This is one of many, of my favourite Jimmy Wang Yu films. Written and directed by the man himself, this early Golden Harvest production has always sat strong with me and is a classic that I would love to see cleaned up and restored for a Blu-ray release. A take on the classic Seven Samurai, Wang Yu plays a stranger who turns up at a coastal town and offers to protect it from an army of Japanese invaders. Setting out to gather his own small army of fighters, Wang Yu finds its not as easy as he had hoped, but soon finds the people he needs to help defend the town one of which is the mysterious knife-throwing killer played by Tin Yau, co-star of many Wang Yu films!
Nicely shot and neatly directed, the only main flaw of the awesomely titled Beach Of The War Gods would be the lack of characterisation. While hardly a major downfall, the clear focus is on the fighting here which comes fast and often, in a barrage of hand-to-hand combat, samurai-inspired swordplay, and other wild weapons. The fights are handled by Hsiao Pao who also choreographed the action in one of my guilty pleasures, Vampire Settled On Police Camp (with Sandra Ng), who is joined by veteran Kuan Hung who worked with Wang Yu on the One Armed Boxer 1 & 2 as well as many more of his classics...
Wang Yu directs as Wang Yu does. While it may have the polish of a high-end production, there's still a rawness to his style. The sets and costumes are fantastic, and the most (if not all) of the cast do a great job. There are plenty of great visuals that, again, would look amazing in a restored version.
The Japanese are led by Wang Yu film regular Lung Fei, bad guy of a thousand classics, who (at the 50 minute mark) leads his men on the beach for battle at night, resulting in a major loss of men due to Wang's preparation. A second attempt the following morning begins a breathtaking, half hour of constant fighting which does not disappoint!
Literally 30 minutes of wonderful action rushes by, inspired by the classic Samurai films of Japanese cinema, with Wang Yu's unique touch and a body count equal on both sides. As the battle spreads out and the enemy get lost in the streets of the town, the newly trained local fighters do their best to take them down. Make no mistake, there is no holding back here as tens of men leap from rooftops in unison, a thousand blades flash across the screen, and lengthy one-shots track through the carnage without a hiccup.
Wang Yu is just brilliant here as he cuts through the enemy with more speed and ferocity than usual - his white robes gradually getting redder with blood as he fights on. It seems that with this action-packed-half-hour, that every 10 minutes that pass, Wang Yu ramps things up even more with harder violence, faster fights, and the carnage that ensues once Lung Fei joins the battle. It is an ending that, alone, rivals the greatest Shaw Brothers masterpiece!
Believe it or not, after all that and a 2 minute breather, the film closes with a lengthy one-to-one as the awesome Jimmy Wang Yu takes on Lung Fei in a fight to the death. Its a fantastically choreographed fight scene on and around a windmill on the beach (including a great WTF moment), and overall, a highly impressive, action-packed 40 minute finale...
Overall: An incredible piece of martial arts cinema, Beach Of The War Gods is one of Wang Yu's greatest moments, and an absolute classic!
Nicely shot and neatly directed, the only main flaw of the awesomely titled Beach Of The War Gods would be the lack of characterisation. While hardly a major downfall, the clear focus is on the fighting here which comes fast and often, in a barrage of hand-to-hand combat, samurai-inspired swordplay, and other wild weapons. The fights are handled by Hsiao Pao who also choreographed the action in one of my guilty pleasures, Vampire Settled On Police Camp (with Sandra Ng), who is joined by veteran Kuan Hung who worked with Wang Yu on the One Armed Boxer 1 & 2 as well as many more of his classics...
Wang Yu directs as Wang Yu does. While it may have the polish of a high-end production, there's still a rawness to his style. The sets and costumes are fantastic, and the most (if not all) of the cast do a great job. There are plenty of great visuals that, again, would look amazing in a restored version.
The Japanese are led by Wang Yu film regular Lung Fei, bad guy of a thousand classics, who (at the 50 minute mark) leads his men on the beach for battle at night, resulting in a major loss of men due to Wang's preparation. A second attempt the following morning begins a breathtaking, half hour of constant fighting which does not disappoint!
Literally 30 minutes of wonderful action rushes by, inspired by the classic Samurai films of Japanese cinema, with Wang Yu's unique touch and a body count equal on both sides. As the battle spreads out and the enemy get lost in the streets of the town, the newly trained local fighters do their best to take them down. Make no mistake, there is no holding back here as tens of men leap from rooftops in unison, a thousand blades flash across the screen, and lengthy one-shots track through the carnage without a hiccup.
Wang Yu is just brilliant here as he cuts through the enemy with more speed and ferocity than usual - his white robes gradually getting redder with blood as he fights on. It seems that with this action-packed-half-hour, that every 10 minutes that pass, Wang Yu ramps things up even more with harder violence, faster fights, and the carnage that ensues once Lung Fei joins the battle. It is an ending that, alone, rivals the greatest Shaw Brothers masterpiece!
Believe it or not, after all that and a 2 minute breather, the film closes with a lengthy one-to-one as the awesome Jimmy Wang Yu takes on Lung Fei in a fight to the death. Its a fantastically choreographed fight scene on and around a windmill on the beach (including a great WTF moment), and overall, a highly impressive, action-packed 40 minute finale...
Overall: An incredible piece of martial arts cinema, Beach Of The War Gods is one of Wang Yu's greatest moments, and an absolute classic!