If you’ve seen Buddha’s Palm and thought that was an overload of maniacal, nonsensical entertainment, you’d be right. The Battle Wizard can best be described as a low-budget brainstorming period before the creation of something worthwhile. You may want to consider having a waterpipe handy before ingesting this flick. Be sure to see it alone before attempting to pawn it off on your friends, because to understand this level of kung fu cinema retardation, you would have already had to expose yourself to the likes of The Bastard Swordsman, The Super Inframan, or Holy Flame of the Martial World to even begin to appreciate it.
Danny Lee plays our hero in this one, and does an average job at best. I can’t really blame him though. It’s not as if he was asked to submerse himself in an intriguing psychological role for a Stanley Kubrick film. On the contrary, he plays a sheltered douchebag scholar, who knows no martial arts, and decides to go out into the real world to see if he can get by with no kung fu skills. Luckily for him, the first person he meets is a young girl playing with snakes. Trying to be a nice guy, he begins to beat the snakes with a tree branch, only to find out that the snakes are the girl’s friends (and weapons). No nookie for you, Danny!
They become friends and make a deal that she’ll teach him how to fight, and he will teach her books. She throws his wussy ass around for a few minutes, then explains that since he doesn’t have the patience (nor the budget for a film that lasts longer than 72 minutes) to learn kung fu, that he can instead suck the blood of a python to acquire unparalleled fighting skills. Unfortunately, they have to go through the Poison Moths Clan territory to locate this all-powerful python. This is where the story gets interesting. OK – not really, because that never happens (the story getting interesting, that is). What… and I’m supposed to write an interesting review?
The answer to that is “No.” The film doesn’t deserve my time in giving it a thorough review. With that said, I consider myself a pretty hardcore Shaw Bros. fan; and that’s really why I can justify purchasing the DVD – because it’s part of the Celestial Shaw Bros. restored films. Here’s my advice: If you own less than 100 kung fu movies, don’t waste your time and money with this film, because there are hundreds of martial arts films that I would recommend before this one. On the other hand, if you’re down with cheesy B-grade plots and special effects, or are a true Shaw junkie, then maybe this film is for you.
It has been said that one can only really understand something when they are able to teach it effectively; and I similarly find that I have come to a greater appreciation of this film (and films in general) through the process of reviewing it. For the average viewer, this concept is not essential to grasp, but with a detailed look into “The Web of Death”, we will dive right in.
The Mid-Autumn Festival is approaching, where boxers will gather to compete for the title of “King of the Boxer World.” In order to maintain the status of the Five Venoms Clan, one of its leaders - The Snake (aka Liu Shen) - played by Lo Lieh, suggests to the chief that they should use the clan’s treasured weapon to ensure martial world domination. That weapon is the Five Venoms Spider. When the chief refuses, recognizing that Lo Lieh usually plays a villain in his movies (OK, that’s not really his reasoning), the Snake must devise a plan to acquire the Spider weapon. That plan is to spread rumors that the Spider has reappeared, then let the righteous boxers (the good guys) find it for them.
As word gets around, the righteous schools and clans take action. Wudang Clan leader, Priest Tiansuan (Cheng Miu), sends his top student Fei Yingxiong (Yueh Hua) to Shaolin Temple to meet with Master Wenkong (Ku Feng) to investigate the matter of the Five Venoms Spider’s reappearance. On his way to Shaolin, Mr. Fei bumps into someone who says they have a friend of a friend who can get some information about the Five Venoms Clan. In a case of mistaken gender and unknown identity, this turns out to be the clan chief’s daughter, Hong Susu (played by Ching Li). But, with a romantic interest developing, she keeps this secret to herself. Susu and her father (the Five Venoms chief, played by Wong Hap) have a discussion regarding the whereabouts of the Spider, and through some mal-intentioned eavesdropping, this crucial information gets back to the Snake. Now that the Snake knows where the clan’s treasure is, it’s time to let all hell break loose!
Mr. Fei’s younger brother, Yingjie (Wong Chung), is sent with another Wudang classmate named Quixin (the sexy Lily Li) to further investigate, while Liu Shen (the Snake) sends maps of the Spider’s location to the Qingyi Clan, as well as to the Heisong Clan.
If you’re confused, you should be. Chu Yuan films tend to do that.
So, why are all these people so obsessed with this weapon, the Five Venoms Spider? It comes wrapped in the 7th generation chief’s seal; and when you open it, a thick smoke pours out, letting your opponent know that you mean fucking business. It emits powerful and debilitating rays, along with spider webs that act like barbed wire laced with sulfuric acid. Anybody within short proximity is toast, unless they know how to defend it.
Yingjie finally makes his way to the Spider, but only after zigging and zagging his way through deathtraps, explosions, and puzzles which require stepping on certain platforms in proper sequence. Unfortunately, as he tries to make his way out of dodge with the most valuable weapon in the martial world, his efforts fall short as he gets nabbed by someone else looking for the treasure.
One of the most attractive features of a Chu Yuan film (aside from the aesthetic/cosmetic beauty), is that you never really know where it’s going to end up. Some dose of moral value usually makes its way to the forefront, and The Web of Death is no exception. “The Magic Blade” deals with a hero’s temptation of power and riches. The dramatic ending of “Killer Clans” examines loyalty and betrayal. “The Web of Death”, however, turns its focus on character judgement and forgiveness in a setting of catastrophic events. Many have wronged each other in some way, and it’s becomes necessary to sift through everyone’s version of the truth in order to make life and death decisions. Who’s telling the truth? Who deserves to die? Who is the real enemy?
On most levels, “The Web of Death” delivers like you would expect from a Chu Yuan film. But before kissing his ass, I must admit that I’ve seen much better from him. There’s really no main character in the film, so it tends to leave the viewer with no emotional attachment to anyone. Instead, your interest lies purely in wanting to know what’s going to happen next. Viewers of kung fu films like to “root” for someone to be victorious, and this pretext doesn’t seem to exist in the film. Also, while Tang Chia (director of action masterpieces like Shaolin Prince and Shaolin Intruders) is credited with the film’s fight sequences, the action isn’t particularly memorable.
That said, Chu Yuan has a way with the medium of film. It’s a bundle of canvasses through which to tell a story. Those include lavishly colorful settings, numerous characters and character relationships to absorb, intrigue and deceit, and of course, a thousand ways to create havoc with explosions and poisons. There are several Chu Yuan films that better immortalize his cinematic and storytelling genius; but for any fans of his or Shaw Bros., “The Web of Death” will surely entangle you and not disappoint.
The Love Eterne is perhaps misunderstood to some degree; but when viewed as a romantic tragedy, it does not stand up to the likes of "Bichunmoo". However, this may be an unfair comparison for 2 reasons:
"The Love Eterne" is a musical, and
It was made in the early 60's.
But with that said, "Bichunmoo" was much more powerful in it's display of sadness and hopelessness when two lovers could not unite under circumstances that were beyond their control; and death is the only option to be together. The gut-wrenching finale of Bichunmoo was also as truly moving as any 'Romeo and Juliet' tear inducer could be. "The Love Eterne" pales in comparison with it's lack of subplots, which seem to be replaced with incessant singing, then leaves you with the impression of happiness as the lovers once again reuinite in the poor special effects they were trying to portray as Heaven. I know - it's a musical. But mix in a normal conversation every now and then. And yes, I also have to remind myself that the film was made in 1963, so as not to criticize the laughable, poor graphics.
In the same breath, the movie suffers, yet seems to stay afloat for the same reasons. The presentation is unique, but ridiculous. Maybe the drama folks out there will disagree with me, but if you've got Ivy Ling Po playing the role of a male, the story changes from a romantic tragedy musical to a lesbian romantic tragedy musical. You're willing suspension of disbelief needs to be at it's best to buy into the story. If you want to see a 5 star film with two women getting it on, watch "Intimate Confessions of a Chinese Courtesan" instead.
I'll be lenient, and give "The Love Eterne" 3 stars [out of 5]; but nobody will ever be able to convince me that it was deserving of all the film festival awards and accolades it received.
Ti Lung, David Chiang and Chen Kuan Tai star in a tale of 3 blood brothers who tragically betray each other simply because their moral standards are incompatible.
Ti Lung plays a provincial governor obsessed with power who will kill anyone preventing him from his rise to the top. In stark contrast, Chen Kuan Tai assumes the role of a womanizing idiot who gets himself killed for trusting the governor who sends him out on a suicide mission so that he can steal his wife. David Chiang plays the 3rd brother, and gets to tell the entire story to the court as to why he had to kill the governor.
I have mixed feelings about this film. It's well directed (as are most Chang Cheh movies), and both Ti Lung and Chen Kuan Tai do an outstanding job playing characters that you are not accustomed to seeing them in. Unfortunately, the film loses its value where lots of other kung fu movies have succeeded: REPEAT VIEWABILITY. There's very little dialog and lots of tension which in this film translates directly to high drama within a thin plot. The power trips, betrayal and tragedy are truly Shakespearian. Combine that with an ending where the bad guys brutally execute the character with the highest moral standards, then break out in laughter about it. Very sick and twisted.
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