Movies:
Recently released by Twentieth Century Fox, Bruce Lee: The Master Collection is a set of four of his films, along with the documentary, Bruce Lee: The Legend (1984), which is not available outside this set. The included films are: Fists of Fury, Chinese Connection, Return of the Dragon, and Game of Death.

Widely considered to be the greatest martial artist of the 20th century, Bruce Lee entered show business as Kato in the Green Hornet TV show during the mid 1960's. In 1971, he had his first starring role in Fists of Fury, and went on to make Chinese Connection (1972), Return of the Dragon (1972), Enter the Dragon (1973), and he began shooting on Game of Death (1972/1978). However, his life was cut tragically short in 1973, shortly after filming wrapped on Enter the Dragon, which is considered by many to be the pinnacle of his career.

Fists of Fury, originally titled Tang shan da xiong, was directed by Lo Wei, who shared the writing credit with Bruce Lee (Cheng). Also in the film are Maria Yi (Chow Mei), Nora Miao (Miao) and James Tien (Hsui Chen). The film is also sometimes titled "The Big Boss."

Having vowed never to fight again, Cheng finds work with his cousins at the local ice factory. However, the boss is secretly smuggling dope in the ice blocks, and when a few of his cousins accidentally learn too much, they "disappear." Cheng is determined to uncover the truth behind their disappearance, but when he digs a bit too deep, his cousin Chow Mei is kidnapped. In order to rescue her, he must break his vow and beat the boss.

Chinese Connection, originally titled Jing wu men, was also written and directed by Lo Wei. Bruce Lee stars as Chen; also in the film are Nora Miao (Yuan Le-erh) and James Tien (Chang). The film is also sometimes titled "Fist of Fury."

When Chen returns to China, he learns of his teacher's death and feels that it is his sacred duty to avenge his master. While investigating his master's death, the Japanese people in the area continually harass him, and rather than ignore it, he confronts them. His quest for vengeance eventually leads him to Shanghai, where he finds the gang responsible and makes them pay.

Return of the Dragon, originally titled Meng long guojiang, was written and directed by Bruce Lee himself, and though it was finished before Enter the Dragon, it was released afterwards. Bruce Lee stars as Tang; also in the film are Nora Miao (Chen Ching Hua), Jon T. Benn (Boss), and Chuck Norris (Colt). The film is also sometimes titled "Way of the Dragon" and "Fury of the Dragon."

When local thugs try to pressure Miss Chen into selling her restaurant in Rome, Tang Lung, a family friend, is summoned from Hong Kong to help out. It isn't long before Tang and the thugs become mixed up in an escalating battle for the restaurant, and though he always comes out on top, the thugs vow revenge. Determined to see him finished, they summon America's best martial artist, Colt, to aid them. Tricked into fighting him, Tang Lung must face him in the Roman Coliseum in a fight to the death.

Game of Death was written and directed by Bruce Lee, until filming was suspended so he could concentrate on finishing Enter the Dragon. However, he died before he could return and complete Game of Death. Six years later, director Robert Clouse (Enter the Dragon), using the footage already shot and some stock footage, managed to flesh out and finish the film using stand-ins for Lee as well as reassembling the other actors to resume their roles. Bruce Lee stars as Billy Lo; also in the film are Colleen Camp (Ann), Dean Jagger (Dr. Land), Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (Hakim), Chuck Norris, and James Tien.

Billy Lo is a young martial arts master who has starred in many films and has a promising future ahead of him. Dr. Land, the leader of a syndicate who exploits stars, is eager to capitalize on Billy and his girlfriend Ann. When Billy refuses to sign with him, Dr. Land's men brutally harass him and to escape them, Billy fakes his own death. But while everyone believes him dead, Billy prepares to take his revenge…

Bruce Lee: The Legend was directed by Leonard Ho and written by Russell Cawthorne. Narrated by James Nicholson, the documentary takes the viewer through Bruce Lee's early home life, his Hong Kong films as a youth, his move to America at 18, and his subsequent move back to Hong Kong to make feature films. There are quite a lot of film clips from Fists of Fury, Chinese Connection, Return of the Dragon, Enter the Dragon, and Game of Death, but the highlight for me was seeing film clips from his early roles, as well as a screen test that lead to his role as Kato in the Green Hornet TV series. There is also some rare outtake footage of fight scenes from several of his films. The documentary also discusses the reoccurring themes in his films, as well as how his early characters influenced the later ones. The documentary also contains footage of his funeral and ends with how director Robert Clouse was able to finish Game of Death without Lee.

Bruce Lee: The Master Collection is packaged in a similar fashion as the X-Files Season Box Sets, in that there's a slip cover and the packaging that holds the discs folds out. The Bruce Lee Set, despite having fewer discs, is actually thicker than the X-Files Sets. Overall, I was pleased with how the set looks, but a box with keepcases might have been better, as the glue holding the black hard plastic cases that house the discs in the set had come loose for two of the five discs. The booklet is also rather easy to miss as well, as its hidden behind the Bruce Lee Biography in the first flap.

Being able to see most of the films that made Bruce Lee famous in order and together was a real treat. Previously, I'd only seen bits and pieces of them on TV, and the only Bruce Lee movie I'd seen start to finish was Enter the Dragon. The films here didn't disappoint though, as the martial arts of Bruce Lee are incredible in each film. His acting definitely improves during the course of his film career, and the story lines are a bit simplistic, but the martial arts are amazing. Though I think my favorite Bruce Lee film is still Enter the Dragon, Chinese Connection comes pretty close.

Picture:
All four films are in their original aspect ratios of 2.35:1 widescreen, though they are non-anamorphic. All the transfers are in rough shape, but since the films are about thirty years old, I expected as much. Defects such as marks, scratches, specks, shimmering, light flashes, vertical lines and some grain all appear throughout each film, though the worst is certainly Fists of Fury, which also seems too soft. Several scenes in Fists of Fury are also really dated in appearance, compared to other shots in the same scene (see Chapter 22 in particular). There are also noticeable "jumps" in each film, where I assume it was edited together. Colors throughout each are mainly natural in appearance, though they occasionally appear muted. Flesh tones range from natural to slightly too red and blacks are too light.

Sound:
All four films are presented in Dolby 2.0 Mono in English. As only Game of Death was originally in English, the other three are dubbed…badly. I'm unsure as to why the original language tracks couldn't have been included, but they are sorely missed. The mono tracks are adequate with clear dialogue for each film, though on occasion, the voices jump in volume. Each film also has optional English subtitles.

Extras:
The main extra of the set is the excellent bonus documentary, "Bruce Lee: The Legend." There is also a thin booklet titled the "Program Guide," which consists of chapter listings, a few facts, and a short plot summary for each film. And for some reason, the trailers for each film that are included on the individual releases from Fox are absent from the box set.

Summary:
The films are excellent and represent some of Bruce Lee's best work, but unfortunately, the presentations for each are lacking. The lack of extras for the films, especially the trailers, is unfortunate as well. The box set, priced at $80 MSRP, is equivalent to the four individual releases, making the documentary a free bonus. I definitely recommend seeing these films, especially if you're a fan of Bruce Lee or martial arts. Recommended!