The True Game of Death
Encyclopedia
The True Game of Death is a very low budget 1981 Bruceploitation
film, starring a clone of Bruce Lee
credited as Bruce Lee Hsao Lung. The film borrows heavily from Golden Harvest
's 1979 Game of Death
. The song sung by the nightclub singer can also be heard in Bruce Lee: A Dragon Story
's funeral. The narrator then announces that there is a new actor "who looks quite like him" that will become Lee's successor. He is played by a man credited as "Bruce Lee Hsao Lung," and is introduced by a very, very long training montage.
The film proper begins with Hsao Lung filming a movie. On the set, he is approached by gangsters who want a piece of the Hsao Lung action. Hsao Lung doesn't bite, so they go after his girlfriend Alice, making her poison Hsao. During a lovemaking session, the poison takes action and Hsao dies.
Or does he? Actually, Hsao survives, and goes on a journey of vengeance that leads him to a tower of death not unlike the one seen in Bruce Lee
's Game of Death
. Along the way, there are a lot of stock clips of Bruce Lee
.
standards. Says 'Keith' of the website Bruceploitation:
Another dreadful review comes from John Wallis of DVDTalk.com, who awarded the film a rare zero stars out of five:
Bruceploitation
Bruceploitation is a cultural phenomenon mostly seen in the 1970s after the 1973 death of martial artist and actor Bruce Lee. Movie makers in mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan hired a great number of Bruce Lee look-alike actors to star in many cheap knock-off martial arts movies to cash in on...
film, starring a clone of Bruce Lee
Bruce Lee
Bruce Lee was a Chinese American, Hong Kong actor, martial arts instructor, philosopher, film director, film producer, screenwriter, and founder of the Jeet Kune Do martial arts movement...
credited as Bruce Lee Hsao Lung. The film borrows heavily from Golden Harvest
Golden Harvest
Golden Harvest is a film production, distribution, and exhibition company based in Hong Kong. It played a major role in becoming the first Chinese film company to successfully enter the western market for an extended period of time, especially with the films of Bruce Lee and Jackie Chan...
's 1979 Game of Death
Game of Death
The Game of Death is a 1972 film starring Bruce Lee. It was almost the last film Bruce Lee had planned to be the demonstration piece of his martial art Jeet Kune Do. Over 100 minutes of footage was shot before his death, some of which was later misplaced in the Golden Harvest archives...
. The song sung by the nightclub singer can also be heard in Bruce Lee: A Dragon Story
Bruce Lee: A Dragon Story
Bruce Lee: A Dragon Story is a heavily fictionalized biopic about martial arts actor Bruce Lee. The film centres on his supposed affair with actress Betty Ting-Pei...
Story
The film begins with lengthy footage of Bruce LeeBruce Lee
Bruce Lee was a Chinese American, Hong Kong actor, martial arts instructor, philosopher, film director, film producer, screenwriter, and founder of the Jeet Kune Do martial arts movement...
's funeral. The narrator then announces that there is a new actor "who looks quite like him" that will become Lee's successor. He is played by a man credited as "Bruce Lee Hsao Lung," and is introduced by a very, very long training montage.
The film proper begins with Hsao Lung filming a movie. On the set, he is approached by gangsters who want a piece of the Hsao Lung action. Hsao Lung doesn't bite, so they go after his girlfriend Alice, making her poison Hsao. During a lovemaking session, the poison takes action and Hsao dies.
Or does he? Actually, Hsao survives, and goes on a journey of vengeance that leads him to a tower of death not unlike the one seen in Bruce Lee
Bruce Lee
Bruce Lee was a Chinese American, Hong Kong actor, martial arts instructor, philosopher, film director, film producer, screenwriter, and founder of the Jeet Kune Do martial arts movement...
's Game of Death
Game of Death
The Game of Death is a 1972 film starring Bruce Lee. It was almost the last film Bruce Lee had planned to be the demonstration piece of his martial art Jeet Kune Do. Over 100 minutes of footage was shot before his death, some of which was later misplaced in the Golden Harvest archives...
. Along the way, there are a lot of stock clips of Bruce Lee
Bruce Lee
Bruce Lee was a Chinese American, Hong Kong actor, martial arts instructor, philosopher, film director, film producer, screenwriter, and founder of the Jeet Kune Do martial arts movement...
.
Reaction
Very few people have anything nice to say about this film, which is seen as a bottom-of-the-barrel item even by BruceploitationBruceploitation
Bruceploitation is a cultural phenomenon mostly seen in the 1970s after the 1973 death of martial artist and actor Bruce Lee. Movie makers in mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan hired a great number of Bruce Lee look-alike actors to star in many cheap knock-off martial arts movies to cash in on...
standards. Says 'Keith' of the website Bruceploitation:
"The running time for this movie is 83 and that's about 82 mintues too long. This movie is boorrriinnng... I wasted enough time watching the movie, I'm not gonna waste time writing about it."http://web.archive.org/web/20091028231635/http://www.geocities.com/many_bruces/
Another dreadful review comes from John Wallis of DVDTalk.com, who awarded the film a rare zero stars out of five:
"Not only is a bad film for its horrible story, and lack of any action worth noting, it tramples Bruce's name like no other, inserting stock footage of his press conferences, his funeral, newspapers reporting his death, and using Bruce film clips (under a horrible saturated, polarized color effect) as signs that the Bruce-clone daydreams and is inhabited by the spirit of the real Bruce.
Unless you are the most die-hard of Bruceploitation fans/completists, its really not worth a second of your life."http://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/read.php?ID=3421&___rd=1