Xian si jue

This was a good martial arts flick. There were good special effects, enjoyable fight sequences and decent acting; moreover, there was something that you don't see the Chinese movies from that era: A sympathetic Japanese character.

Not to say that the Japanese champion (played by Norman Chu) is a good person...far from it; but, he is honorable. He is also three dimensional. He is kind to children and not a thug. If you've seen martial arts movies with Japanese characters, you can understand how different this is.

If you already like Chinese Kung Fu movies, this one is worth an evening...

I'll start by saying I'm in no way an expert on martial arts movies. One night I was awake at 3:30 a.m. and happened to catch this movie, that's all. It was part of a martial arts marathon, or something. I was magnetized the entire time, and by the end I realized I had seen a film that was a direct predecessor of "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon."

I must agree with the other reviewer here, who states so eloquently that this movie knows exactly what it wants to do and does it perfectly.

The cinematography is stunning. Almost every frame is beautiful.

It's utterly preposterous, of course, but even that makes it a wonderful fantasy film that actually has much in common with Peter Jackson's "Lord of the Rings" films. By that I mean it's utter fantasy beautifully and meticulously realized.

Put it this way, I'm watching it again right now - about 15 years after I first discovered it, and I'm enjoying it so much I came here to IMDb, just to put SOME kind of review out there in the world for this wonderful movie.

Wherever this movie isn't well executed, it's crazy fun, and vice verse. It's impossible to tell where the beauty ends and the craziness begins, too. Just one of my favorite movies ever - and I've watched a lot of movies.

Duel To The Death is one of the last old school Hong Kong martial arts epics, made by Shaw Brothers at the tail end of their golden age of production. But there is no sense of a dying fall here, as the film is a fast moving, colourful and extremely enjoyable sword fighting film that, upon its release, was received to high critical acclaim in the east. Its reputation in the west is less widely established - something the recent anamorphic release, with supporting commentary and documentary extras, should go long way to correct.

Based around a familiar rivalry between the respective martial arts systems practiced by China and Japan, Duel To The Death's plot premise is relatively simple, taking place in the during the Ming dynasty. It's a generations-old challenge between the two countries, lately revived and scheduled to take place again in a venerated venue, the Holy Sword House. Japan sends its top swordsman to compete against the representative of its ancient enemy, and this long-anticipated fight will be one to the death. As directed by Ching Siu-tung, the resulting drama, rich in historical recreation and well shot in glowing colours, is spectacular and fairly influential. Enriched by a strong touch of gore and with some inspired wirework - a technique which was to become increasingly prevalent, his work is often cited as having ushered in a new age of Chinese action dramas.

At the heart of his film is the relationship between Hashimoto, the Japanese fighter/ swordsman (Norman Tsui-Keung) primed for the betterment of his lord and country and the young Chinese master, the 'Lord of the Sword' Po Ching-wan (Damien Lau). A subplot focuses on attempts to wreck the fair fight as planned, notably the employment of ninjas to steal martial secrets and abduct leading Chinese martial artists. But these fearsome and persistent ninjas aren't ordinary fighters. They attack while masked, or naked or giant sized; they explode while hugging their foes, fire rockets, drop down to attack from broad battle kites, bounce off trees, as well as flash disconcertingly from visible to the invisible. None of their tricks really distract from the increasing respect between Po Ching-wan and Hashimoto in the meantime, although Po also grows emotionally attached to a female martial fighter Sui Man (Flora Cheung) whose duplicitous father is the Lord of Holy Sword House. The relationship between the two contestants gradually grows more complex but Hashimoto, who eventually has to face the claims of competing loyalties (orders from the Shogun and his own sense of honour) has the most complicated set of decisions to make and his final actions, which attempt to reconcile two irreconcilable strands of tension, provide the most arresting moments in the film.

Ching Siu-tung's most celebrated film in the west is A Chinese Ghost Story (aka: Sinnui Yauman), although most recently he was action choreographer on House Of Flying Daggers (aka: Shi mian mai fu). As has been noticed by others, one of his trademark strengths is to tell a traditional story well, but in a fantasy setting breaking free from the conventions of social realism (a non-naturalistic style which divides those audiences who love and who loathe so-called 'wire fu'). Duel To The Death, his debut feature, already shows this predilection. Another characteristic is his use of multiple setups to film action stunts, before editing the fragments into a whole martial play, a way of working which has also become more current. There's plenty of opportunity to show off moves like this between participants in a swordplay movie frequently contrasting and comparing the martial techniques of two proud societies and their representatives.

Thus Ching Siu-tung's fight choreography includes the varying fighting styles of Japanese samurai (and Ninjitsu) techniques, as well as the Shaolin techniques and swordplay. Those familiar with spaghetti westerns may also find some echoes in his work here, especially when the director films his heroes progressing against barren landscapes towards the start of the film to music which sounds (to these ears at least) vaguely south of the border. He's also not reluctant to add some bizarre touches of his own, such as the slicing into two halves of an evil ninja as required, or the inclusion of an exploding head as part of a climatic encounter. To be honest, once established, the narrative is not that engaging, apart from the increasing suspense as the two young champions look set to face off each other in the deciding contest - which, when it finally occurs, is filmed in the dramatic and expressionistic setting of a rocky coastline. Perhaps he is less successful in suggesting any burgeoning romance between Sui Man and the Chinese fighter but, given the main focus of the narrative, this is not a distraction.

The Tick would be proud!! Anyway, I happened to see this on a lark one Saturday on the Action Channel and fell in LOVE! I rushed out and found it on DVD, much to my little kung fu heart's surprise. The plot is a little hard to follow in places, but it makes for fun viewing, especially the NINJAS! They make some great entrances, coming in on kites being the best! Mommy, can I get my very own Ninja Kite? And you haven't lived until you've seen a NAKED ninja (hmm, never learned THAT move in Tai kwon do)! Just go with me on this one. Find it, buy it, rent it, kill if you must! This is one of the best/silliest kung fu movies you'll ever see.

Beautiful, confusing, chaotic. Motivations hard for us westerners to understand. (The great combat is fought not for riches or territory, but only for honor.) Gleefully bends the laws of physics, and plays with your reason in the finest HK (Hong Kong) tradition.

I have shared this film with folks who had not previously experienced HK film, and they were instantly captivated. Or should I say captured. By the Ninjas.

Because -- this film's certainly got the Ninjas! Surf Ninjas! Sand Ninjas! Exploding Ninjas! Tree Ninjas! Flying Ninjas! Roof Ninjas! Giant Ninjas! Kite Ninjas! Naked Girl Ninjas! (Oh, that long-haired Naked Fu...)

Just as with life, every time things quiet down in this film, you may be sure the Ninjas will pop up to keep things lively.

Watch this and be captured. You have been warned.