Last year, fans of the little dragon were delighted with the magnificent 4K UHD/Blu-ray box set released by ARROW covering Bruce Lee´s iconic films for Golden Harvest. However, one of the highlights of the boxset was undoubtedly the documentary, “The Final Game of Death”, a 223-minute documentary that speculates on what Bruce Lee‘s vision on his unfinished project, “The Game of Death”, could have been. Summoning all two hours of footage left that was stored in the archives of Golden Harvest, including never seen before footage, as countless of outtakes, outdoors filming or the log fight scene, following the trend that previous documentaries as “A warrior’s journey” or the Japanese “G.O.D” already did years ago, but this time, having the footage restored in top quality, also assembling a new montage including a newly filmed credits scene and introduction that reimaginates what it could have been.
The documentary drags the viewer into those days of shooting, making you feel like if you were present on the set, witnessing the realization of this cursed project. Judging by the footage that Bruce left behind, is hard not to think that “The Game of Death” it could have been his artistic peak. His sudden death at the age of 32, deprived us of ever knowing what was hidden behind his vision of his Game of Death. Some years after his death, the producers dusted off those trunks of footage to continue cashing on his image, giving us a “Game of Death” that nothing had to do with Bruce intended, and we have had to wait for some decades until we could have something a closer approach of what Lee was intending to express.
What it could have been? The only disheartening answer is that we will never know. We can only imagine and speculate, but this documentary directed by James Flower, gives the audience an insight look of an artist on his prime with a vision that he could only explain. A fascinating documentary that leaves the viewer with the bittersweet feeling of the uncertainity of a “What if…” But on the other hand, is also the celebration of a legacy that for over fifty years has been insipiring people around the world to improve and become the better version of oneself. Definitely, this “The Final Game of Death” is a treat for Bruce Lee´s fans.
