ENTER THE GAME OF DEATH

(Hong Kong/South Korea 1978)

Original Title: Si Wang Mo Ta 死亡魔塔 (aka) Cross Hands Martial Arts; The King of Kung Fu

Directed by Lam Kwok Cheung, Choe Woo Hyung Produced by Robert Jeffrey, Kim Tae Soo Action by Bruce Le Starring: Bruce Le, Park Dong Ryong, Lee Hoi Sang, Bolo Yeung, James Nam, Chiu Chi Ling, Shim Sang Cheon, Kim Ki Beom, Yeo Soo Jin Reviewing: Severin Films US Blu-ray Release Genres: Martial-arts / Action / Brucesplotation

Rating: 3.5 / 5

Synopsis: As WWII looms, China fears an invasion by German and Japanese forces. An espionage group hires Bruce Le to retrieve a secret document from the top level of a 6-floor tower by fighting his way up! (90 Mins)

The Vengeance Pack German Blu-ray Synopsis: In the 1920s the Japanese occupied large parts of China. The young SHAN works as a secret agent for General HANG WO. The ambitious general sends him to Tientsin, where he is supposed to try to gain access to the Japanese deployment plans, which are considered secret. The general staff in Tientsin is warned about SHAN and sends his best agents CHUE KI and CHI KAR to SHAN to prevent him from achieving his goal. Tientsin is the venue for the major Kung fu and Shaolin competition. SHAN arrives as a competitor and defeats all opponents except one, the decathlete ANEDO. (90 Mins)

Vengeance Video DVD Synopsis: Kung fu idol Bruce Le takes on the mantle of the late Bruce Lee and delivers a powerhouse performance in what many consider to be his best film to date. Loosely based on Lee's original concept and filmed in the actual location Lee had originally intended to use, Le does battle with a whole array of opponents including the Nunchaku master, Snake Fist Fighter, Wing Chun expert, and a master of the mystic art of Silat. After defeating all the opponents in the Tower of Death, Le must now face the might of Bolo. (86 Mins)

Views: Another bonkers Bruceploitation adventure with Bruce Le back in action, only this one may definitely take the prize as the most fight filled of any! While trying to describe the actual plot that is seen on screen may quite possibly give me a stroke, Enter The Game Of Death still proves to be one of the more entertaining films of the genre – whether unintentional or not. The film opens with a bizarre mix of music over the opening credits, combining scores from many of Lee's own films, obvious James Bond scores, and even disco hits from the Bee Gees – many of which continue throughout. This music accompanies scenes of the energetic Bruce Le kicking, punching and smashing things to get viewers warmed up for what's to come! Regardless of it's flaws and confusion, this Hong Kong/Korean co-production still makes for a fun watch. Offering an incredibly action-packed opening 25 minutes that sees Bruce fight against gangsters, a gang of Japanese swordsmen, one of which is the fantastic Bolo Yeung. Confusingly, the very next scene focuses on the gentle giant combatting opponents in a boxing ring. There's no explanation – it just happens! Many of the 5 or 6 fighters that go up against him actually return later in the film as part of the same villainous team, and while they are fun to watch, it's the showdown between Bolo and Bruce that proves to be the most fun. In front of their blacked-out invisible audience, Bruce finally defeats Bolo in a series of moves the aren't too dissimilar to those used when Bruce Lee took down Kareem Abdul Jabbar in his Game Of Death. A fifteen minute breather of talky nonsense allows you to try and figure out what's actually going on, before Le reaches the ancient tower in which he must climb to defeat a host of outrageous fighters!

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There have been many Game Of Death clones, rip-offs and homages over the decades, but three in particular have always stood out. Not because they are better as such, but because they were released around the time of (or before) Golden Harvest actually put out their initial version of Bruce Lee's original Game Of Death. These include Bruce Li's New Game Of Death/Goodbye Bruce Lee:His Last Game Of Death, the fun Taiwanese production The True Game Of Death, and this crazy piece featuring the outrageous Bruce Le. Oddly though, Enter The Game Of Death proved to be shot and completed before the release of the Golden Harvest film, yet still managed to include many similar scenes from Bruce's original vision including that of the infamous red-room which Lee had scripted although never filmed – as well as being filmed at the actual location the Little Dragon had originally planned to use. Throughout the film, Le sports many outfits from Lee's titles, with the yellow and black tracksuit being the most prominent of course. I was never a huge fan of Taiwanese actor Bruce Le when I was younger, but over the years my views soon changed and I really enjoyed what this martial arts powerhouse had put out. Starting in the Hong Kong film industry in 1974 with Shaw Brothers studios appearing in movies such as Rivals Of Kung Fu, The Tea House, its sequel Big Brother Cheng, and the wild Super Inframan among others. But in 1976, Le would see a massive turn in his career when he became a clone of Bruce Lee after being cast in The Big Boss 2 and Bruce's Fingers. For the next decade, Le would star in over 20 films as the legendary kung-fu star as well as even directing some such as Bruce The Superhero, Bruce – King Of Kung Fu, Bruce Strikes Back, and Challenge Of The Tiger. Of course, Le would go on to direct a few other titles over the years including Fire On The Great Wall, Black Spot, Ghost Of The Fox, and Comfort Women – a women-in-prison movie set during the Japanese occupation of China.

Joining Le on-screen is the aforementioned and legendary Bolo Yeung – although really only legendary to Western martial-arts film fans I believe. Having started in 1970 at the Shaw Brothers studios, Yang Sze (as he was originally know) had starred in around 50 titles by the time Enter The Game Of Death had come about. Of course, one of these would be in Bruce Lee's very own Enter The Dragon, so any Bruceploitation flick that was able to get him in their production would just be adding bonus points to their film. I guess the first of these would be the Golden Harvest produced documentary, Bruce Lee: The Man, The Legend that was released in 1973 just after Enter The Dragon and his passing. Next would be Bruce's Fingers a few years later that would see him star alongside Bruce Le for the first time before joining him again in Bruce & Shaolin Kung Fu, this, as well as Bruce The Super Hero, Treasure Of Bruce Le, Bruce Le's Greatest Revenge, Bruce – King Of Kung Fu, and more. Of course, he would appear in many other Bruceploitation hits alongside Bruce Li/Ho Tsung Tao, Dragon Lee, and others. The fantastic Lee Hoi San also co-stars, this time as one of the fighters in the tower of death. Placed on the first floor, the highly enjoyable baldy gives Le a run for his money as the crazed monk who uses iron balls and wing chun butterfly knives as weapons. Kung-fu star James Nam, who only just passed in May 2024, also makes an appearance as the white-haired, sleeping master in the red room. The South Korean born actor and martial artist began, like many, with the Shaw Brothers studios in 1970, sharing the screen with many of his co-stars over the years, but also appeared in other kung-fu titles such as the great Gambling For Head, The Secret Rivals, Kill The Shogun, and a host of Bruceploitation flicks with many of the leading clones. In his scene set on the 4th floor of the tower, he is partnered with the always entertaining and highly enjoyable Chiu Chi Ling, a talented kung-fu master who can be seen in titles such as Snake In The Eagles Shadow, Kung Fu Master Named Drunk Cat, Lackey & The Lady Tiger, Magnificent Warriors, and the epic Kung Fu Hustle as the hilariously flamboyant tailor before returning to work with Chow Sing Chi years later in Journey To The West: Conquering The Demons and The Mermaid. In fact, Chiu actually made his film debut alongside Bruce Le and Bolo Yeung in the aforementioned Bruce's Fingers before going on to also star in a host of Bruceploitation hits. His fight here with Le is another of the highlights of the show!

It's also worth noting that Chiu's student, the impressive Samuel Walls, also makes an appearance here – getting to fight Bruce a few times throughout the film, including the grand finale. Sammy had also starred with Dragon Lee that same year in The Dragon On Fire/Enter Three Dragons (see review below), and would appear in one last Bruceploitation flick a couple of years after this in Golden Dragon, Silver Snake with Dragon Lee one more time. Interestingly, the character he plays has been credited to the late Steve James on some sites – but it's definitely not him. And finally, Korean actors Park Don Ryong, who worked the previous year on Bruce & Dragon Fist with Bruce Le, stars as the cruel Japanese boss that has an awkward rape scene with Le's old girlfriend. He can also be seen in films like Black Dragon, The Secret Rivals, Hard Bastard, and Secret Executioners among many others. Likewise, other Korean actors show up in the bad corner such as gang boss Shim Sang Cheon, the burly Kim Wang Guk who stars as the Ape Man on the final level of the tower, the talented Yoo Seong, Kim Ki Beom, and Jeong Joo Hyeon also appear with Korean actress Yeo Soo Jin playing a double-crossing new love interest. Kung fu star Nick Cheung Lik is credited on some sites as another leading man, but I didn't catch him in any scene at all (unless he was under a lot of make-up and wigs)...

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When it comes to the direction, things are a little unclear as Bruceploitation extraordinaire Jospeh Velasco/Kong is credited on screen and the great Lee Tso Nam is listed on IMDB. But it seems that Lam Kwok Cheung is the man behind the magic, co-directing with Korean director Choe Woo Hyung. While both directors of very few, some may know the former's work such as the Golden Harvest films Ironside 426 and Mr. Big with Jason Pai Piao, and his second Bruce Le film, Bruce Vs. Bill which was just as much fun. In terms of the constant fight action on offer, it's quite possible that this was choreographed by Bruce Le himself – a job that he would do on many of his films, and especially if he was directing also. While some moments come across a little stilted with a few obvious misses on strikes, the majority of the fight scenes prove to be a lot of fun – especially that of the aforementioned Lee Hoi San, James Nam, and Chiu Chi Ling tower fights. Equally, Le's fight against the (literal) snake master on another level is good fun, although will be sure to piss off any animal lovers and fans of the slithery buggers – especially when he starts using them as whips and bites a snakes head off to spray the blood as a weapon! The final 40 minutes are pretty much non-stop with less than half of that spent in the tower itself, although fans will be excited to see some nunchaku action on offer. Bolo moves brilliantly in his final showdown before Le comes face-to-face (although not literally) with a Kareem Abdul Jabbar clone. It's pretty quick though, but made-up for when our hero faces-off against Samuel Walls - with some odd choices of slow-mo used. Eventually, his last foe comes in the shape of the villainous westerner who started all the nonsense in the first place.

It's certainly not perfect and , but it is a lot of wild fun and definitely one of the most fight filled Bruce Le flicks. Released as part of The Game Of Clones Bruceploitation Collection from Severin Films, Enter The Game Of Death has never looked better with a new restoration that really shows the film in its best presentation ever, equal to that released on Blu-ray in Germany by The Vengeance Pack!

Overall: Don't be trying to figure things out, just sit back and enjoy the fight-filled madness that is Enter The Game Of Death!

Severin Films Blu-ray Extras: Partial Audio Commentary with Michael Worth, Scene Specific Audio Commentary with Chi Ling Chiu, Interview with Chi Ling Chiu, Round-table Discussion with Michael Worth, Tatevik Hunanyan, John Kreng & Ron Strong

The Vengeance Pack Blu-ray Extras: Advertising Materials, Restoration Examples, US Trailer, Old Beginning, Alternative Soundtrack, VHS Opening Credits, Trailers

Vengeance Video DVD Extras: Trailer