Those less familiar with the Wuxia genre would perhaps be unaware of just how big a star Jimmy Wang-Yu was in the years prior to Bruce Lee's emergence. Best known for his appearances as the “One Armed Swordsman” and the self-directed “One Armed Boxer” he was one of the pioneers of the martial arts film. Whilst his career would decline as the 1970's wore on, he left a body of work ripe for rediscovery. With Eureka Entertainment releasing a 50th anniversary edition of his fabled “Beach of the War Gods”, it's a good a time as any to revisit his legacy.
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A Chinese fishing town is under threat from the invading Japanese forces. Hsia Feng (Jimmy Wang-Yu) arrives in town just as the advance party of invaders arrives. With all of the wealthier residents long since departed, those that remain are unable to raise the tribute that is demanded of them. Unable to fight back themselves, they turn to Yu who agrees to gather some other warriors to defend them. He gathers four fighters (a Swordsman, A Spearman, A Knife thrower and shield exponent). They proceed to train the locals to that they can stand up to the invading forces led by Shinobi Hashimoto (Wong Chi-hok). An epic battle ensues that can only be decided upon the Beach of the War gods itself as a final duel will decide their ultimate fate.
Cinema especially within the action genre is transnational. A successful feature will be reshaped and reworked to fit into the culture of its intended audience. “Beach of the War Gods” is the cinematic equivalent of Six Degrees of Separation as a result. In basic terms it is a reworking of Kurosawa's classic “Seven Samurai”. Yet Kurosawa also had an influence on the Spaghetti western with his “Yojimbo” becoming “A Fistful of Dollars”. The visual look of this feature indeed owes a debt to these westerns with a seemingly never-ending wind and the town almost a dust bowl as it swirls around. Wang Yu had also appeared in “Zatoichi vs The One-Armed Swordsman” in 1971 so would have also been influenced by the Chanbara flicks that were being released in Japan at the same time. Look at his apparel in his introductory scene and it's a familiar look that we see sported in these pieces. All these different styles and approaches are merged into what is probably his most polished looking piece.
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The choreography is what serves to date “Beach of the War Gods”, so it is worth remembering that this is both 50 years old and a Jimmy Wang Yu film. Wang Yu was an inventive director once he got the chance to do so at Golden Harvest but the actual action itself could be rather basic in terms of stylistic movement. His characters would have specific looks to identify themselves as opposed to character development themselves and here we get a knife thrower, spear fighter and one that utilises two shields. There is some good use of slow motion and even the requisite trampoline effects are better handled than most. It's still restricted by the swirly arm style he favours but at least we get more visual flair to mix it up with. There is an atmosphere to the piece that allows it to stand out. The finale on the beach itself looks superb and concludes the feature in a suitably epic manner.
The Japanese, as was the tendency of the period, are irredeemably evil. It's a clear good vs bad with no shades of grey. Even the one Chinese fighter that is initially materialistic is eventually swayed by the patriotic sense of duty being laid upon him. Like most of its contemporaries, there is little in the way of character development. The Chinese warriors are honorable men fighting for their country's honor. The villagers are patriotic but unable to fend for themselves. The Japanese ruthless. The only one of their side to stand out is the general who is renowned for being incredibly violent. To a modern audience, this might look really simplistic, but it was of its time. Interestingly, with the increasing patriotism of Chinese melody films recently we are seeing a return to this attitude.
At this point in history, Wang Yu was arguably at the apex of his career. His acting could be rather stiff, and he had a tendency to play characters that were bordering on the nihilistic and frequently short of an arm! Most of them would go through arduous training sequences that would at least explain this psyche. Yu is just introduced like a classical hero coming in to save the day and would in normal circumstances walk off into the sunset at the conclusion. Virtually everyone accepts him as the leader and just continue onward. It means there is a lack of dramatic tension to the narrative, instead replaced with archetypes. The action makes up for this however and it can be quite exhausting to watch once the battle starts as it takes up most of the second half of the film.
Jimmy Wang Yu definitely goes for the epic approach with “Beach of the War Gods” and for the most part succeeds. Whilst the narrative is cut and paste, there is more visual flair and polish than normally seen in his work and the influences clearly on display. Arguably it is his greatest achievement as a director. Certainly one to rediscover and enjoy.
