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Released by: Well Go USA
Released on: January 6th, 2009.
Director: Pao Hsueh-Li
Cast: Danny Lee, Tanny Tien Ni, Lin Cheh-Chi
Year: 1970
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Battle Wizard – Movie Reviews:
More along the lines of ‘nuttier’ Shaw Brothers fare like Bloody Parrot or Portrait In Crystal than the traditional martial arts films that the studio is so well known for, Pao-Hsueh-Li’s 1977 film, Battle Wizard, is supernatural story of hand to hand combat, giant snakes, laser beams, and fighting monkeys… the later three elements sadly missing in most films these days.
The film follows a man named Tuan Yu (played by Danny Lee, best known for his role in John Woo’s The Killer) who is really a bit of a meek bookworm. Tuan Yu learns of a magical ‘Red Python’ that will grant anyone who possesses it great power. He winds up having to join forces with his sword wielding sister, Mu Wan-Ching (Tanny Tien Ni), to find the snake and bring peace to their family. This results in their having to take out a few local problems in the form of a guy in a yellow robe whose pissed off because he lost his legs in a fight, an evil snake charmer whose serpentine pets do her bidding, and a hot chick in a black mask (Tim Lei) who vows to either marry or kill any man who sees her true face. Joining in on the fun is a giant gorilla, a Neanderthal henchman type who shoots his claw-hands at people he doesn’t like, and a gigantic killer snake.
Based on an epic novel entitled The Demi-Gods And Semi-Devils by Chin Yung, this film is filled to the brim with all manner of nutty old school optical effects, crazy costumes, and fairly vicious bloodshed. It’s as violent as anyone could hope for and far crazier than you’d likely expect from a film that remains fairly unknown outside of Shaw Brothers devotees. The movie boogies along at a very quick pace and while at times it gets a little confusing, it’s certainly never dull and it’s fun to see a young Danny Lee carry the film as well as he does here.
The fight scenes are well choreographed and shot with an infectious enthusiasm that makes the movie a lot of fun but the real stand out elements are the scenes involving supernatural mayhem. Plenty of weird snake scenes give the film some horrific charm while the climactic laser beam battle makes you wonder if maybe some of the Indonesian filmmakers of the late seventies and early eighties didn’t borrow from the Shaw Brothers pictures more than they’ll admit to. Throw in some of those fantastic, if incredibly fake, and colorful sets that you see in many of the studio’s pictures and all manner of crazy colored lighting and make up effects and you’ve got a movie that looks as cool as its story deserves.
While ultimately this picture will probably disappoint those who crave martial arts action in its purist of forms, it’s hard not to appreciate this twisted ‘everything but the kitchen sink’ type of filmmaking. Battle Wizard really is fast paced Shaw Brothers exploitation at its best, a really fun blend of horror, fantasy, Kung Fu and…. giant fighting monkeys.
Battle Wizard – DVD Review:
Battle Wizard is presented in its original 2.35.1 anamorphic widescreen aspect ratio in a transfer that is, aside from the fact that it’s interlaced, quite attractive for an older DVD release. Colors look nice and natural and while shadow detail is a bit wonky and a couple of scenes approach softness, overall the picture is stable and clean. Black levels look good, there aren’t any major problems with print damage and mpeg compression artifacts and edge enhancement are never problematic.
Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound options are supplied in both English and Chinese with removable subtitles provided in both languages. Rears aren’t used as effectively as they could have been and it would have been nice to have the original mono mix supplied as an option but the audio sounds decent enough. There aren’t any problems with hiss or distortion and both mixes sound pretty clean though at times you’ll probably notice some odd reverb.
Save for a static menu and chapter selection, the only extra feature on this release is the film’s original theatrical trailer (presented in non-anamorphic widescreen, sadly with no English subtitles).
Battle Wizard – The Final Word:
More extras would have been welcome but Battle Wizard really is too cool for school! The film is a great mix of horrific insanity and traditional Kung Fu action sure to please any cult movie fan.