Beach of the War Gods

Beach of the War Gods (Zhan Shen Tan) (1973)

Runtime: 100 minutes

Directed by: Jimmy Wang Yu

Starring: Wang Yu, Fei Lung, Tien Yeh, Han Hsieh, Yi-Kuei Chang

From: Golden Harvest

A Tarantino favorite that’s also a favorite of the Pure Cinema Podcast guys. One or the other was how I first heard of this Jimmy Wang Yu joint; the rave reviews plus the comparisons to Seven Samurai made me miffed that for ages, you couldn’t find a decent copy if you could find the movie at all. The restored print that Shout, Eureka and others use showed up on Tubi but I rarely use that anymore so I was happy when last month their YouTube channel uploaded the film.

To clarify, I’m apparently one of the few that actually pays for YouTube Premium; that’s been reasoned from social media and comments all over the Internet. While I’d like a lower price for the service, I use the platform so often that not having to deal with constant commercials for years now has been blissful.

The YouTube print is dubbed-not my preference. That did not ruin the experience. Director/star Wang Yu was a badass swordsman who decides to help the residents of a Chinese coastal town from Japanese marauders that frequently raid the area in the 14th century. He trains the villagers and recruits other badasses for the big battle; the Seven Samurai comparison was made by me for a reason. Others used that formula so why not let Wu use it himself?

The action was exciting no matter the weapons used… sword, daggers, spear, shields, various items used as weapons that I won’t spoil, etc. The characterizations and plot aren’t top-notch but I suppose that’s irrelevant when most of the final 40 minutes are the Japanese arriving in the village, then the epic battle happens, filled with great arrangement and choreography. Many graves will have to be dug, on both sides; the Nipponese opposition are more than worthy adversaries.

As Beach of the War Gods also had a nice score and Wang Yu the director gifted the viewer several stunning visual shots, it was a movie I’m glad was recommended by Tarantino and one that’s easier to track down now.