ChanBot i must have seen a different film!!

ShangLuda Admirable film.

Sexyloutak Absolutely the worst movie.

Fairaher The film makes a home in your brain and the only cure is to see it again.

poe426 BEACH OF THE WAR GODS starts off with a belligerent Japanese warlord pushing around the Chinese villagers he's overseeing: he informs them that he'll be raising their taxes- soon- and they'll pay or suffer the consequences. Enter Hsiao (Wang Yu), traveling swordsman. He promptly puts the Japanese in their place. Knowing they'll retaliate, he begins recruiting local swordsmen for the upcoming festivities. By the time the Japanese arrive en masse to set things right, Yu and his friends have booby-trapped the beach in every way conceivable (and in some ways inconceivable; this being a Wang Yu movie and all). The first assault comes at night. The Japanese retreat to lick their wounds until daylight, when the second wave attacks. They fare no better in the light of day. In quintessential Wang Yu fashion, he throws in everything but the kitchen sink when it comes to his larger than life free-for-alls. One of the things that make Wang Yu movies worth watching is that they're no-holds-barred fun, especially when Wang Yu goes all Wang Yu on their a**es (watch for him dangling from a windmill, a la the end of AMBUSH). Can't beat that.

rak001 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.

Brian Camp In BEACH OF THE WAR GODS, an action-packed Hong Kong swordplay adventure from 1972, 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.)The problem here is the lack of a buildup to the main battle and lack of 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! Action fans will love it, but those seeking a little more depth and substance may feel unsatisfied. Wang Yu not only stars, but wrote and directed the film as well.

Stormrider I found this movie in an old shop and bought it just for fun,not thinking it would be nothing other than an ordinary old Hong-Kong movie(badly dubbed and often lame fighting).Boy was i wrong!The main actors in this movie is the kind of people that you just can`t help finding cool whatever they do.Since this is a Golden Harvest production the sets,costumes and props are well made.The directing by Wang Yu is superb,his visual style of camera angles and the use of slow-motion is just like the movies are made today.The fight-choreographing is sharp,and visually stunning.Compared with other movies from Hong-Kong,usually filled with rain of blood,this movie is more clean.I`m quite used to large bodycounts in any hong-kong movie,but this movie takes killing to a new level.The final battle between the chinese and the japanese is nothing other that a long massacre with people filling your Tv-screen.The only bad about this movie is the dubbing,i only hope that this movie some day will be released on DVD with the original cantonese language.