Originally posted 11-17-2014 concerning the Blu-ray releases scroll down further.
2-4-2015
I received the Blu-ray today and I've had time to review the movie.
I wanted to add photos that I've scanned but Amazon is broken and won't allow you to add photos after a review has been posted which includes reediting the post.
Special Features:
All the Special Features are in Standard Definition and not in High Definition. If you own the DVD version it is the same special features. Nothing was upgraded to HD in the Special Features and there are NO NEW Special Features nor new commentaries on the Blu-ray version which I was surprised as adding the commentaries from both the actors or the Lee family would had been a nice touch.
DVD to Blu-ray changes I've noticed.
The slip cover that has the passionate french kiss faintly in the background found on the DVD, Laserdisc, and VHS versions of the film has been removed on the Blu-ray version. Why, I cannot figure the reason as this movie focuses on their love and racism was a huge part of the story he faced throughout his life so I am surprised the slipcover of the Blu-ray version was modified in this manner.
[Audio and video changes from DVD to Blu-ray]
The audio upgrade from Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround to DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 was the biggest upgrade aside from 480P SD to 1080P HD picture upgrade.
I'm adding more about my review of this movie.
1-4-2015
[Bruce Lee]
For people who have this idolization of Bruce Lee being invincible, godlike, and untouchable then they would be disappointed in this movie in that regard.
But ultimately the movie was a Hollywoodized form of his actual life that was based on the book "Bruce Lee, the Man Only I Knew" written by his then wife Linda Lee Cadwell.
This might be a spoiler alert for those who have not seen the movie yet so discontinue reading past this line.
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[FACT OR HOLLYWOODIZATION?]
An arch nemesis that did not want him teaching martial arts to non Asians was not responsible for Bruce Lee having his back kicked in causing him to be disabled and have back problems the rest of his remaining life. It was a good morning exercise he performed that damaged his back from an improper warmup.
The fight scene on the set of the Big Boss didn't really happen.
The fight scene in the 1964 Long Beach International Karate Championships did not take place.
The fight scene with the sailors harassing a female dancer doing the Cha-Cha-Cha did not take place.
The fight scene with being chased by chefs with butcher knives did not take place.
The imaginary fight scenes with the demon did not take place.
The only thing that was real in my opinion is the romance that took place between Linda Emery and Bruce Lee.
The movie tries to focus on Bruce Lee, the vulnerable man, not this god like image most people think of him.
I think the scene where he is constantly a perfectionist and editing his films and not being around his family did take his toll on his relationship with Linda and his kids.
Bruce Lee was not a perfect man but strived for perfection in order to create a role model or hero that was unheard of for Chinese and other other Asians which didn't have one at that time.
You can hate the story, the movie, but if you're just looking for the real deal and the epitome of Bruce Lee essence I believe "Way of the Dragon" or aka "Return of the Dragon" was his best film before his death. There are some cut scenes that showed his comedic side. One scene that was cut was the attractive Italian girl he was flirting with and winking at and ended up going with her to the apartment. She goes into the bathroom to freshen up and when she emerged out of the bathroom naked to Bruce Lee's character Tang Lung's surprise he didn't realize his friendly gestures were interpreted as a sexual invitation. However personally I would have liked to have seen this scene go the other way and not have him run away from her. In the regular theatrical cut he bumps into the coworker asking where he's been all this time and Tang Lung innocently smirks leading the audience to believe something did happen. :)
The reintroduction of the amazing nunchaku and the use of handmake stunning darts.
The gladiator style fight scene to the death with Chuck Norris.
If your family of martial artists want the real deal this is the movie they need to watch if they haven't.
"Game of Death" in my opinion had one of the best sounding introduction themes of any of his movies. Composed by John Barry Prendergast who also wrote did 11 of the James Bond soundtracks. Had Bruce Lee not died and completed this film this may have surpassed "Way of the Dragon" in terms of having his stamp of excellence. The Pagoda scenes might have been legendary and referenced as part of the English lexicon.
[The essence of Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story]
What you should take away from this film is first it is an interracial romance love story and second an action film. If you're looking for anything more you're barking up the wrong tree. It is the Hollywoodized version of his life story. Had it been based on actual reality alone it might have made a boring movie seeing Bruce Lee run after a guy and getting winded down a street alley hunched over and then spending minutes trying to take the guy down instead of what we see in this movie with flashy one stroke knock out spectacular fight sequences.
A true fan of Bruce Lee would be one interested in the man's life and learning what shaped him to become the man we now remember today that has become an inspiration for many.
[BLU-RAY]
Despite its inherent flaws and being partially based on Bruce Lee's actual life with Hollywood spicing it up to make it more dramatic and interesting, this is still a must see action and romance movie that for awhile seemed like it would never be released on DVD which is finally coming to Blu-ray.
For audiophiles, aside from Randy Edelman's famous Dragon movie theme song which I've heard reused in other movies and trailers ("The Truman Show"), the end credits also contains a small section with a moment of invigorating brilliance and deserves an uncompressed high fidelity transfer to tame the senses.
After originally seeing this in the movie theater I was energized. Little kids were doing their own mimicking of Bruce Lee outside after the movie had ended. This is something I've never experienced before but only heard about in Bruce Lee documentaries concerning first hand accounts of people watching his films. Not long after I bought an old previously viewed Blockbuster VHS tape of the movie. I've literally watched this obsessively close to a hundred times at one point. During a sequence that involved Bruce Lee played by Jason Scott Lee in a shoot of "The Big Boss" Johnny Sun's younger taller and more muscularly developed younger brother Luke Sun hops out of a van seeking revenge for Bruce Lee pulverizing his older brother. During the conclusion of the intense fight sequence Bruce Lee leaps up into the air and lands onto Luke Sun's chest and you hear bones cracking while Bruce Lee has an emotional facial moment that even Joan Rivers would envy before having plastic surgery. On my VHS tape white distortion lines would show up during this leaping and landing sequence which made it even more intense to watch. When I first saw the DVD in Virgin Megastore even though it was overly priced around $30 at the time I had to grab it. Years later I would see these for a bargain price of $8. Eventually, I was able to get this on Laser Disc with its larger beautiful cover. It has been years since Blu-ray movies were released and 8.5 years seems like a lifetime that this glorious relic has not yet seen the light of day in HD.
On November the 8th, 2014 I sent a letter to the Bruce Lee Foundation asking why hasn't this movie been released on Blu-ray and it has been 21 years since the movie was released which would have made 2013 the 20th anniversary. It is true this is not a film starring Bruce Lee but a film about his life which I thought deserved to be seen in HD. For years I wondered if it was ever going to get released. Today, November the 17th, 2014 I finally see it available on Amazon for Pre-order. The perfect price would have been $9.99 but $13.99 is still worth it just to show the studios that this movie is in demand and needs to be released properly so I'm pre-ordering mine now after I finish this review. I will in the future have the VHS, Laser Disc, DVD, and Blu-ray version finally and will do an update review on the Blu-ray version when I get the chance.
It is still a little more than 2.5 months away and I'm hoping that there's still time to emphasize what I would like done to this Blu-ray release or extend the release date to accommodate these suggestions.
[Blu-ray format suggestions]
7.1 DTS Master Audio track as well as the original audio track. This would be the best way to honor the film.
If there are any actor auditions, behind the scenes footage, cut deleted or extended scenes that have not been released this would the time to bring them to fruition.
Please retain Subtitles and Closed Captioning options for English at the minimum. I love reading the lines whenever I can't make out what they are saying in the movie.
If possible include the Bruce Lee documentary "Curse of the Dragon" updated to Blu-ray quality. This was later added to the "Enter the Dragon" DVD and in my opinion also had the best sound track theme for a documentary.
Include all original bonus content found on the DVD version and if possible upgrade the footage to Blu-ray quality.
It would be nice to see an updated video introduction or commentary by Linda Lee again and one by Shannon Lee since she was also in the movie as an extra in "The Mamas & the Papas" band at Bruce Lee's home where they find out "The Green Hornet" TV show has been cancelled.
Include a new director's commentary and video introduction from Rob Cohen as well as video and audio commentary from Jason Scott Lee, Lauren Holly, Ong Soo Han, Johnny Sun, Sven-Ole Thorsen, and any other cast members who wish to participate.
[Rob Cohen's "The Vanishing Son"]
Another great film and TV series also directed by Rob Cohen which I believe should also be released on Blu-ray if possible was the "Vanishing Son", which stemmed from the success of "Dragon : The Bruce Lee Story". There were 4 "Vanishing Son" movies and then later 1 Season on TV that comprised of 13 episodes. It delved on a similar path of what "Kung Fu" would have been like had a true Asian been cast in the lead role but this time set in modern times instead of the the Old West. For those familiar with the movies "Romeo Must Die" and "The Joy Luck Club" this is where the actor Russell Wong got his big start. Another TV show he was also in called "The Black Sash" got cancelled early on. Both shows delved on trying to help people although shared a common connection with martial arts.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0112210/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vanishing_Son
"Vanishing Son" movies 1, 2, 3, and 4 and the TV series of 13 episodes should be released on Blu-ray and DVD.
The bad guy Johnny Sun acted by John Cheung who played Bruce Lee's nemesis in "Dragon : TBLS" also played a martial arts instructor in the "Vanishing Son" 1 movie pilot.
I would be interested in helping edit and transfer the "Vanishing Son" footage if that is something no one is willing to do. If no one does it will never get done and I would hate to see the film stock vanish into obscurity. This series I believe played an important part in having an Asian lead actor in American television thanks to Rob Cohen.
Thankfully someone at the Bruce Lee foundation has listened and we are finally seeing Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story coming to Blu-ray unless this was just an amazing coincidence I am still grateful it is happening. :)
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Reviews with images
Overdramatized, extremely cheesy and shockingly inaccurate!
Works as a decent 90s martial arts movie. As a Bruce Lee biopic, leaves a lot to be desired. Overdramatized, extremely cheesy and shockingly inaccurate for a film that claim’s to have Linda Lee’s blessing. The most fun to be had are the faithfully recreated iconic sets from the original films. Jason Scott Lee is a good actor but sadly miscast and poorly directed into an ugly and unintentionally goofy caricature with none of Bruce Lee’s charm, grace and explosive power.Blu Ray Review (1 disc)★★★☆☆Archival Introduction (7min) - Linda Lee talks about her husband and introduces ‘Dragon’.The Making of Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story (6min) - Basic making of featuretteBehind-the-Scenes Footage (5min) - More behind the scenes footage with some interviews.Jason Scott Lee Screen Test’ (4min) - Screen test of the actor as Bruce Lee.Bruce Lee Interview (7min) - The best feature on disc. An archival interview with Bruce Lee.Storyboards - A lot of the major scenes storyboardedProduction PhotographsBruce Lee PhotographsAudio Commentary with Director Rob CohenTheatrical trailers.
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