Beach of the War Gods Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		4.0
Overall		4.0

Beach of the War Gods Blu-ray Movie Review

Beach of the War Gods is an entertaining martial arts classic with an ambitious sense of scale. Produced by Raymond Man-Wai Chow (Enter the Dragon, The Way of the Dragon), Beach of the War Gods is set against the backdrop of the Ming dynasty. Starring Jimmy Wang Yu, Fei Lung, Tien Yeh, Han Hsieh, Yi-Kuei Chang, and Hung Kuan.

Hsia Feng (Jimmy Wang Yu) is a lone warrior and skilled swordsman. Hsia decides to enlist the help of local warriors, mercenaries, and fishermen to band together and form an ultimate team – a team to battle and defeat the violent Japanese mercenaries who are invading the town.  Can Hsia and his dedicated rag-team of fighters defeat the opposing force?

Jimmy Wang Yu is effective in the leading role. There is a sense of dedication to the part. The supporting cast of characters includes Hashimoto (Fei Lung), Leng Ping (Tien Yeh), Iron Bull Chao (Han Hsieh), Hung (Yi-Kuei Chang), and Li (Hung Kuan). The entire cast is committed to the production.

The action scenes and the stunt work impress in spades – Beach of the War Gods is a well-done action feature and there are wonderful sequences throughout Beach of the War Gods. The stunts in Beach of the War Gods were coordinated by Pao Hsiao (Beach of the War Gods, Vampire Settle on Police Camp) and Hung Kuan (Beach of the War Gods, Two Great Cavaliers). The action spectacle is reason enough to see the film. The staging of the battle scenes is often complex and is a huge draw for the entire feature.

The costume designs by Kai-Yuan Li (One-Armed Boxer, Beach of the War Gods) are well-done and add to the production quality. Li is a talented costume designer. The costumes fit the period setting – the costuming establishing the time-period and genre well.

Edited by Peter Cheung (The Way of the Dragon, Fist of Fury) and Chin-Chen Wang (The Coldest Winter in Peking, Home Sweet Home), the editing is well-done throughout the feature. Beach of the War Gods impresses with a solid editorial vision.  The editing is well-paced and helps the action scenes flow well.

The cinematography by Yao-Hu Chiu (The Ghostly Face, Gold Constables) is impressive and showcases a beautiful vision for the production. The cinematography is wonderful throughout – there are plenty of impressive visuals. A solid effort by Chiu.

Composed by Mou-Shan Huang (The Legend of the Six Dynasty, The Challenge of the Lady Ninja), Beach of the War Gods features solid music. The score is engaging. The music is especially effective and well highlighted during the action scenes.

Written and directed by Jimmy Wang Yu (The Dragon Squad, Return of the Chinese Boxer), Beach of the War Gods is a solid action-adventure with a good sense of scale. The action is the highlight, of course. The action filmmaking is epic at times and the production has a lot of good merits. Beach of the War Gods is effective martial arts filmmaking.

Beach of the War Gods Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Released on Blu-ray by Shout Factory, Beach of the War Gods is presented in 1080p MPEG-4 AVC encoded high-definition in the original theatrical aspect ratio of 2.35:1 widescreen. The transfer impresses with solid clarity and detail. The presentation has a good scan of the feature. The crisp presentation has a lot of detail in the image. The robust visuals add to the presentation quality. The scan doesn't have much in the way of print wear or damage.

Beach of the War Gods Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The Blu-ray release includes a selection of lossless audio options: Mandarin DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono (with English subtitles) and English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono. The lossless audio is well done. Dialogue is well reproduced. The soundstage is clear and the sound effects are well reproduced.

Beach of the War Gods Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Audio Commentary With Frank Djeng Of The New York Asian Film Festival

Audio Commentary With Film Critic James Mudge

Ready For War – Interview With Actor Hsieh Hsing (HD, 9:56)

Beach Battle – Interview With Actor Jack Long (HD, 14:50)

Original Theatrical Trailer (HD, 4:07)

Image Gallery (HD, 1:27)

Beach of the War Gods Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Beach of the War Gods is an impressive martial arts epic. There are several sequences where the battle staging is especially effective and impressive. The production scale is enormous – the sets adding to a robust environment for the filmmaking. The Blu-ray release features a solid high-definition transfer, impressive lossless audio, and a nice selection of supplements. Recommended.