(WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- The films made by martial artist Bruce Lee -- previously the domain of grindhouse theaters and cultists -- are getting the Cadillac treatment from Criterion later this year.
The collection, which will retail for $124.95, includes a slew of commentaries, interviews and other extras. It's expected in July.
"With his magnetic screen presence, tightly coiled intensity, and superhuman martial-arts prowess, Lee was an icon who conquered both Hong Kong and Hollywood cinema, and transformed the art of the action film in the process," Criterion said.
The U.S.-born Lee, who would have turned 80 this year, died in July 1973 under mysterious circumstances in Hong Kong. At the time of his death, he had become Asia's biggest action star and was on the verge of breakthrough success in the West.
Much of the relatively small output of films Lee made as an adult (he also acted as a child in Hong Kong productions) has been packaged in restored versions, but the Criterion edition would appear to be the most high-grade, comprehensive and serious study of Lee's infuential work.
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