4 Star

Honour, Chivalry and Flying Ninja’s.

Prepare to be astounded as you enter a world where the impossible is attained by training, in Siu-Tung Ching‘s (A Chinese Ghost Story, A Chinese Ghost Story II, A Chinese Ghost Story III) outstanding tale of honour and betrayal which is a sword wielding extravaganza. Duel to the Death is the same vein as movies like Zu: Warriors From The Magic Mountain and Mr Vampire with outlandish sword fights and combat stunts all in the beautiful countryside of Hong Kong.

China, a long time ago. The Japanese covet the Chinese martial arts, so much so that every ten years there is a competition between their top swordsman, for the accolade of the best technique. But the Japanese are hungry for knowledge, and the Chinese Shaolin monks have what the Japanese Shoguns want stored in their libraries. So they send a band of Ninjas to find these writings of ‘The Lost Manual on Breaking the Swordplay Stances of All Clans’. These Ninjas creep in to the monastery and copy the bamboo writings as they try to escape they are confronted by the monks. This is our first treat of swordplay and other martial arts, as Ninjas start flying around and monks leap about. This fighting is heard in the room where the senior monks are meditating along with their sword master Bo Ching Wan (Damian Lau, Last Hurrah for Chivalry, Legend of the Red Dragon), the man that is to represent China in the Duel to the Death, who wants to join the fight to prove his talents.

“Winning is not a blessing, losing is not a curse.”

The Ninjas are losing and being pushed back to the beach they emerged from, they bury their loot for collection on another night. To make sure of their escape, some Ninjas offer themselves up for the rest of the group and turn themselves into Suicide Ninjas.

An emissary from Japan, Kaneda (Eddy Ko, The Martian, Heroes Shed No Tears) arrives at the Shaolin Temple and is quite rude about the declining prowess of the Shaolin style while boasting about Japans’ Kinkaku monastery prowess. So another fight breaks out with the monk and Kaneda, once again Swordsman Bo intervenes and deals an embarrassing blow to Kaneda, before he departs.

Meanwhile, the Japanese Swordsmaster Miyamoto Ichiro (Norman Chu, Swordsman and Enchantress, A Slice of Death) is out with his clan having celebration drinks due to his selection for the duel. On the way home, he is attacked by a masked assailant. After a brief engagement Ichiro dispatches him, only to find out that it was his sensei testing him before the duel.

Those who practice martial arts must fight to win and attack to conquer.

The pair must now make their way to the designated tournament arena, the House of the Holy Sword. The home of the Hsia-Hau (Paul Chang Chung, Police Story, My Lucky Stars) Clan, the first to fight in the duel. His daughter Sing Lam (Flora Chong-Leen, The Head Hunter, Chasing Girls) is the future of the clan along with her sword skills.

The Japanese Shogun wants the secrets of China, and you will see what his followers will do to see that this comes about. If you are into swordplay, this is the film for you, as you will be very hard-pressed to find a better one than Duel to the Death. Fantasy and Swords, what more could you want for.

Duel to the Death is available on Blu-ray and Eureka Store

SPECIAL EDITION BLU-RAY CONTAINS

 

Limited Edition O-Card slipcase featuring new artwork by Darren Wheeling
1080p presentation on Blu-ray from a new 2K restoration from the original film elements
Original Cantonese audio
Optional English dubbed audio
Optional English Subtitles, newly revised for this release (including correct translations for the Japanese characters, incorrect on all previous English language releases of the film)
Brand new feature length audio commentary by Asian film expert Frank Djeng (NY Asian Film Festival)
An Interview with Manfred Wong – an extensive interview with the screenwriter, covering his involvement in Duel to the Death and his illustrious and varied career in the Hong Kong entertainment industry
Duel Identity – Archival interview with actor Norman Chui Siu-keung
Flora Cheung on Duel to the Death – Archival interview with actress Flora Cheung
Alternate English credits
Stills galleries including rare production stills, artwork, and ephemera
Trailers
PLUS: A LIMITED-EDITION collector’s booklet featuring new writing by James Oliver; and a reprint of Frank Djeng’s original liner notes from the US laserdisc release