Jipangu

I saw Zipang on midnite madness TV the other day. Fun little film, the Japanese equivalent of a 70's Shaw brothers production. The same cast of hundreds, same lame wigs, same cheap/charming production values and tight shooting schedule.

The plot is simple a sword master and his group of friends; a midget, a bomb expert (who blew his nose off), a geek (with glasses so you know the filmmakers aren't striving for historical accuracy), and...a small rubber elephant (no joke you have to see it and then maybe you can explain it to me) must get a golden sword before a gang of ninjas, a rival gang of thieves does the same. The sword has magical powers and belongs to a Golden King who lives in a Golden Kingdom. The plot isn't all that important, the set piece battles are. These are done with great flair even if the swords do wobble rubbery from time to time. Thrown in some cheap SFX (the matte painting looks like a Betamax pause still), a lot of references to other movies and video games (actually the whole movie is a lot like a video game come to life) and you have a lovable, scruffy little mess that doesn't take itself too seriously.

Well worth seeing if you like old kung-fu movies, definitely great in its category.