7.1 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 2.5 | |
Overall | 2.5 |
A highly fictionalized biography of the famous Bruce Lee, this movie traces his college life, his marriage to Linda Lee, his relationship with his master, and his untimely death.
Starring: Bruce Li, Su Han, Chi Hu, Chien-Po Tsen, Han HsiehMartial arts | 100% |
Action | 37% |
Drama | 20% |
Biography | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.39:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono
English SDH
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A (B, C untested)
Movie | 2.5 | |
Video | 3.0 | |
Audio | 3.5 | |
Extras | 3.5 | |
Overall | 2.5 |
Note: This film is available on Blu-ray as part of Severin's The Game of Clones: Bruceploitation Collection Vol. 1.
When Severin Films released Kung Fu Trailers of
Fury
and Return of Kung Fu Trailers of
Fury
several years ago, I'm sure I wasn't the only one initially thinking, "Well, that's a stupid idea for a release", only to have the sheer
lunacy of the trailers assembled in both collections "fight back" against that assessment, as if to say in response, "Yeah, well who's stupid
now?" In fact, both Kung Fu Trailers of Fury and Return of Kung Fu Trailers of Fury were kind of deliriously enjoyable in
their
own slapdash way, and those releases evidently were one of the inspirations for a full on collection of so-called "Brucesploitation" films, this time
offering the actual films in addition to their trailers. The goofily affable Michael Worth, who has contributed so many fun commentaries
through the years to various kung fu films on Blu-ray, is your "host" of sorts here, offering introductions to all the films and commentaries for many
of
them. If none of these films is ever going to be acclaimed as an unappreciated masterpiece, and if both video and audio on many of the films in
this
set might be charitably termed problematic, merely having these films in high definition will be alluring, and an absolute glut of other supplemental
material is included as well, making this a probable "must have" for a certain demographic.
The Dragon Lives is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Severin Films with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 2.39:1. In his introduction to the film, Michael Worth states this transfer is scanned from the interpositive from Film Ventures International. This has some appealing detail levels and at least intermittent clarity, but there is also some noticeable softness almost verging on blurriness at times (see screenshot 2). As with many of the other transfers in this set, the palette is a definite strong point, and lot of this presentation pops very well, especially with regard to primaries (note the reds in some of the screenshots I've uploaded to accompany this review). Once again, there are some anamorphic peculiarities, and I'd direct your attention to screenshot 9 for another example of the kind of weird tilting / skewing situation I've discussed in a number of other reviews of the films from this set. Grain can be a bit splotchy and yellow on occasion, even apart from any opticals like dissolves.
The Dragon Lives features a DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono track, and as with many of the other films in this set, there can be noticeable boxiness in some of the fight sound effects in particular. Otherwise, though, this is a decently full bodied track that delivers dialogue and score without any real issues. Optional English subtitles are available.
Any connection to the actual historical record in The Dragon Lives may be only marginally more accurate than in Super Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story, but there's still probably more "meat" to this version than the earlier attempt, and Li had certainly grown measurably in confidence as both an actor and fighter by the time he made this film. Judged on the curve of this set in its entirety, video and audio are both relatively solid, and the supplements, many of which focus on Caryn White Stedman, are quite interesting.
(Still not reliable for this title)
Dragon on Fire / Kuai quan guai zhao / 快拳怪招
1978
Shen wei san meng long / 神威三猛龍
1980
Mission for the Dragon / Ying quan / Maegwon / 鷹拳
1979
Si wang mo ta / 死亡魔塔
1978
Za jia gao shou / 雜家高手
1979
Bruce Against Iron Hand / Dai gau tau yue siu leung ji / Da jiao tou yu sao niang zi / 大教頭與騷娘子
1979
The New Game of Death / Xin si wang you xi / 新死亡遊戲
1975
Bruce Lee: A Dragon Story / Yi dai meng long / 一代猛龍
1974
San lung mang tam / Shen long meng tan / Mie jue qi qi / 神龍猛探 / 滅絕七七
1980
Cameroun Connection
1985
2023
Deadly Hands of Kung Fu / Lee sam geuk wai jan dei yuk moon / Li san jiao wei zhen di yu men / 李三腳威震地獄門
1977
Liu A-Cai yu Huang Fei-Hong
1976
Deep Thrust / Tie zhang xuan feng tui / 鐵掌旋風腿
1972
新精武門 / Xīn jīng wǔ mén
1976
合氣道 / He qi dao / Lady Kung Fu
1972
Chi jiao xiao zi / Chik geuk siu ji / 赤腳小子
1993
Zhui hun biao / Chui wan biu / 追魂鏢
1968
In the Line of Duty | Huáng jiā zhàn shì | Wong ga jin si | 皇家戰士 | 2K Remastered
1986
Yellow Faced Tiger | Huang mian lao hu | 黄面老虎 | Original Mandarin Cut + Alternate English Cut
1974