Magic Serpent Movie Review

A fantasy set in medieval Japan about an abducted prince who must regain his throne from a treacherous sorcerer. Fortunately, the prince was raised by a good wizard, who taught him neat tricks like how to confuse enemies by separating his head from his body. The tale climaxes with a grand duel of magic between the heroic prince and the sorcerer, who transform into a dragon and a giant frog-monster for a battle royal. The heroine helps out with a magic brooch that turns into a gigantic flying spider. The film drags a bit in the middle, but otherwise is an excellent fantasy adventure, especially fun for samurai-film buffs. George Lucas claimed that this movie was a major influence on Star Wars.

1966 ?m/C Hiroki Matsukata, Tomoko Ogawa, Ryutaro Otomo, Bin Amatsu; D: Tetsuya Yamauchi. VHS SMW