Die Todesbucht der Shaolin

At the heart of the incredibly titled Beach of the War Gods is a beautiful paradox, one built upon love and shame, it's wuxia mayhem by way of Kurosawa and Leone all filtered through the eyes of Jimmy Wang Yu. Whilst hand-to-hand combat had started to become the name of the game following the dawn of the 1970s, this film sees Wang Yu take a decisive step back from what he was more well-known for, to make a film in the genre that had previously dominated, the wuxia. Granted, it does look a little rougher around the edges than many of its contemporaries, but its ambition and scope are to be marvelled at. Wang Yu makes fabulous use of the wide frame with some brilliantly composed and thoroughly beautiful shots sprinkled throughout. It's enriched with depth, movement and a constant visual interest to keep you engrossed with wind machines regularly blasting away, waves crashing dramatically and fire adding powerful amounts of colour. And this is all before I mention the film's awe-inspiring and action-packed finale that brings 25 minutes of uninterrupted magnificence to the forefront. Yes, the characters and plot are exceptionally flimsy and the dialogue is superficial at best; yet the stripped-back approach works in Beach of the War Gods' favour, never intruding upon its gloriously bloody action and rushing towards its lengthy, epic final battle without any fat getting in the way.

I love when you watch a film for the first time and are so surprised how good it is. I heard about this film from Quentin Tarantino talking about it on his podcast. I was totally enthralled the whole time and didn't want it to end. Top notch script and beautifully shot. One of my favorite shots is when the Japanese are on the beach holding torches in complete darkness. You get a sense of doom watching this and you are just hoping that the good guys can pull through. Great performances as well. Jimmy Wang Yu is a very talented director and I'll definitely be exploring more of his catalog. Everyone loves a good underdog story and this is one of the bests. Highly recommended!

One of the best kung fu movies I seen i a while. Learnt about it on the video archives podcast.

I rank it up there with Lonewolf and Baby Cart series for sword fighting and fight choreography.

There's a full range of inventive swords men and fighting techniques, maybe more than most other films (especially of this generation). That's really what makes this film stand out, is its relentless creativity.

They also use a lot of trampolines (its pretty obvious but it works) and reverse cinematography, to really great effect. Slow motion also, and really make it work.

Its a hong kong/ taiwan collaboration, non-stop action movie.

What keeps it interesting is the constant troop formations, traps, unique weaponry etc. It makes it stand out and more entertaining than other movies in the genre by far. Interesting it is so far undiscovered in the West, looking at the low reviews on IMDB.

The sets are very nice. When you compare it to the top genre cowboy/ western movies being made in 1973, this movie certainly holds its own. Film sets equally top notch.

Fast paced and action packed, I must also commend the costume design, which is meticulously detailed.

With over the top action like this, you either make the fight scenes work, or its a fail. It has to be plausible to an extent. Its a fine line, and it all comes down to the skills of the cast and director. Here they do a fine job. You don't make a move like this without devoting time and effort in to making the scenes work.

It is easy to criticise the lack of story depth, as it is a standard war movie in this respect. The war strategy is basically the story development. There really isn't much more to it than that.

The script I quite enjoy, for what it is. At least the english dubbed version of the script I watched. Again, it plays second fiddle to the other elements of the film that really shine. Its really theatrical.

What I like about movies that have 360 (at this time) ratings on IMDB, is you can watch i with little to no expectations.

In BEACH OF THE WAR GODS, an action-packed Hong Kong swordplay adventure from 1973, Jimmy Wang Yu rallies three fighters to help lead the men of a Chinese beach town in battle against the invading Japanese. One of the fighters is an expert knife thrower and comes with his own arsenal. It all leads quickly to a massive battle in the town streets. The swordfights are reminiscent of those found in Japanese samurai films, but with more action and vigor. (Interestingly, Wang Yu often made kung fu films with anti-Japanese themes, yet his films often reflected the influence of Japanese samurai films. This one, in particular, explicitly recalls Akira Kurosawa's SEVEN SAMURAI.)

The film could have used more buildup to the main battle, more training scenes, and more character development. After a simple setup, Wang Yu and company gather and prepare for battle. Then--boom!--the battle begins and lasts till the end of the film! The humble villagers we've met earlier are all now skilled uniformed fighters taking on hardened Japanese swordsmen with a range of sophisticated tactics. Action fans will love it, but those seeking a little more depth and substance may feel unsatisfied. Still, the impressive battle scenes are very well staged and photographed on a sprawling beach and a massive period backlot set. Wang Yu not only stars, but wrote and directed the film as well.

The 70's kung fu craze that swept North American B movie theatres with the popularity of Bruce Lee reached its pinnacle with this movie. Following Lee's death there were many heirs presumptive that were supposed to take off as international kung fu stars, but never did. These include Bruce Li, Sonny Chiba, Jackie Chan (whose international popularity took hold many years later and in fact has surpassed Lee's in many ways), Chuck Norris, (who had inherent North American appeal, but lacked the mysticism surrounding Lee), and perhaps the most talented of them all, Jimmy Wang Yu.

Wang Yu movies had elements of myth, magic, history and violence that has been touched on, but not equaled by Ang Lee's recent Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.

Old all the Wang Yu movies, Beach of the War Gods comes together in a way that truly raised the genre to new heights. A Chinese general arrives in a coastal town to fend off a Japanese invasion. While based on an historical incident, the movie employs all the trademark fantastical elements of great kung fu films. The various leaders of the Chinese and Japanese forces have special powers and skills and these are the 'hard men' of movies before the term existed.

The costumes and sets in Beach of the War Gods are something to marvel at. The fight scenes are seamless and bloody, and the pacing is enticing from beginning to end. While the characterizations are a bit thin, well..get with it..this is a kung fu movie, not Pride and Prejudice. All in all, a must-see for fans of the genre.