Feeling triggered? Future pressings of the ‘Bruceploitation Collection Vol. 1’ have you covered!

Released in June last year, Severin have confirmed that future pressings of The Game of Clones: Bruceploitation Collection Vol. 1 will include a trigger warning advising viewer discretion at the beginning of the 1978 production The Dragon Lives Again.

The move comes after several complaints were received from first time viewers who’d been expecting to see the spirit of Bruce Lee battling it out against the likes of Marlon Brando, Clint Eastwood, and Max von Sydow, reprising some of their most iconic roles such as the Godfather, the Man with No Name, and the Exorcist.

The nature of the complaints center around viewers being objectionable to the fact characters have been race swapped to be portrayed by Chinese and Korean actors. One particular complaint that was shared with COF sees the portrayal of the Godfather drawing particular ire, with an extract reading “I thought I was going to be watching a lost Marlon Brando movie, reprising his role as the Sicilian immigrant who builds a criminal empire, but instead I find this Shin Il-ryong nobody in his place. Am I supposed to believe this guy is Italian? The whole movie is a joke. Worst of all, I’m not even sure if the main actor was Bruce Lee.”

The press release from Severin states –

“We acknowledge that some of the casting choices in The Dragon Lives Again have been confronting for certain viewers, especially those long-time fans of the characters portrayed onscreen. We apologise for any distress caused, and have included a written disclaimer that’ll be displayed on future pressings that reads – Please note the production you’re about to watch includes portrayals of characters traditionally played by Caucasian actors recast by actors who are of an Asian ethnicity. Viewer discretion is advised.”

The press release goes on to say it hopes the incident won’t prevent anyone who’s purchased the The Game of Clones: Bruceploitation Collection Vol. 1 from watching the other titles that make up the set. Upon reaching out to Severin, an insider who spoke to us on the condition of anonymity had this to day – “We’re living in a culturally sensitive time, something that can be witnessed first hand when looking at the backlash against many of Disney’s live action reboots. With this we acknowledge that race swapping characters that fans hold near and dear without any prior warning can potentially be a traumatising experience, so by adding the disclaimer the intention is to mitigate that risk, allowing viewers to enjoy one of the more bizarre slices of Bruceploitation.”

Severin have confirmed they won’t be rolling out a disc replacement program, and have encouraged anyone who’s been impacted by watching The Dragon Lives Again to reach out to their nearest health provider.