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Review
by
Brian Lindsey
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5
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5 |
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10
= Highest Rating |
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Apparently
this is a rather obscure film —
its entry in the Internet Movie Database confuses
it with Game of Death,
the Bruce Lee picture completed after he died
by using an (obvious) stand-in. Goodbye,
Bruce Lee actually came out a couple of
years before Game of Death;
it doesn't incorporate any footage of the real
Lee but it does attempt to recreate (sort of)
the "Tower of Death" climax from his
last, ill-fated project. Bruce Li is the
star here, playing both Bruce Lee and a guy who
some movie producers hope to cast as Bruce
Lee in a kung fu film they were making when the
martial arts superstar suddenly died.
Bewildered?
The film's opening titles sequence
offers a montage of Bruce Lee photos from fan
magazines and newspaper articles —
the only time the real Lee appears —
set to the deliriously kitschy disco theme song
"King of Kung Fu." (He uses every human capability
/ With a fingertip sensitivity / His kung fu courage
set in motion / It's a massive dynamic explosion!)
This ridiculous but undeniably catchy little ditty
keeps chugging along even after the credits segue
to Lo (Bruce Li) performing a gymnastics routine
to the approval of his adoring girlfriend. (Hey
dude, the song's not even about you!) After this
workout the couple goes to a nearby park where
Lo can practice his kung fu moves; he's not only
a gymnast but a martial arts expert, too. Suddenly
they're accosted by a gang of ruffians —
very suddenly, in fact; the way the flick
is edited, it's as if the thugs just teleport
into the scene! Lo handily kicks their butts,
of course. Then he learns that the attack was
really only a test. A group of movie producers
wanted to see if he had the right stuff. Satisfied
with Lo's fighting skills and proclaiming him
the spitting image of Bruce Lee (which he isn't,
really), the filmmakers want to hire him as a
body double/stand-in to complete a movie they
were making with Lee when he died. Lo agrees,
so the producers invite him to a screening of
the already completed portions of the film.
This
prologue takes up the first 9 minutes of Goodbye,
Bruce Lee. The remaining
74 minutes consist of the "film within a film"
that Lo views in the producer's screening room.
It's supposed to be Bruce Lee in the "film" but
it's actually Bruce Li playing Bruce Lee, being
watched by Bruce Li playing a Bruce Lee look-alike
named Lo. (I did tell you this could get confusing,
didn't I?) Oddly, this strange setup isn't structured
as a framing or wraparound device, as once the
screening room projector is turned on we never
again return to Lo —
when the film-with-a-film ends, so does Goodbye,
Bruce Lee.
The
faux Bruce becomes embroiled in a dispute between
rival criminal gangs when he's used as a pawn
by one of the mob bosses to steal a box stuffed
with U.S. currency from the other. (Lee's to be
an unwitting courier, delivering it without knowing
what he's carrying.) But our hero smells something
fishy when a number of toughs attack him and try
to snatch the box, so he takes the package to
his brother's apartment, where they open it. Leaving
the money with his brother for safekeeping, Lee
ponders whether to call the police or figure out
the score on his own. (Why is this such a difficult
decision?) Meanwhile the gangsters send more thugs
after him to get the box back. Since none of the
criminals carry guns and habitually insist on
attacking him one at a time, they're easily bested
by Lee's fists (and feet) of fury. Unbeknownst
to Lee, however, his brother's girlfriend has
skipped out with the cash. Then Bro himself vanishes.
Tired of all the trouble he's causing their organizations,
the two gang bosses rather easily bury the hatchet
and decide to join forces against Lee. His fiancée
is kidnapped and taken to the Tower of Death,
where he must battle a succession of martial arts
fighters, each using different styles, in hopes
of rescuing her.
As
with just about every kung fu movie ever made,
our undefeatable hero wouldn't last two seconds
if even one of the bad guys packed a pistol.
It's also amusing to watch the various henchmen
milling around in the background, striking
poses as they patiently
wait their turn to get clobbered, Li takin' 'em
apart one at a time. Never heard of the old-fashioned
bum rush, fellas? Thankfully, the dubbing is often
unintentionally funny (perhaps
my favorite aspect of these old martial arts flicks),
the
fashions
are Seventies craptacular,
and bits of the score are lifted straight from
the soundtrack to Live
and Let Die. There's "King of Kung Fu" to
keep your toes tapping, too. But even if not appreciative
of the cheesier elements, kung fu enthusiasts
should find Goodbye,
Bruce Lee passable
entertainment. It's competently made (by the standards
of its genre contemporaries, that is), featuring
plenty of action, with a major fight breaking
out every 5 or 10 minutes. Since it takes place
in the modern era, you don't have to keep track
of which temple/clan is allied with/opposed to
the local Manchu administrator or any of the typical
plot clutter that usually detracts from martial
arts films set in "old" China. Nor is time wasted
on any clichéd "Master Trains Young Pupil" sequences...
After all, this film is about Bruce Lee (even
if only a facsimile), and Bruce is already
the baddest of the bad-asses. The Taiwanese Li
doesn't come close to possessing the charisma
of the real Bruce Lee, of course, and his martial
arts moves aren't as quick or dynamic. Still,
while he may not be the "King of Kung Fu" he nevertheless
fares quite well in the butt-whuppin' department.
In the film's Tower of Death climax he squares
off against a stick fighter, a Japanese swordsman,
a nunchaku-wielding Yoga mystic, a European wrestler
(who growls like a dog!) and a trash-talkin' black
American boxer, wiping the floor with the lot
of 'em before finally confronting the mob bosses
on the top level.
I realize there were
a number of "fake" Bruce Lee films made in the
Seventies (Clones of Bruce
Lee, Bruce Lee Fights
Back from the Grave, etc.), but since I
haven't seen any of them I can't really judge
where Goodbye,
Bruce Lee ranks in that (ahem) illustrious
pantheon. It's pretty much your standard "old
school" kung fu flick except that the entire project
centers on a dead celebrity who had nothing to
do with it in any way, shape or form. In that
sense it is pure exploitation at its most crass
—
ghoulish, even. Yet, to think that the name Bruce
Lee could still put butts in theater seats years
after he died is a testament to the man's international
popularity.
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Though
a bare-bones disc (the only extra is the theatrical
trailer), Anchor Bay's foray into kung fu cinema
puts to shame 95% of the martial arts DVDs one
typically comes across —
which usually feature ragged, practically unwatchable
fullframe prints and are found in the $6 bargain
bin. AB's edition of Goodbye,
Bruce Lee will cost you a little more than
twice that price but the transfer used is 2.35:1
widescreen (16x9 enhanced) and in extremely good
shape. I don't recall any instances of print damage
or significant grain. The DVD's mono audio track
is undistinguished but quite serviceable, sounding
clear (if flat) and distortion-free.
That goofy theme song, "King of Kung Fu",
plays over the main menu screen.
8/17/04
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