Game of Clones: Brucesploitation Vol. 1 Blu-ray Review: Rating the Bruce Lee Imitators

There was a time where I would have said all the Bruce Lee imitator films were the same. Now I’m sophisticated so I can appreciate the differences. So it’s the perfect time to review Severin’s new set The Game of Clones.

This includes Enter the Clones of Bruce, a documentary I saw at Fantastic Fest. That really showcases the efforts of performers like Bruce Li, Bruce Le, Dragon Lee and more to perform legitimate martial arts, even if producers’ efforts to cash in on the death of Lee were less noble.

All of these films are English dubbed but clear widescreen presentations so they look like real movies. Some are more scratched and some clearer than others but all are better than cropped VHS tapes.

Clones of Bruce Lee has Bruces Le, Lai and Thai. It makes no bones they clone Bruce Lee after his death. These fights are well choreographed, although not very Bruce Lee like. They’re more like snake and crane styles, but they still do the Bruce Lee screams.

It also uses “Gonna Fly Now” from Rocky and James Bond score. Fighting a metal army is fun because it’s just spray painted guys and clanking sound effects. There is also lengthy gratuitous nudity and not for the last time.

Enter Three Dragons, or on screen as Dragon on Fire, is full of Bruce references from the yellow track suit to all of his gestures.

Enter the Game of Death opens with solo martial arts displays in a studio, with more James Bond music. A few of these films will open in that traditional way too. Bruce Le does some almost Jackie Chan moves on opponents, who should be noted are also legit martial artists.

Goodbye Bruce Lee has the amazing theme song “The King of Kung Fu” by Candy which names Bruce and I had stuck in my head still at the end of the set. It opens with testimonials and Game of Death stills. This was 1975, before the actual Game of Death was released.

This poses a classier version of finishing Game of Death than the actual release, though this itself is capitalizing on it and claims to be Lee’s Game of Death. It is sort of fun to see what they thought the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar scene would be.

Dragon Lives Again has Bruce Leong dressing like Kato and fighting Dracula, zombies, mummies, a Chinese Popeye and the Man With No Name in the underworld. It really plays up Lee’s womanizing and even apoligies to Linda Lee, but that doesn’t stop this Bruce from continuing to galavant around with women.

Bruce and the Iron Finger films fights from interesting angles, like overhead adn diagonally. From here, the films start to depart from strict Bruce Lee tie-ins and become more vehicles for these performers.

Challenge of the Tiger has bullfighting and may top the beach scene in Clones of Bruce Lee with random nudity at a pool and tennis court. This one is a spy mission to recover formula that can sterilize all men, the sort of plot Black Dynamite spoofed.

Camaroon Connection combines Kung Fu and Blaxploitation in French speaking Camaroon. Alphonse Beni has his own style too.

Two actual Bruce Lee biopics are interesting especially compared to 1993’s Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story. Super Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story consolidates Lee’s life even more liberally and it is hilarious. He teaches, he acts, people keep trying to fight him but with the production values of a ‘70s imposter, not a studio blockbuster. In one scene, Linda throw him nunchucks when samurai attack him on the street.

The Dragon Lives goes a little bit more by the record and leaves out Lee’s mistresses, as did the Hollywood film. This one has some psychedelic sequences hinting at the demon dram in Dragon. This also has another Bruce Lee theme song but it’s no “King of Kung Fu.”

The Dragon, The Hero is more of a traditional period Kung Fu movie, jusst that one of the fihters is a Bruce clone. It’s also by Godfrey Ho whom we know.

The Rage of the Dragon is also period Kung Fu, when all of Lee’s completed movies were present day (or slightly earlier in WWII for Fist of Fury.) But this one is a pure Bruce clone vehicle.

Michael Worth’s introductions explain the distinctions for each film. Commentaries combine a lot of speakers and some even stump the great Frank Djeng when he can’t find box office figures. They found a lot of actors frmo the films to speak on their experiences, from the martial artists to western actors.

These were fun. I hope they do Volume 2.