Death by Misadventure: The Mysterious Life of Bruce Lee [2003] (REGION 1) (NTSC)

This DVD is every fans dream, showing quite lengthy clippings of Bruce's very early film, and then charting his life through to end. This is done nicely by re-creating some of the events in his life using actors, such as one of his early fights with a karate guy after he moved to America. This is good because although it isn't the 'real' Bruce Lee, you still get to see roughly what happened from accounts from his friends, in situations that were not caught on camera, such as him discussing script ideas with his co-star for 'Game Of Death' (where he died) etc. Actors are also usd to re-create clippings from his films, although i'm not sure why they didn't just take bits from the actual films themselves.

As the title suggests this documentary does focus a great deal on Bruce's mysterious death and the events leading up to it. He was actually admitted to hospital several weeks before he did eventually die, after he was found unconcious on the set of 'Enter The Dragon'. He was later found to have taken small amounts of coke and other similar drugs to help hilm relax due to the immense amount of pressure that he was under. Bruce also admitted this to one of his friends. Anyway, you will find all this out and much more revealing stuff in the documentary itself.

Of course, what documentary would be complete without plenty of interviews, and believe me there are plenty; from many of his students who recount experiences that they had with Bruce, from numerous doctors who dealt with Bruce on both occasions he arrived in hospital, to name but a few.

This documentary also spends quite a bit of time focusing on Brandon Lee, the son of Bruce, and the events surrounding his unfortunate death in 1993. There is also a really great interview with Brandon where he talks about his life, his career and his dad. Some good footage of Bruce and Brandon together, although not that much of it.

As regards extras on this DVD there are a few, which are nice but nothing special and nothing any Bruce Lee fan will not have seen before. There is a very small photo gallery with maybe ten or so photos of both Bruce and Brandon Lee, and there is a selected filmography of all five of Bruce's main films, 'Game Of Death 2', and the other documentary 'Bruce Lee: The Man The Legend'.

Overall, 'Death By Misadventure' really is a brilliant documentary about the life, and of course death of Bruce (and Brandon) Lee, which is an absolute must have for anyone who is a fan of either of them. If you think you've seen everything on Bruce Lee, then your wrong, dead wrong!


A must see for all Bruce Lee fans   November 24, 2000
A pleasure to watch. A definate must see for all Bruce Lee and Martial Art fans. You will have a much better understanding of the man and the art that has come to mean so much to so many people. Be like water!