

2219
03:35:46,058 --> 03:35:49,061
Hai Tien?
Well, get down here right now!

2220
03:36:40,321 --> 03:36:42,781
Help me!

2221
03:37:25,282 --> 03:37:27,993
So much of the conversation
around <i>The Game of Death</i>

2222
03:37:28,118 --> 03:37:32,456
revolves around what it was supposed
to be, or what it could have been.

2223
03:37:32,581 --> 03:37:37,419
So let's take a step back and
ask a simpler question: what is it now?

2224
03:37:37,545 --> 03:37:40,130
What are we left with?

2225
03:37:40,256 --> 03:37:44,969
Stripping away any interpretations
or feelings the project may inspire,

2226
03:37:45,094 --> 03:37:49,932
the inescapable truth is that all we have
is a series of disparate pieces,

2227
03:37:50,057 --> 03:37:55,271
fragments of a vision forever unrealised,
too many puzzle pieces missing.

2228
03:37:55,896 --> 03:37:59,817
We have two hours
of filmed material with no sound

2229
03:37:59,942 --> 03:38:03,195
and no indication
of how much, if any of it,

2230
03:38:03,320 --> 03:38:05,614
might have made it
into the finished film.

2231
03:38:05,739 --> 03:38:08,784
Instead, there is a void
where additional scenes,

2232
03:38:08,909 --> 03:38:11,954
editing and sound design should go,

2233
03:38:12,079 --> 03:38:14,456
a void that allows
each individual to project

2234
03:38:14,582 --> 03:38:16,458
the <i>Game of Death</i> that they want,

2235
03:38:16,584 --> 03:38:20,254
the Bruce Lee that they want,
onto what is left.

2236
03:38:20,379 --> 03:38:22,381
Is it his lost masterpiece?

2237
03:38:22,506 --> 03:38:24,675
The pinnacle of his achievements
thus far?

2238
03:38:25,342 --> 03:38:27,886
One could argue
that it cannot qualify.

2239
03:38:28,012 --> 03:38:30,514
Masterpieces have to be finished first.

2240
03:38:30,639 --> 03:38:33,809
Whatever lofty ambitions
Bruce may have had for the project,

2241
03:38:33,934 --> 03:38:37,730
and whatever virtues are evident
in the material available to us,

2242
03:38:37,855 --> 03:38:42,192
ultimately we will always be left
with more questions than answers.

2243
03:38:42,318 --> 03:38:45,696
So, allowing for that void,
the unknowable truth

2244
03:38:45,821 --> 03:38:49,199
of how Bruce Lee might have completed
<i>The Game of Death,</i>

2245
03:38:49,325 --> 03:38:52,077
there is still so much to celebrate.

2246
03:38:52,202 --> 03:38:56,707
It is an incomplete project, yes,
but even in its rawest form

2247
03:38:56,832 --> 03:39:00,336
arguably shows more ambition
and offers more excitement

2248
03:39:00,461 --> 03:39:02,421
than many finished films.

2249
03:39:02,546 --> 03:39:06,300
It remains Lee's most straightforward
and earnest cinematic expression

2250
03:39:06,425 --> 03:39:07,968
of his personal ethos,

2251
03:39:08,093 --> 03:39:13,182
his next and sadly last
confident stride forward as a filmmaker.

2252
03:39:14,141 --> 03:39:16,101
Some may argue
that <i>Enter the Dragon,</i>

2253
03:39:16,226 --> 03:39:18,020
as his last completed film,

2254
03:39:18,145 --> 03:39:20,606
shows Bruce Lee
at the peak of his powers,

2255
03:39:20,731 --> 03:39:24,193
the pinnacle of his physical form
and fighting ability.

2256
03:39:24,318 --> 03:39:27,905
But if you believe the journey
is as important as the destination,

2257
03:39:28,030 --> 03:39:30,532
then, as evidenced
by the photos taken on set

2258
03:39:30,658 --> 03:39:32,618
and the glimpses seen between takes,

2259
03:39:32,743 --> 03:39:36,622
what survives of <i>The Game of Death</i>
may show something greater,

2260
03:39:36,747 --> 03:39:40,959
a man who has achieved great success
and is still reaching outward,

2261
03:39:41,085 --> 03:39:42,961
still hopeful for the future,

2262
03:39:43,087 --> 03:39:47,549
still expounding the boundaries of what
a man in his position might achieve.

2263
03:39:47,675 --> 03:39:49,259
To watch <i>The Game of Death</i>

2264
03:39:49,385 --> 03:39:53,722
is to see Bruce Lee
at his most assured, his most fulfilled

2265
03:39:53,847 --> 03:39:57,101
and, arguably, his most happy.