How Hong Kong actor/director Jimmy Wang Yu channelled samurai movie master Akira Kurosawa in 1973 epic Beach of the War Gods
- Jimmy Wang Yu based Beach of the War Gods, his underrated 1973 tale of Chinese villagers, martial artists and pirates, on Akira Kurosawa’s film Seven Samurai
- An expert gives his thoughts on Wang’s inspirations and ‘dedication to the art of action’, and reveals titbits about the film such as why it was shot in Taiwan
Jimmy Wang Yu is best known for his leading roles in classic films directed by Chang Cheh such as One-Armed Swordsman, but he quickly became an influential director himself – his 1970 film The Chinese Boxer started the fashion for hand-to-hand combat in Hong Kong films.
Wang’s 1973 film Beach of the War Gods, based on Akira Kurosawa’s classic Seven Samurai, is one of his most underrated films as director.
The story, about Chinese villagers working with a band of martial artists to defeat Japanese pirates, features a surfeit of mass battle scenes akin to those found in war films.
We talked to Hong Kong-born expert on Asian film Frank Djeng, who provided the narration for Eureka Film’s 50th Anniversary Blu-ray release of the movie, about what makes Beach of the War Gods such a great watch.
“Beach of the War Gods” looks to have been influenced by Akira Kurosawa’s samurai films.