The gods favors the mighty after all...
Beach of the War Gods is a 1973 martial arts film starring Jimmy Wang Yu, Lung Fei, Tieh Yeh and Hsueh Han.
Towards the end of the Ming dynasty, a cluster of coastal Chinese villages are at the mercy of Japanese buccaneers, who regularly launch raids and attacks on the village, plundering the locals of their wealth and food. But when a drifter and wandering warrior, Hsia-feng (Jimmy) single-handedly kills a small band of buccaneers while in the village, the villagers are quick to offer Hsia-feng an extended stay, in exchange for protection against the invaders. Hsia agrees, and later he is joined by a few more warriors, including "Killer" Leng-ping and Iron Bull, who then decides to train the villagers into battle against the buccaneers.
Yes, this is Seven Samurai all over again, but with Wang-yu. So expect the action, gore, and onscreen bodycount to skyrocket. After all, Jimmy gets to do what he does best...
Tropes of the War Gods:
- Big Bad: Shinobu Hashimoto leads the Japanese pirates to regularly commit Rape, Pillage, and Burn on the villages.
- Big Badass Battle Sequence: One that occurs halfway through the movie, where the village men trained into becoming warriors, led by Hsia-feng and Leng Ping, takes on the Japanese buccaneers led by Hashimoto. The entire battle lasts for at least ten minutes onscreen, with plenty of deaths on each side. Of course Hsia-feng and Hashimoto leads in terms of bodycount, killing plenty of mooks and redshirts, respectively.
- Blood-Splattered Warrior: Hsia-feng, during big battle scenes. Especially given how he wears completely white. It's mostly the blood of enemy pirates, but at the end of his battle against Hashimoto...
- The Drifter: Hsia-feng spends his days Walking the Earth, and by chance stumbles across the village being threatened by Japanese pirates. He's offered a chance to have an extended stay in the village in exchange for protecting the village.
- Dual Wielding: Hsia-feng uses twin swords when it comes to taking names.
- Elite Mook: The samurai leaders whom are clad in red (instead of navy blue), uses special weapons like the flail, tetsubo or nagayari, and puts up a much, much better fight than the samurai mooks. They also give Hsia-feng and his crew a much tougher fight during the battle scenes.
- Establishing Character Moment: When Hsia-feng, a stranger complete with mysterious Eye-Obscuring Hat and all, first enters the village, it was in the aftermath of a buccaneer raid, where everyone is wary of strangers and afraid to even leave their houses. Cue Hsia-feng entering a tavern occupied by Japanese pirates, and when the leader orders his men to kill Hsia for barging in, Hsia kills them all soundlessly establishing himself as a threat to the invaders.
- The Hero Dies: Hsia-feng and his lancer, Leng-Ping, both fails to outlive the credits.
- Hero Killer: Hashimoto, who claims the highest body-count amongst the Japanese bucaneers. Plenty of redshirts have felled to his sword, including Leng-Ping The Lancer.
- Home Guard: The villagers defending the coastal town from Japanese buccaneers ultimately becomes this, once Hsia-feng and his crew teaches the villagers to fight.
- The Magnificent Seven Samurai: This time, it's a band of seven warriors, led by Hsia-Feng, with most of the focus being on Hsia The Hero, Leng Ping The Lancer, and Iron Bull The Big Guy inspiring the village to fight against an army of Japanese pirates..
- Martial Arts Headband: Worn by all the Japanese buccaneers. From the lowest-tier mooks to the red-clad Elite Mooks, and their boss Hashimoto.
- Mutual Kill: The result of the one-on-one, mano-and-mano, final battle between Hashimoto and Hsia, with Hsia slicing Hashimoto's throat while suffering a fatal stab in the process.
- Noble Demon: Hashimoto, after recognizing Hsia-feng and his crew to be his Worthy Opponent, actually keeps his word to retreat if Hsia accepts his challenge on a one-on-one duel.
- Rugged Scar: Leng-feng The Lancer has one on his cheek
. - Slashed Throat: Hashimoto's fate, by Hsia's sword.
- Spare a Messenger: After Hsia-feng's introduction scene where an Elite Mook buccaneer and at least eight regular mooks tries intimidating him, Hsia kills the eight mooks without a word, and leaves the leader alive to deliver a message that the villages aren't to be taken lightly.
- Storming the Beaches: The movie do take place on a beach, after all, like what the title states.
- Training the Peaceful Villagers: This being a Seven Samurai type of film, of course this happens. Numerous village men are recruited to join the La Résistance army, with Hsia-feng, Leng Feng and Iron Bull training them on using weapons and fighting.
- Worthy Opponent: Hsia-feng and Hashimoto, after facing each other directly in the big battle halfway through the movie, where they each cut a bloody chunk from the opposing army, ultimately decides each other to be the most worthy of all. At which point Hashimoto decides to retreat, and challenge Hsia-feng for a one-on-one duel to determine who should claim ownership of the village.
- You Are Already Dead: Hashimoto's death invokes this; after Hashimoto and Hsia lunges at each other with a forward slash, Hashimoto turns around first, sheathing his katana. Then a trickle of blood squirts from Hashimoto's neck...
