| "Death By Misadventure: Curse Of The Dragon" is a documentary that appears long overdue. Upon my initial viewing of this piece, I found myself rewinding certain sections as I couldn't believe the succintness of certain information. I'm a lifelong Bruce Lee film fan, and found myself surprised at some revelations. Some may find the reports in this video insulting to the Lee legacy. However, when placed in the context alongside of already released material, there is a wealth of honesty here that Warner's "Curse Of The Dragon" clearly avoided.
The documentary starts off with a statement that Lee, like so many stars, had a fatal flaw, which ultimately lead to his demise. We revisit his childhood film career, with highlights that bring us up to date on his adult career. When this begins we're treated to re-enactments from our old friend Bruce Li's shipshod, imitation filmclips. My guess here is with all the unauthorized information, licensing for authentic Lee film material was likely denied. We're given instead interviews with distant friends, co-stars, and for the first time, the very physicians who revived Lee after his near fatal May '73 collapse. Quite surprisingly these men were never interviewed prior to this documentary. Lee's use of cannabis, specificly hashish, autopsy reports, and final hours, even after he expired, are chronologized.
Another highlight of this gem is interviews, on cam, with Brandon, his son, prior to his death. Brandon appears to have a charismatic appeal maybe his dad never had, and is a truly tragic figure in his own right. Many hardcore Lee fans may not take to DBM:COTD. However, keep in mind there's more truth here that leaves a bad taste simply because the information wasn't released in '73, when time could have eventually smoothed the edges; and likely, the " King Of Kung Fu's " legacy may have been judged slightly differently. For content only, poor production values... |