After a sold out screening at the NYC Independent Film Festival, Alan Canvan’s Broken Rhythm, a documentary exploring the legacy of Game of Death, will screen at the Asian American International Film Festival on August 8, 2026.
The film examines both Bruce Lee’s unfinished 1972 production and the 1978 “completed” version. Canvan is best known for Game of Death Redux and the highly anticipated, still unreleased Game of Death Redux 2.0, a project that has become the subject of considerable controversy and mystery among Bruce Lee fans.
Bruce Lee’s unfinished film Game of Death has long captivated audiences. The footage he shot before his untimely passing – later reworked and incorporated into a film bearing the same title – carries a mysterious, almost mythic allure. Within these fragments lies a striking cinematic language and rich symbolic intent, revealing Lee’s ambitions not merely as a martial artist, but as a visionary actor, writer and director. What was he striving to express through this project, and what does it reveal about an artist too often reduced to the label of kung fu icon?
Broken Rhythm is the first feature-length documentary to examine Game of Death in depth, illuminating Lee’s aspirations as a filmmaker at the dawn of the New Hollywood movement and marking his earliest attempt to create what he described as “multi-level films.” The 1978 release – premiering five years after Lee’s death – contained only a fraction of what he filmed in 1972. Producer André Morgan, involved in both versions, guides us through the complex timeline behind the film’s completion, shedding light on the creative, financial, and logistical compromises that reshaped Lee’s original vision. By reassessing the commercial success of the 1978 version, Broken Rhythm journeys backward to uncover a markedly different film than the one audiences ultimately saw.
Through exclusive interviews and rare archival material, Broken Rhythm highlights an ensemble of voices offering firsthand insight into Lee’s life, work, and creative ambitions. Featured participants include those who worked closely with Lee on Game of Death, such as Andre Morgan, Dan Inosanto, and Ji Han Jae, alongside biographer Matthew Polly and playwright David Henry Hwang, who offer fresh perspectives on his artistic intent. Actress Colleen Camp adds further dimension, reflecting on Lee’s enduring power as a cinematic icon. Together with additional voices, these accounts uncover revelatory details about the production of Game of Death, recontextualizing Lee’s legacy while exploring how his work grapples with enduring existential questions of life, death, identity, and the pursuit of artistic immortality.
Catch Broken Rhythm on August 8, 2026 at the 49th Asian American International Film Festival. For tickets, click here.
Hot Take: As revealed in our interview, Alan Canvan brings a deep, highly specialized understanding of Game of Death, paired with bold personal interpretations that go beyond the typical fan or historian perspective. With that in mind, Broken Rhythm is a documentary that will almost certainly deliver fresh insight.
Be sure to check out the Exclusive New Trailer for the doc below:
I want a copy
Quand cela sortira en blu-ray?
Et quand sortira god rédux en blu-ray?
Hello, it is possible to buy the poster for the “Game of Death documentary ‘Broken Rhythm” ?
Regards
Thomas
The quality of the GOD footage looks amazing. I’m definitely excited. But I hope it’s better than his “G.O.D. Redux” as included in the Criterion set. His edit is fine — a bit of an improvement over John Little’s “Warrior’s Journey” version (the Japanese edit from “Bruce Lee in G.O.D. beats them both).
The big problem in Canvan’s version is he dubbed in a few of the FAKE FIGHTING CRIES from the 1978 version of G.O.D. instead of only using Bruce’s real ones. How does anyone who knows anything about Bruce Lee screw that up? Maybe he’s fixed that for this new release. We can only hope.
So, it says this will screen in NY in June, when will it screen in L.A. ? When will it be available on Blu ray & 4 k ?
The Final Game Of Death by arrow was excellent. I wonder if this documentary could top what arrow did
That’s exactly what I have, and it is awesome. I don’t really know what else this documentary can offer…
Black Dragon. It does, in almost every way – and then some!
History Channel has a segment on what killed Lee. https://youtu.be/eLENH9u1Hw4?si=3f8ApSBAcaLiApBS
Isn’t this the documentary Bobby Samuels (brother who fought Sammo Hung) was involved in and went public claiming he was never paid? Think it was the Eastern Heroes guy Ricky Baker who had to step in to mediate a peaceful resolution IIRC. As a Bruce Lee fan I’m curious to check it out, the only review seems to be on this site from a suspiciously named author with no other credentials.
Chances are we’ll get Bey Logan’s new documentary Becoming Bruce Lee before this one sees a wider release. Hopefully he and Alan Canvan will collaborate in future.
Says the twit who doesnt post his name. Right, Simon? Alex, Go play in traffic.
Why the vitriol? Nothing I’ve said is false information or negative.
It did seem to escalate really quick
Misogynistic, a drug user, and a cheater… yet we’re getting another Bruce Lee documentary? 😭 Give Michelle Yeoh her flowers instead. She deserves a documentary way more at this point. We’ve had enough Bruce docs already.
Bruce Lee is legitimately one of the greatest of all time. He did more for the positive image of the Chinese than anyone living or dead. Wing Chun’s popularity is directly attributable to him, and the explosion of martial arts and interest in Chinese culture can be traced directly back to him.
More than that, his philosophy of transcending limitations and uniting all races under one family is more apt today than ever. He was and is a hero to hundreds of millions of people around the world, from all backgrounds, across generations.
As for his peccadilloes – he was human, he was flawed, he was no saint. So be it. Let he who is without sin be the first to throw a stone. Bruce Lee did more to improve society in his 32 years than most people do in their entire lives.
You must know that the definition of misogyny is the hatred of women, and Bruce didn’t hate them. And if all drug users and cheaters are beyond redemption, then there aren’t a lot of people left to admire.
I’m sure Michelle Yeoh also has things in her life that she’s not proud of, and she shouldn’t be dragged through the dirt either if that’s the case. This virtue signaling is ridiculous.
At this point I’m assuming its a troll doing rage bait. This psoter doesn’t engage in any of the replies, just writes these bullshit takes and then sees who takes the bait.