Die Todesbucht der Shaolin

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.

I have forgotten the name of this film, then thx to my cousin I found it and watched it again. Great film, and a great performance.

I watched this film 30 times or more when I was 7-10 years old.

Real historical defence systems have been used in the film. That was very cool. For example, boiling oil. Traps in the coast. I have read about these methods in history.

Key figures in the war were accurately shown. Especially Leng Ping - a mercenary expert in throwing flying daggers. I liked his role in the war.

Wang Yu is a legend. Her charismatic stance in the movie impressed me a lot. Choosing black and white dresses for fighters was a good one. It's a beautiful film shot under the limited conditions of that time.

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.

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.

The narrator explains the political and social problems of the times as we see waves crash over the rocks. Jimmy walks alone to the city gate. The people are packing up and leaving. Some want to stay and fight but it seems hopeless. The Japanese are already there and demanding a ransom to spare the city. Jimmy only needs one chopstick to kill one of the Japanese. He scratches his nose with the other then draws his sword to kill all the others except Shan Mao who flees.

Fabulous opening fight sequence. I consider this the best opening fight sequence of any martial arts movie up until 7/13/1973 the date of this movie's release.

This movie is famous for the lengthy battle sequence and has the record for the longest uninterrupted fight. Jimmy got it right by using a variety of weapons, plus props and other parts of the set manipulated into the fights. A battle this long has to be like a roller coaster ride or else it gets repetitive and boring. Like a roller coaster means twists and turns, speed up and slow down, left and right and every direction incessantly. Jimmy and the action directors got it just right here for an unforgettable and possibly unbeatable feature fight.

Is there anything to criticize about it? The fight sequence with the men using woven rattan shields and swords could have been choreographed better. It did not come across as effective or realistic but more as flashy acrobatics. This is a legitimate fighting style including the forward rolls. The Grand Master of All Martial arts Movie - Sifu Chia Liu-Liang- used these fighters and their techniques in a few Shaw Brothers movies and did it more realistically as to the fighting impact. My only other complaint was the flashy and blinding special effect in the last sword fight. I felt it was just not needed and added only a hokey element to it.

I rate this movie as one of the best martial arts movies of all times. My recommendation is meaningless as anyone who knows anything about this genre already knows about this movie.