This review may contain spoilers
Shaolin vs Ninja!
Duel to the Death was short on plot but delivered with high flying action! Two men met to fight for personal and national honor and pride. More than that it had ninjas-exploding ninjas, invisible ninjas, even naked ninjas. Tony Ching Siu Tung pulled out all the stops for the fight choreography.Ching Wan leaves the Shaolin temple to participate in a fabled duel. Hashimoto, his opponent, is sent by the Shogun to defeat him in order to honor the country. Kenji, unknown to Hashimoto, is also ordered to go to China with numerous ninjas to "help" Hashimoto win and steal kung fu secrets from the temple. Song Lam, a cross-dressing swordswoman, crosses paths with both of them before revealing that she belongs to the school where the underground arena holds the fights. Surprisingly, both male leads were not fooled by her disguise! The ninjas also kidnap China's greatest fighters to take back to Japan to force them to disclose their kung fu secrets.
The plot and the acting were simple. Where this movie excelled was in the fight choreography and ninja action. The film was quite dark with numerous gruesome deaths and dismemberments. What made this one a winner for me were the ninjas, many of their scenes were hilarious, though I don't think they were intended to be. A giant ninja divided into five ninjas-even a naked one, they hid in the sand, concealed themselves on ceilings and in trees, disappeared, and literally exploded. My favorite scene had ninja kites! When Eddy Ko's character met his demise, I laughed hysterically. The sword action was fast and aided by serious kung fu and ninja flight. I don't think I've ever seen as much wire-fu and prolonged aerial action in an older martial arts movie, especially one that wasn’t a fantasy.
Norman Chu played a mostly respectable samurai who was taught to win at all costs. His was the strongest performance of the lot. Damian Lau as the more thoughtful Shaolin fighter, was sadly lacking in screen charisma. I almost didn't recognize Eddie Ko behind his thick black beard. Speaking of beards, the wigs and beards were among some of the worst I've ever seen---comically bad. The costumes and sets, on the other hand, were quite lovely. A couple of telephone poles and more modern roads weren't camouflaged very well though it did look like they tried with leaves and sand. Overall, the cinematography, scenery, and music were of a higher quality than what you would expect from this era and genre.
Duel to the Death raced along at a fast pace. Whenever there was a quiet moment, a ninja was sure to pop out of the sand or even thin air to liven the place up. For fans of old kung fu movies, this is definitely one to seek out. Whether you watch it in all earnestness or like me, as laugh therapy, you're sure to find at least parts of it entertaining. It's worth it for the ninja kites alone.
8/5/23
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