WAR OF THE WIZARDS (1978)

PHENOMENALITY: *marvelous*
MYTHICITY: *fair*
FRYEAN MYTHOS: *adventure*
CAMPBELLIAN FUNCTION: *metaphysical, psychological*

WAR OF THE WIZARDS is an underrated magical fantasy that, while not meeting my criteria for high-mythicity, ranks in my book with similar charming (albeit child-friendly) productions by masters like Ray Harryhausen and Aleksandr Ptushko. WAR absolutely is not in any way a "space opera" just because there are a few opening scenes showing "spirits" in the starry heavens. It's true that co-director and FX-guy Sadamasa (DESTROY ALL MONSTERS) Arikawa worked out some effects-scenes that bore passing resemblance to the juggernaut that was the 1977 STAR WARS. But the universe of this WAR was predicated on the sort of folktales that genuinely took place "a long time ago," but in an archaic world far from space-lasers and FTL ships.  

Despite some opening narration, the movie takes some time to establish that universe. The most one can say is that at some time in the past, two great magical items get concealed in the ocean by parties unknown: a vessel of plenty, that will conjure up anything the owner wishes for, and a book of knowledge. The narration suggests that "three spirits" come to Earth looking for these items, but evidently the narrator can't count, because it's more like ten or twelve different questers.  I *think* the various spirits may have been alerted because humble fisherman Tai (Hsui-Shen Liang) finds the magic vessel on the ocean floor, fetches it up, and soon begins making wishes to benefit both himself and the local townfolk. Oddly, though the opening is careful to show that the poor fisherman is an avid reader of books, he apparently does not notice the book of knowledge in the same area as the vessel.

Tai's use of his endless wishes attracts several murderous agents who want the items. Some of them kill one another in competition for the prizes, and the last of them are slain by two beautiful fairy-sisters, Hyacinth and Violet. Tai is taken with the sisters and invites them to serve as his bodyguards, and they agree. There's like one more scene in which the girls beat up a couple of malcontents-- one of the few usages of martial fighting, since most of the spirits have magical, transformative powers. Tai is so taken with the girls that he offers to marry them both, and they agree. However, they fool him so that he doesn't get with either of them and the reason seems to be that they too were sent to collect the magical treasures by an evil fairy, name of Flower Fox (Betty Pei Ti).

I think Flower Fox gets tired of waiting for the sisters to deliver on their mission. She shows up at Tai's house, kills two other seekers with flame-breath, and cancels out the sisters' powers. Flower Fox captures her pawns and the magic vessel, but she doesn't know where the bamboo book is. In response, Tai dives into the ocean again and locates the book. Some timely advice tells Tai to "ride the Phoenix," and sure enough, when he surfaces a giant red bird sweeps him away from Flower Fox.

Up to this point, Tai has been a fairly passive protagonist, a lot like the original Aladdin of the Arabian Nights. However, the Phoenix takes Tai to some cloudy domain. Tai comes across some peaches and eats them, only to be reproved by an old man who meant the magical peaches for someone else. Both in Chinese and Japanese folklore, peaches often confer special powers and/or immortality, but the dubbed version of WAR just drops the point and goes on to the next thing: Tai asking to become the old immortal's disciple. I suspect that the dubbed version may have cut some training montage for time. In no time Tai, the former layabout, has mastered the use of a magic sword that fires ray-bolts, and even gets a suit of snazzy clothes from his master. He has at least become a temporary hero, though it's unclear if he made this ascension through training or through eating magical peaches.

Flower Fox threatens to flood Tai's hometown to get the book, but he temporizes until he's powerful enough to beard the evil fairy in her lair. With some help from the Phoenix, Tai vanquishes a rather impressive rock monster. However, the villainous fairy also has a human henchman, the mighty Steel Hand (Richard Kiel, who apparently played this part immediately after his star-turn in 1977's THE SPY WHO LOVED ME. released in the US three months after STAR WARS). The battle between Tai and Steel Hand-- so called because the henchman wears metal gloves-- is interesting because Tai has absolutely no kung-fu moves at all; he's like an ordinary guy fighting a colossus, except for having a magic sword to even the odds. The fight looks like it's modeled on those of the James Bond franchise, maybe even with some thoughts of GOLDFINGER in mind. Regardless, Tai defeats (but does not slay) Steel Hand. The hero goes looking for his captive wives, but now he has to fight Flower Fox, who conjures up multiple swordsmen out of the magic vessel. (Oddly Steel Hand is seen bringing the two fairy girls out of captivity.) Tai's then beats the villain by flinging the bamboo book at her. The book binds her arms and Tai prepares to kill her. However, two new spirits show up and surround Flower Fox with a force-shield that breaks his sword. The two new guys then send the evil fairy flying to heaven, and then they themselves fly into the sky with Violet, Hyacinth, and the two magical items. Violet and Hyacinth don't look like they're happy to be leaving, though it's anyone's guess if they'd rather stay with Tai. One of the "good spirits" invites Tai to join them all in heaven. However, the invitation may be sarcastic, for when Tai flies after them, his powers and costuming vanish. He falls into the same bay where he found the items, while a voice tells him, "You gained tremendous knowledge and great skillful powers. Be satisfied!" The film ends with Tai sputtering in the water while a fishing-boat comes to his rescue, assuring that he will survive to return to the workaday world. A fortune-cookie phrase that also appeared near the opening is repeated: "He who desires to possess everything must learn to be content with nothing."

I've no idea if WAR might owe anything to established Asian folklore. In Western terms, the "moral of the story" seems stuck somewhere between "Aladdin," in which a lazy loafer gets all his wishes fulfilled," and the Grimms' "Fisherman and His Wife," in which the greedy wife of the fisherman prevents their profiting from the wishes given them by a magical fish. My best guess is that the filmmakers wanted to give the audience some of the thrills of wish-fulfillment, while stopping short of total apotheosis. Thus Tai only gets a brief time to dally with the powers of the immortals, though I think he at least earns some of them, up to a point. Possibly the movie makes its message clearer in the original Taiwanese. But even if WAR isn't as clear as I might like it, I think there was some theme being invoked, that it wasn't just an endless, meaningless stream of marvels like those Asian films I've called "chopwackies."