Duel to the Death (1982)

The Duel
Xian Si Jue

Cast:

Tsui Siu Keung is Hashimoto
Damian Lau is Bo Ching Wan

What the box says:

The best swordsmen of China and Japan have made it a historical ritual to meet every 10 years for a showdown of fighting skills and powers. The leading fighter of the Japanese ninjas, Hashimoto (Tsui Siu Keung), and the Chinese chief Ching Wan (Damian Lau) have come to respect each other after years of competition - but tradition demands that they lock swords again. Their honor is put to the test when rogue ninjas barge into a Shaolin Temple to steal a secret kung fu manuscript and unleash a war.

Directed by Tony Ching Sui Tung (Hero, City Hunter), master of the swashbuckling swordfights, Duel to the Death is the stuff that classic swordfight epics are made of. Besdies a plot that keeps you tethered to the edge. Duel to the Death contains some of the most spectacular ninja vs. swordsman action of all time as well as some of the most gravity-defying wire stunts to be seen on screen.

Plot:

A temple is swarmed by a Flock of Ninjas (great name for a band…) Jumping around searching through a library and copy a certain scroll. A group of monks discover them. S sword and kung fu fight ensues. We get some old school fighting, jumping, and sword whooshing sounds.

Elder monks are meditating. They finally allow Ching “lord of the Sword” Wan to go and join the fray. Grabbing his sword he flies backwards. Yes, martial arts give you superpowers. Ching fights the ninjas. The ninjas hide the scroll and are then surrounded by a group of kung fu monks. The ninjas exercise the better part of valor. They use their rocket packs to fly to a monk grab him then explode.

Elder monks feel the loss of life is a terrible waste. Ching admires the ninjas’ dedication. Ching seeks permission to compete in a duel to determine the best fighter in China and Japan. He is granted their permission to compete.

Kenji the traveler heads to the temple. Greeted by the monks, he is given a tour of the temple. Kenji is Japanese and he extols the virtues of Japanese martial arts as compared to Shaolin Kung Fu. Kenji even tries to provoke a fight with one of the monk. Ching Wan interrupts the fight. He learns his opponent Hashimoto Kada is ready for the duel.

Ching Wan talks with the fighter monk. Ching wants to be known as the best fighter by defeating this Hashimoto. Before the duel, Ching will visit his master.

Elsewhere, Japanese fighters stand guard. Hashimoto pays respect to the General. Hashimoto must win for the respect of his country. He has been given permission to wield a highly honored sword. Hashimoto and several ninjas are meditating.

Kenji has the sacred scroll.

We get a Japanese party, ninja style. Chugging saki. Groggin’, revelin’, wenchin’, and rummin’. They keep toasting Hashimoto. A few drinks later, he leaves. Demon masked samurai attacks. A fight ensues. Apparently, the Demon masked Samurai can teleport. Hash fatally wounds him before learning it was his master. The dying master wants Hash to win for the glory of their school and has him recite the warrior code which sounds a lot like Streetfighter’s dad’s code. Kill all who oppose you, etc…

David Bowie had some wild costumes in the early 80s..

Later, Hashimoto is meditating to prepare for the battle. I’m hearing an oriental version of the Gone with the Wind theme. He heads off.

Ching is in the forest and meets his odiously comedic Kung Fu master and bird named “Dragon.” Master sent Ching with the monks to study. Apparently, Ching isn’t happy to fight the duel, doing it for the Master’s pride. Master promptly disowns Ching. Master runs into a few trees. Ching leaves promising to win the duel. This is part of Master’s plan to motivate Ching.

In the city, a parade and festival are being held. The residents aren’t too happy with the Japanese who are present. Ching arrives in the city. The duel sends very few invitations out. Some of Japanese fighters are angered by a puppet show about the duel which mocks Hashimoto. The puppeteer is killed. Shan (we’re not supposed to realize she’s a girl) flies in and kills the Japanese that killed the puppeteer. Shan warns Ching how swords bring trouble.

Oriental Gone with the Wind music plays as Hashimoto trudges on. Shan rides past him, demanding to fight. She attacks him. He dodges her blows for a while before drawing his sword. Hashimoto walks off, saying warriors don’t fight women. Later, he has made camp when Kenji finds him. Kenji has been ordered to accompany him to the duel.

Shan is at a beach when she sees a Flock of ninjas arrive by sea. We get synchronized ninja digging. They recover the scroll that was hidden earlier. Shan is discovered and attacked by the ninjas. Ching arrives to the rescue. The ninjas shoot smoke bottle rockets and vanish.

Ching bandages Shan’s wound. He is impressed by her fighting skills. When he asks about her disguising herself as a man, she storms away.

Ching heads on to Holy Sword House. There he meets Hashimoto. Kenji introduces Shan as Master Han’s son?!? No way could she be mistaken for a dude. Dude looks like a lady. Hashimoto and Ching have met her but don’t mention it. Shan takes them to meet her father, Master Han who is fishing on his boat. Some super kung fu water ski fu later, both are on the boat talking with Master Han.

They are shown the Rock. The tribute where every fighter’s name is carved Ching doesn’t think the fight has to be to the death. Hashimoto disagrees. For some reason Han’s school can’t compete in the duel anymore.

Fighter monk is in a field when the ground starts shaking. It’s Gojira!!! Actually, a giant ninja,

David versus the NINJA GOLIATH who breaks into several regular sized ninjas. Fighter monk has to contend with digger ninjas and above ground ones, too. Several ninjas teleport away. Somehow a couple of ninjas are of the naked chick variety which automatically allows them to trap Fighter monk.

Ching and Hashimoto visit the graves of fallen duelists. Ninjas attack them. Several headstones explode. They search for the pesky ninjas. Hashimoto is fighting a ninja who escapes him. Hashimoto tries following him but eventually loses him. We see the ninja is in fact Kenji.

Ching is talking with Shan. He’s all Rico Suavay about how graceful she is. Shan dressed as a man so she could fight. Master Han spies from afar.

Later, Shan talks with her father. Han has some anger issues how Shaolin has supplanted Holy Sword House as the premier martial arts school in China. He is angry that Shan is casting eyes at Ching.

Blue hair guy is walking and followed by 3 kite riding ninjas!!! Ninjas have an air force.

I am an airborne NINJA!!! Blue hair fights to the extent of his abilities after they land. Soon a fleet of kite flying ninjas approach.

Han has a dinner for the duelists. We get some backbiting insults at the table. See a string lowered from the ceiling, a drop of poison slides down it into Ching’s drink. Shan flies to the ceiling. Lost track of why Ching doesn’t drink it.

Hashimoto follows Kenji outside. Ninjas are all around. Hashimoto is disgusted by Kenji’s actions. He learns Kenji has been placed in charge by the Shogun to do whatever is necessary for him to win. Hashimoto is just a diversion. China’s best fighters will be kidnapped. Master Han kills Ching. Hen, Hashimoto loses to Shan. Once Japan learns Kung Fu, they will rule China. Hashimoto can’t believe all of this. Kenji and his ninjas leave.

Ching pays another visit to the tunnel when Shan arrives. She asks why the fight is so important. She wants him to quit the duel which he won’t do. Ching leaves.

On the beach, Hashimoto is meditating when Ching pays him a visit. The fight is the next day. Hashimoto won’t yield. Oriental Gone with the Wind theme plays again. Ching has a gut feeling the fight won’t be fair but trust Hashimoto, who insures the fight will be fair.

Ching spots several flying box carrying ninjas. He Tarzans through the trees after them. Ninjas head to the Holy Sword House. Ching finds Han with his legs cut off.

How did you cut both legs off with a pocketknife? Han wants Ching to watch over Shan. She’s fighting ninjas at this point. Ching falls through a trapdoor and is captured in a net. He sees several Chinese fighters that are trapped in a giant spider web.

Han hobbles on crutches to mock Ching. Han was born without legs…Shan will defeat Hashimoto and restore the family honor.

Hashimoto asks Shan where Ching is. He vows to kill her in the duel for being a traitor.

Han and Kenji discuss the arrangements. The fighters will be taken to Japan. Kenji will take care of Hashimoto. Shan overhears part of the scheme and won’t fight in the duel. This plan will dishonor the family forever. Shan refuses to betray China like her father.

Shan rushes to free Ching. They search for the antidote to the poison incapacitating the fighters. Han attacks Ching. Shan tries holding Han off. She tries convincing her father into not aiding the Japanese plan. Gone with the Windtheme plays again. Han doesn’t care whatever China thinks after turning their back on him.

Ching finds the fighters are gone. Ninjas are carrying them away. Elsewhere, Hashimoto stops the caravan led by Kenji. Hashimoto wants to fight Ching. Ninjas attack him. Hashimoto must fight the cunning Kenji.

Ching catches up to the boxes containing the fighters. Suddenly, a flock of ninjas attack him. Ninjas are exploding into leaves. Ching dodges salvoes of throwing stars thrown at him.

Hash battles Kenji while Ching is fighting schools of ninjas.

Kenji loses an arm. Hashimoto decapitates Kenji who curses him before exploding.

Kids, do not try this at home....

Ching rechecks on the fighters as Hashimoto watches. Fighter monk is escorted by Ching. Hashimoto demands to fight. Ching refuses after so many have died. Hashimoto has a hard time accepting no. He kills the monk.

On a rocky cliff overlooking the sea, Hashimoto and Ching will duel. Sword fighting and flying through the air ensues. Both have been injured at several points. They fall off the cliff. Ching holds onto Hashimoto to keep him from falling. They make it to safety. Hashimoto stabs himself to even the injury he gave to Ching.

They charge each other one final time, Ching loses several fingers. And, Hashimoto is wounded. He stabs his sword through his foot to keep standing as Ching walks off.

What I say:

I've not seen that many epic or for that matter crappy Chinese swordsman movies. Just to be fair, I'd have to exclude Legend of the 8 Samurai , it being a Japanese production. But, the martial art fantasy in the undeterminable time in the past. Many marital arts movies are hard to gauge when they're made. But, Duel to the Death has aged extremely gracefully. Hard to imagine it was made more than 20 years ago in 1982.

Almost think this movie should have the word Ninja somewhere in the title with so many ninjas in it. We get digging ninjas like in Ninja in the Killing Field. We have kite riding ninjas. We have a giant Ninja that breaks apart like Voltron but not into robotic lions but naked female ninjas. It has ninjas capable of doing almost anything. "What would be a cool thing to do? Imagine a fleet of ninjas flying on hang gliders that look like kites."

Okay, the actor who played Ching Wan wasn't exactly a very charismatic lead. Not sure why they had the hero with the presence of wet cardboard, when the "nominal" villain Hashimoto oozes intensity. It is so easy to just have the Chinese hero fight and win against the Japanese villain. And unfortunately, this movie falls prey to that easy convention.

A Chinese or Hong Kong made movie will normally have the Japanese as the villain. And, it is easy to have them that way with the memory of World War 2 between them. Hashimoto, the tormented and honor bound warrior who believes in death before dishonor not unlike Fred Dryer. At least, they made him honorable and not part of the scheme. Almost thought, I'd hear him say he doesn't fight weak wills and women.

One of the things, I didn't see was where Chan was dressed as a man. You look at every scene with her face and you'd know she's a woman. Sounds like a woman. It's as bad as the scene in one of the Catman movies where a chick hits on a guy, a blind man could see was a girl, takes him upstairs no more is mentioned about it. But, later, another character reveals guy is a girl in disguise. Maybe in the original there was a better explanation than the subtitles provided. It seems to be more of an ethnic thing with women who are not allowed to fight.

Looking over the Internet Movie Database for the director, Tony Ching Sui Tung is mainly listed for being an action coordinator, choregrapher, etc...But not just a flat director. He can stage some incredible action scenes. But, the dramatic parts seem to slip out of his grasp. We didn't really need the komedic stylings of Ching Wan's master who swings through the trees with the greatest of ease and has a pet bird named "Dragon." When the ninjas were skulking about or we had most of the fights, it was pretty good. But, the dramatic scenes sort of forgot to actually have some meaning. Why couldn't Han's family compete? When had China turned away from his school which left him bitter enough to aid the Japanese in their scheme?

This is probably one of the earliest wire-fu classics that turned away from the Shaw brothers 36th Chamber style of movie. The Jackie Chan Drunken Master type of movie had started to change the Hong Kong industry. We started to get the wire fu type which kept getting bigger and bigger until the industry pretty much ran out of steam.

Found this in a bargain bin. And unlike some of my recent forays into the bin, this is better than I had expected. It can be thought of as being part of the flying swordsman cycle. But, thinking about Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, I can several of the influences Duel to the Death had on it, Well, not the hour flashback to the desert. But, that's good it wasn't done here.

The Duel to the Death is a let down after all the previous fights. Ching realized that too many people died. But, he jumped to fight Hashimoto after Fighter monk was killed. It just seemed the final fight was rushed to get the movie over. And more than that, the duelists were so evenly matched to really keep the fight from being exciting. Hashimoto wanted a fight to the death and ran a sword through his foot to keep standing as Ching walked off. That means the fight wasn’t to the death like he wanted. Maybe there is some meaning, I missed.

Quotable Dialogue
“You want to know how good your Kung Fu is.”
“We are warrior monks.”
“Kung Fu develops the mind as well as our bodies.”
“I gave you a chance to become a Kung Fu hero.”
“I’ll peel you like a banana.”
“Holy Sword House will fight for China.”
Morals of the Story
Ninjas can speed-read.
Ninjas don’t need copying machines.
Ninjas are suicidal when rocket-powered.
Martial Arts Punch and Judy puppet shows are really twisted.
Giant ninjas are formed from regular sized ninjas who are in turn piloted by naked ninja chicks.
Ninjas have an air force.
Ninjas are excellent baggage handlers.