Magic Serpent

Ninja, dragons, samurai, wizards, giant spiders, kaiju, evil sorcerers, lots of fights and a substantial (but largely bloodless) body count- what more could you want!? "The Magic Serpent"* is a fast moving, imaginative, and fun example of Japanese fantasy films. In a classic 'hero myth' story: a young prince, robbed of his birthright by an evil usurper and his sorcerer accomplice, trains in the arts of war and magic with an old wizard before returning for revenge and justice. Along his journey, he deals with constant attempts on his life, befriends the children of an unjustly executed farmer, and meets a young woman with a mysterious past who is also on a quest. The special effects are quite good, 'suit-mation' and puppetry are combined to bring the titular dragon to life, there are odd but imaginative animated inclusions (such as the fireball (?) the hero rides at one point), and some of the stunts during the numerous battles use 'wire work' to allow the hero and villain to make prodigious jumps. The scene where the hero is trapped by a wall of spinning doors is especially clever and well executed. The acting is fine for a samurai-sword and sorcery epic, with the hero heroic and the villain villainous, and the film touches on the merits of unquestioning obedience and filial loyalty a number of times. Despite not being a Toho production, the distinctive roars of various Toho kaiju (including Godzilla) were added to the American version. A must see for fans of pre-CGI fantasy films. *I watched an English-dubbed version of "Kairyu daikessen"

Japanese fantasy Magic Serpent starts off in fine style with a benevolent lord being betrayed and killed by evil usurper Daijô Yûki (Bin Amatsu), aided by his wicked magician henchman Orochi-Maru (Ryûtarô Ôtomo). The murdered lord's young son, Ikazuchi-Maru, is ferried away on a boat, with Orochi-Maru in hot pursuit in the form of a giant dragon; in the nick of time, Ikazuchi-Maru is rescued by a magic bird sent by a friendly wizard.

The film also closes with some entertaining monster action, when Ikazuchi-Maru, now all grown up and trained in the ways of fighting and magic, returns to his father's castle to take revenge, hero and villain assuming the shapes of a giant horny toad and a dragon respectively to do battle. A massive spider also gets in on the action, blasting foam from its butt!

Unfortunately, almost everything sandwiched between these enjoyable kaiju bookends is rather uninspired chanbara action, with only the occasional appearance by ninjas to liven things up a bit (ninjas always improve a film). After Ikazuchi-Maru shows that he capable of losing his head in a fight (literally) but still carry on living, the fantasy stuff largely takes a back seat to the predictable revenge plot, plus the burgeoning romance between our hero and pretty Sunate (Tomoko Ogawa), who is searching for her long-lost father. All of the drama and family-friendly sword swinging tends to cause the film to drag on a bit (dragon a bit - see what I did there?) ; more of the crazy magic stuff in the middle and I think it would have flowed much better.

Thoroughly enjoyable fantasy film. The special effects are par for the era and the budget, but watch it for the storyline, which is strong and consistently interesting all the way through. The heavy use of magic and surrealistic plot twists (the hero gets beheaded and then puts his head nonchalantly right back on again later!) sets this one apart from the usual "giant monster" movie. Plot, pacing, and characterization are above average for this type of movie, and elevate it from being just another kaiju film into a truly enjoyable fantasy.

One of the more interesting things about this movie is that it apparently has a moral. The hero values honor above all else, and honors his obligations to his family, his friends, and his kingdom. Of course, in this case, sometimes one's honor requires one to turn into a giant fire-breathing frog, but still!

There are some elements in this movie that do remind me of Star Wars: A New Hope, as others noted, but I am not sure whether this means that Lucas drew from this film or not. I suspect he didn't. The plot (young man with special powers avenges his parents and saves his kingdom by battling an evil sorcerer) is fairly common. But still and all, who knows? George Lucas drew on a lot of movies to create "Star Wars" and I wouldn't be terribly surprised if this movie had a little something to do with his work. However, "The Magic Serpent" deserves to be appreciated on its own.

I would love to see a better print of this movie with a better transfer to DVD, but from what I understand this movie is quite rare in the United States, and due to its lack of popularity, it's not likely to get the remastering/rerelease treatment. So get it when you can and enjoy.

1966's "Magic Serpent" ("Kairyu Daikessen" or Decisive Battle of the Giant Magic Dragon) emerged from Toei Studios rather than Toho, perhaps best known for Sonny Chiba's "Terror Beneath the Sea" or Robert Horton's "The Green Slime," as well as TV feature "Voyage Into Space" (derived from JOHNNY SOKKO AND HIS FLYING ROBOT). Preceding Daiei's Majin trilogy by mere months, this joyous combination of ancient Japanese folklore with giant monsters opens with the betrayal and murder of Lord Ogata by once trusted general Yuki Daijo (Bin Amatsu), aided by ninja sorcerer Oroki Maru (Ryutaro Otomo), who then assumes the form of a sea serpent to pursue Ogata's son and rightful heir to the throne (the serpent is dubbed with Godzilla's roar combined with green Gargantua Gaira). All the men perish as their craft is crushed by the dragon, only for a giant eagle to carry the boy to safety (this winged savior is dubbed with the sound of Mothra). Ten years pass and the lad has grown into the handsome Ikazuki Maru (Hiroki Matsukata), like Oroki taught to master the mystic arts by the same teacher, elderly Dojin Hiki (Nobuo Kaneko), who has decided that the time has come for Ikazuki to learn the truth about his heritage and to avenge the honor of his parents. An ambush by Oroki's ninja servants results in what appears to be a beheading, Ikazuki's laughing head seating itself on a nearby log while his headless body frightens the would be assassin to take his own life (the head reattaches itself backwards, then makes the right adjustment). Pretty young Sunate (Tomoko Ogawa) witnesses the carnage, wrongfully assumes that the survivor was the aggressor, and finally realizes her mistake as he agrees to help find her long missing father, following her mother's recent death. Oroki manages to trick his old master into a fatal snake bite, though the dying man is still able to send the couple on their way to see usurper Yuki Daijo. Sunate learns the identity of her father yet cannot bring herself to obey his orders when it comes to taking a life, setting up a climactic battle between Oroki's water spouting dragon against Ikazuki's fire breathing horned toad (dubbed with the sound of Rodan), with a brief appearance from Sunate's summoning of a giant spider that spins its web all over the serpent. For once, the addition of four monsters weren't necessary to the plot, action packed and fast paced from start to finish, though obviously dubbed at a later date for AIP-TV since "The War of the Gargantuas" had yet to be made by Toho. The titular serpent closely resembles Manda from Toho's "Atragon" and later "Destroy All Monsters," only with larger claws that can be used more effectively in smashing its opponent. One can easily imagine filmmakers like George Lucas or Quentin Tarantino taking note of this unjustly forgotten opus for future reference, certainly good enough for US theatrical release.

Although THE MAGIC SERPENT is clearly a film aimed at children, this Japanese fantasy epic really pushes the boat out in terms of production values. You have an adult sub-plot involving a traitor overthrowing a castle which is straight out of a samurai film; some impressively destructive kaiju monster fight scenes; and an action-adventure type narrative that no doubt inspired George Lucas when he made STAR WARS.

This production looks big budget with everything put up on screen and celebrated. The costumes and sets are quite fantastic and even the special effects don't disappoint, with a mix of men in monster costumes and scenes of flying heads and magic spells and the like. THE MAGIC SERPENT is an involved and involving fantasy film and one which really grabs the viewer's attention.

The story is about an evil usurper and the baby that escapes from a massacre. Years later, the baby has grown into an upstanding young hero under the tutelage of a wise old mystic, so he goes on an odyssey of revenge against the traitors. Along the way he teams up with a poor farming family and encounters various allies and enemies en route to the castle. There's plenty of action here and none of it disappoints, from the sword and gun battles to the hulking monster smash action. It's a colourful action romp, and highly satisfying with it.