Game of Death (1978) [Film Review]

Game of Death; or, A Movie Too Far
     Don’t you understand anything? Everybody looked at him, but there was no person to see anything!
I have heard a great deal of positive as well as negative opinions about the controversial Game of Death movie, the “final”, we could say, Bruce Lee’s movie. Although Bruce had shot a considerable amount of footage before he was approached with the offer of making Enter the Dragon, due to his untimely death in 1973, Game of Death remained an unfinished endeavour. However, producer Raymond Chow and director Robert Clouse joined forces in order to complete Bruce’s last movie and bring it to the big screen. However, their vision vastly differs from Lee’s original script… Please Jesus, give me strength on this one. Let’s take a look at Game of Death.

Release Info

Directed by: Robert Clouse Starring: Bruce Lee, Kim Tai Jong, Yuen Biao, Albert Sham, Gig Young

Language: English, Cantonese Original Title: 死亡遊戲 Runtime: 103 min

Synopsis
Billy Lo (Kim Tai Jong, Yuen Biao, Albert Sham) is a Hong Kong superstar, churning out such hits as Fists of Fury and The Way of the Dragon. He is stalked by a vicious syndicate which wants to organise some kind of an illegal martial arts tournament. Billy refuses to participate and, as a result, he is shot in the head by one of the henchmen on a film set. Miracuously, Billy survives and, with the help of a friend (Gig Young), fakes his own death and changes identity. However, the syndicate is now interested in Billy’s girlfriend, Ann Morris (Colleen Camp). Billy has to act fast and stop the gangsters.

For A Few Dollars More
Right from the start, you should get an idea that you are not in for a Bruce Lee flick. The intro sequence, albeit incredibly well-done for the 1970s, makes you feel as you are watching a James Bond movie. In addition, the presence of the legendary composer John Barry only reinforces this feeling whenever music cues kick in.

The task with which Raymond Chow and Robert Clouse had challenged themselves was not building a coherent story around Bruce Lee’s existing footage, but rather, how to make a Bruce Lee action film without having Bruce Lee in it. As a result, we get to see three stuntmen (voiced by an English actor) impersonating Bruce Lee… Had only the editing been more skillful, but it is not! You can see Bruce’s close-ups taken from his previous productions intercut with stuntmen in heavy make-up or cardboard cutouts…

To be honest, I can understand that back then the team behind Game of Death tried to make something which today Hollywood easily does with top-of-the-line technology (Paul Walker in Furious 7, Peter Cushing in Rogue One). The shortcomings of blending new footage with that of Bruce Lee’s are more than noticeable, yet they do not constitute the main disadvantage of the film.

In my opinion, the shoddy screenplay completely takes away the entertainment factor of this flick. We get a generic crime drama about the bad guys trying to kill the main protagonist, but the most disrespectful thing this storyline does is as follows: All Bruce Lee’s films exist in the universe of Game of Death. These are, quite rightfully, fiction… and Bruce Lee is fictional as well… Hence, this is not a film about Bruce Lee, but about a certain Billy Lo (supposedly played by Bruce Lee, which is not true) trying to act (and look) like Bruce Lee. Steven Moffat would not have been able to come up with a better cringefest, Robert Clouse!

Don’t even get me started on the dialogue! A 5-year-old could write more meaningful lines than “If we’re stopped, don’t do anything that will give them an excuse to hurt you!” or “Where’s the Doctor?!!!!!!” Also, the incorporation of the same battle cries into Billy Lo’s fight scenes is just so off the mark.

However, I have to give justice to Bruce Lee’s footage. When we finally get to see the pagoda showdown (which functions in the context of the film as confrontation in a restaurant), it feels like a breath of fresh air. Just these 10 minutes of Bruce Lee kicking ass with his maverick demeanour are definitely worth watching.

I think I should also mention the most controversial aspect of Game of Death. As mentioned in the synopsis, Billy Lo fakes his own death, and… lo and behold the movie features an actual shot (from the funeral) of dead Bruce Lee lying in an open coffin... Talk about a whole new level of graverobbing.

Recommendations
Without any doubt, Game of Death was made as a blatant cash-grab, riding on the wave of Bruceploitation trend of the late 1970s. My respect goes to Karim Abdul Jabaar who refused to take part in this abomination (he’s still credited though due to the pagoda footage). If you want to get the feel of how Bruce Lee’s Game of Death was supposed to look like, then grab the awesome documentary Bruce Lee: A Warrior’s Journey (2000) instead.Overall score: 3/10
Pagoda footage: 10/10

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Winter's Flower (1978) [Film Review]

Winter’s Flower; or, In Pursuit of Forgiveness

     Uncle, thank you very much for the violin. Mr. Minami brought it to me yesterday... I was so happy that I slept with it. It's raining here in Japan now. I'm writing this letter trying to imagine your face... I'm alone in this world, so your existence is so important. It's so hard to put it in words how important it is to me. Mr. Takeda told me that... you might come back to Japan. Is it true? If it's true, I'll be too excited that I won't be able to sleep.

Winter’s Flower is a 1978 Japanese production directed by the late Yasuo Furuhata and starring the late Ken Takakura. Though the film is one out of many collaborations between the director and the actor, it is not as popular nowadays as Dearest (2012) and Railroad Man (1999). Nevertheless, Winter’s Flower is an enchantingly beautiful melodrama that deserves to be discussed over 40 years after its release.

Release Info

Directed by: Yasuo Furuhata Starring: Ken Takakura, Kimiko Ikegami, Kin'ya Kitaôji, Kunie Tanaka

Language: Japanese Original Title: 冬の華 Runtime: 120 min

Synopsis
Hideji Kano (Ken Takakura) is a yakuza member who is released from prison after serving 15 years. In the past, he was forced to kill a friend for the betrayal of the gang. In consequence, he also orphaned the daughter of a friend, Yoko (Kimiko Ikegami). While exchanging letters with her, Hideji pretended to be an uncle, always trying to support Yoko and also dreaming that one day he will meet her in person. Unfortunately, Hideji is immediately thrown back into the yakuza world after his release. The gang is threatened by the rival yakuza from another district and Hideji is asked to help the boss. The more he thinks about Yoko, the more he can’t bring himself to meet with her.

The Power of Tchaikovsky

The most striking aspect of Winter’s Flower are absolutely magnificent visuals. Skilled cinematography and wonderful locations of Yokohama provide a time capsule of Japan at the start of the bubble era in the late 1970s. The sequences of Ken Takakura wandering the streets (with a low-key music score by Claude Ciari) are just pure aesthetics.

With regard to the screenplay, the story itself is quite engaging. The atmosphere of mystique and chivalric values of the yakuza in a way reminded me of the immortal The Godfather (1972). At times, the exposition dialogue may be a bit challenging (who is who and how he stands in the hierarchy), but the ethereal sense of sadness and melancholy (Hideji’s contemplations in a café that plays Tchaikovsky) compensates for these shortcomings.

Winter’s Flower is not so much a crime drama, but a tale about the inevitable passage of time. There’s no place in the new world for traditional yakuza, and; additionally, Hideji himself realises that he has nobody close to him (his only aim is to ensure Yoko’s prosperity).

Speaking about performances, Ken Takakura is simply amazing! He was such a versatile and mesmerising actor. Indeed, he belongs to the pantheon of classic Japanese stars together with Toshiro Mifune and Tatsuya Nakadai. I also like the performance of young Kimiko Ikegami who is probably best known for her appearances in Nobuhiko Obayashi’s Hausu (1977) and Hideo Gosha’s Geisha (1983). In addition, the great Isao Natsuyagi and Kunie Tanaka appear in supporting parts as Hideji’s colleagues.

Recommendations
I recommend Winter’s Flower to anyone who searches for a quiet, enchanting, and compelling drama for a calm evening. It is literally a crime that this film is so rare and unknown even today. Try to grab a Blu-ray version in order to fully enjoy the magnificent panoramas of Yokohama. They don’t make such classics like they used to.
Overall score: 9/10