User reviews

After almost 9000 of them, it's hard to come up with new ones. Anyway, the movie:

The evil warlord has destroyed the Momochi clan. His minions are running down the last few survivors. He particularly wants the Momochi's legendary gold mine. A map leading to it is on two swords. Will he get them? Or will Sonny Chiba, who has just returned from China to lead the Momochi, win?

It's non-stop action, with many backflips and ninjas swinging on ropes from trees. There are some subplots, like Yuki Ninagawa, who is a member of the Momichi clan, but has been raised by the chief villain, Hiroyuki Sanada, as his sister. However, none of that interferes with Chiba fighting bare-chested against dozens of ninjas at one time.

After watching Shogun's Ninja, I must conclude that this is the strangest movie I've ever seen, and I say this after watching numerous Ching Siu Tung movies. This movie is just straight-up weird.

The plot takes place during the reign of Emperor Hideyoshi and there are historical references throughout (Ieyasu, the attempt to invade Korea, etc.) The conflict exists between the last survivors of the Momochi clan led by Henry Sanada (that Japanese guy from Royal Warriors with Michelle Yeoh) and Shogun (Sonny Chiba from the infamous Streetfighter series) and his ninja army. Sanada learns Chinese kung fu and comes back to avenge his clan, does some fighting, learns Japanese ninjitsu, and does some more fighting. The movie ends with a large battle between Chiba and his warriors (which are many) and Sanada and his pals (which are few).

The fighting in this movie is pretty good sometimes, and unexciting other times. Sanada is fairly impressive, he is one of the few characters that actually does any hand-to-combat (everyone else uses swords, guns, or other weapons). His kicks are fairly fun to watch. Sometimes, the swordplay is done bad in the sense that no excitement exists in watching them swing swords clumsily at each other. Unfortunately, Sonny Chiba doesn't do anything too interesting. Neither does Sue Shiomi (she appeared in Sister Street Fighter I believe). There was a female Chinese fighter who could bust out a good boot and the nunchaku, though.

When I say this movie is strange, I don't mean the strange in the Ching Siu Tung-style of bombard the viewer with bizarre, yet beautiful visual image style of being strange. This movie is strange in the sense that its level of camp is off the charts. For one thing, with the exception of some flute playing, most of the music in the movie is of the contemporary jazz/1970's elevator music variety with the occasional Japanese pop tune thrown in. The sounds effects are silly to the point where I wonder if this movie was actually a spoof. There are underground ninja, spider-like ninja (you can see the wires), and a nice little army of ninja at the end (although the third group doesn't do anything). There is a fair amount of wire-work in this, although none of it is really imaginative. Some of the stunts in this movie is just straight-up screwy (watch Sanada block the archers). Well, whether or not one enjoys this depends on his/her tolerance to high-camp.

It ain't Kurosawa (or even Hideo Gosha), but "Shogun's Ninja" wasn't aimed at that sort of audience. This film is a wacky, blood-spurting, action-packed feast for the eyes, and on its own terms it works beautifully. While reference is made to real historical figures and events, the emphasis is on over-the-top fighting (mostly with weapons, but there's the occasional empty-hand confrontation, too). The tone of the film is completely unreal: it may look like feudal Japan, but the setting is actually some alternate dimension in which fighters can do everything but fly, where warring ninja clans wage their battles in the treetops of lush enchanted forests, and where it doesn't seem even remotely odd when Hiroyuki Sanada, grieving over the deaths of his comrades, suddenly breaks into a torch-twirling interpretive dance. This kind of unbridled goofiness would become commonplace in action films of the '80s, and in "Shogun's Ninja" you can see the new, extravagant aesthetic taking shape as the decade began.

Sanada is a credible hero, Chiba mostly plays it straight as the villain (just as he had the previous year in Gosha's "Hunter in the Dark"), and Etsuko Shihomi is her usual winsome, martially astute self. Six and a half stars.

SHOGUN'S NINJA has so many strange and cool aspects in it, it's hard to even remember it all. Whereas its more fantastical counterpart LEGEND OF THE EIGHT SAMURAI (which even has lots of the same casting) is somehow too disjointed, SHOGUN'S NINJA remains cohesive and fun to watch through all two hours; I couldn't take my eyes off it.

The basic plot revolves around the dying Momoichi clan after Takamaru returns (played by Henry Sanada, in this role looking so much like NINJA SCROLL's Jubei that they must've seen this film). The clan members have steadily been eradicated by the evil Shogun (Sonny Chiba!) and so have to learn all they can to strike back. Along the way, there are so many outrageous stunts, traps, and elements that you will be unsure whether to laugh or stare in awe; more on those later. Takamaru is aided by a pair of kung-fu women (one of whom, Airin, is most likely the inspiration for "Tekken"'s Xiaoyou), the reluctant warrior Hanzo (who is quite reminiscent of Patrick Stewart with hair), and more ninjas than you can shake a stick at. Shogun wants Takamura's swords, because their blades hold the map to the Momoichi gold cache. This of course leads to confrontation after confrontation, with every weapon imaginable and more gory deaths than you can count.

But enough about the plot, which is somewhat tenuous. SHOGUN'S NINJA should be viewed for its crazy features. These include (in some semblance of order) harakiri, a circus monkey, slo-mo kicks, spider AND mole ninjas (not ninja spiders, but almost as cool...), an escape by candle, kung-fu handmaidens, execution by hot oil, human shields, a white-haired master, a booby-trapped forest (complete with ninja tack!), and a showdown in a rock quarry. Yes, that's right, all that crazy crap is in the movie; look for it all!

One of the movie's funniest elements is its music; everything from battle sequences to casual conversations are underscored by psychedelic '70s jazz. At first seeming inappropriate, the score grew on me as the movie continued, being edited in quite well and seeming to actually be written FOR the movie (a frightening prospect in itself!). While some might berate the soundtrack, it must also be taken into account that the immensely popular "Cowboy Bebop" employs a similar style of music that is anachronistic and yet creates a jarring shift in mood; in battles that would otherwise be fraught with tension, the lounge-style sounds kept me from being too involved and were, overall, entertaining!

In addition to the previous list of thingamabobs, SHOGUN'S NINJA still has some surprisingly reflective and artistic moments, from a staredown through steam to flashbacks of a pool of blood. The director obviously knew what he was doing, assembling a competent cast and putting them together in an epic movie that is still over-the-top. Be sure to watch this movie with a load of friends, and you will certainly enjoy yourselves. My rating: 8.5/10

... well, if it weren't for Sonny Chiba himself! Good, nobody ever put Chiba amongst the great Shakespearian actors (unlike his protégé and star Hiroyuki Sanada). Let's just say he employed less acting skill than Gregory Peck in 'The Omen' (were ol' Peck at least raised an eyebrow now and again) and Monica Belluci (who may be anything - a fine looking young lady - but not an actor). Fact is, Chiba doesn't act at all! He's simply there in the picture! Not so much as a facial twitch throughout the entire movie! Granted, Japanese heroes are to be cool. See 'The Last Samurai' ... hell, cooler than 'Shack' and Ryan O'Neal put into a bag. But for his role as 'Shogun', Chiba may well have been lobotomized! Second 'Minus' of the film: the horrid dance-sequence of Hiroyuki Sanada, which may well haunt this fine actor to the end of his career. God, if only I had fallen asleep during this sequence and never perceived it at all! But no, there it is, burned right into my memory and causing me to break out into insane giggles during the final battle of 'Last Samurai' ...

Then there is the terrible, terrible pseudo-Jazz score, that would have made many-a Porn flick look earnest --- if only the producers would have take a hint from 'Shoguns Assassin', but no ...

... apart from all that, the film would have actually been worth viewing ...

... WOULD have, I say!

Sonny Chiba plays the shogun in pre-Edo period Japan. He's a bad mofo who eliminates a rival clan and then turns on his master to take over as shogun. Despite this, he fails to kill the rival clan's son who escapes to China and comes back to avenge his family. The kid learns martial arts and carries with him swords that contain a map to the clan's secret gold mine (hence everyone wants to kill him to get them). There was some good karate action in this flick. It's kind of cool to see Sonny play the bad guy and even fight a ninja named Hattori Hanzo (fans of Kill Bill should love this one).

My problems with the movie are that it was the same damn plot all over again and the music. I expect bad music in some of these things, but it sounds like 70s porn music. The action sequences were kind of cool, but they have this crappy slap-bass, fake jazz sh*t in the background, so the tension isn't a high as it should be. I dunno, maybe the actual Japanese release had a better soundtrack. The other thing that threw me off was watching the hero dance around a fire. What the hell? It seemed like he was trying to do tai chi, but it looked more like Tommy Tune warming up for some big Broadway production. You don't look like a hard ass when you're spinning and leaping about.

Despite all of this, Chiba fans should enjoy his performance. As per usual, Sonny is the glue holding this thing together.

Hiroyuki Sanada is once again playing a part with his mentor Sonny Chiba, this time as opposing forces. Basic plot thread is easy to follow and hangs together fairly well. Very typical lot of self sacrificing colleagues to insure that the hero wins in the end, but at what cost!

There are a number of rather impressive fight scenes, and while they were Pretty typical, there was a bit more variety in the weapons that I liked. The pretty chinese girl with her red lacquer nunchuck and the hero with his short sword(s). A few great scenes. The original destruction of the hero's castle while he was a child sticks with me. I liked the battle in the ruler's castle, with the ladies in waiting using their naginta to defend their lord. A number of mysterious strangers that show up at the right time to help.

The use of muskets in many of the battles adds both a thread of historical accuracy, and the challenges of working them into a martial arts based flick. I found the ninja in the correct color of blue rather refreshing over the typical mis-used black. But the camoflage ninja where rather strange, since the pattern looked identical to the recent military designs.

The one thing absent from this compared to many of the genre is the use of magic.

How can you go wrong with Sonny Chiba and Hiroyuki Sanada in one movie. Both are great martial artists with quite good acting abilities. In "Shogun's ninja" however they forgot to act. They are just there. It could be that there are different versions available. The version I saw was dubbed in English and had a very seventies musical score. I know that for a seventies production some of the stunts are incredible. Now it just looks horrible. Most of the martial arts scenes are poorly executed or badly edited. This wouldn't be much of a problem if the martial arts was good! To be honest the fights were below average and not that interesting. The ninja's in this movie do have some special abilities. But in comparison with other ninja movies made in the seventies these ninja's don't cut it. These ninja's don't seem to be very powerful and mysterious. For me that is an important factor. I considered that this movie could be meant as a parody. But for that to work the action scenes had to be more exciting. I wanted to like this movie but just couldn't.

This is truly one of the coolest Ninja movies of all times. The stunts are top-notch and the action is non-stop. As usual in these films it gets pretty campy indeed, but on a whole it´s out standing. Watch out for hilarious stunts when our hero blocks arrows, Ninjas climb trees as vigorously as Spiderman and digging through the ground as moles. This is the film that made me want to become a Ninja as a kid and it leaves Sho Kosugi way behind. A must-see for any lover of martial arts and action!

Hi Fight Fans!!!!! It's Daniel Kahn Nelson, here once again to give you a proper statement on a great martial arts film!!!!

This is without a doubt the greatest ninja film ever created! This film had it all- Sonny Chiba, Samurai, spider ninja, knife fighters, swordsmen, assassins, black ninja, kung-fu people from china, blade-staff women, beautiful scenery, great choreography, a great story, romance, vengeance, treachery, and just about every weapon that could be used in it's type of film. My god, what more could an action movie fan ask for!!!!!!! I mean wow. Well after getting that out I'd give this beautiful work of art called a film 20 out of 10!!!!!

• Truly a must see for any type of action movie fan- kind of like Scareface!-

Once again this is Daniel Kahn Nelson saying WATCH THIS FILM !!!!!

Over the years there have been several adaptations of the works of manga legend Sanpei Shirato, none of them fully successful, so here's another one to get in line.

Ninja Bugeicho was a highly influential ninja-themed manga originally released in the late fifties, early sixties, of which this is a rather mediocre version. The problem right off the bat in adapting such an influential work is that so many of its defining elements had already crept into every other form of ninja media over the years. Viewed on their own they seem rather stock. Stock might be the best word to describe this film in general. If this is your first samurai film you might enjoy this a bit more, but for 1980 this feels incredibly outdated, barely on par with the better movies that came out in the late sixties. At this point you really had to add something unique to the formula.

There is some fun silly ninja-y stuff here and there and the fight scenes as choreographed by the under-utilized main antagonist Sonny Chiba himself are mostly good but they are both denied their impact by the sluggish, uneven pacing and the distractingly unfitting score. Having watched some of director's Norifumi Suzuki's other films, mainly Shorinji Kempo, the Truck Yaro series and some of his pinky violence stuff I can safely put the blame of the former on him, as they all shared that exact weakness. Only his early Ocho films seemed to have escaped that curse mostly unscathed.

It's a shame that a film with this much promise ended up being so boring and uninvolving. Looking at trailers from back then this was obviously meant to kickstart the movie career of Hiroyuki Sanada (who is so crazy underrated still it's just saddening) by showcasing all of his many talents. There's also some pleasant synergy with Hong Kong action movies of the time that I appreciate. Fittingly enough Sanada would get his real claim to fame through Hong Kong director Corey Yuen soon after in the infinitely superior Ninja in the dragon's den, that you should watch instead.

If you really feel like you have to watch this just skip to the fight scenes, although you can easily skip most of the finale without missing out on anything.

It seems that CHIBA was acting as a mentor to the star (just as in ROARING FIRE) and taking a back seat too much, didn't work for me. Of course some of the fight-scenes in this movie are very good, utilizing slow-mo (as in KILLING MACHINE) and some excellent wire work (the spider ninja's moved quite naturally) and the other notable thing is the off-beat jazz/sax/porn music (that despite sometimes not catching the mood of the scene, certainly puts it in a league of it's own) The bottom line is, CHIBA doesn't fight enough, the hero (at one point) dances rather camp-like (whilst training) round a fire (hilarious!) and like most movies of this ilk, the plot can confuse/drag on a little

Excellent fight scenes and score, though

6 out of 10

In the beginning there was a very handsome, half naked man alone on a boat,

eating raw fish..., Then, there was an white bearded old teacher who'd showed the boys how to fight and said really wise things. Than, there were some nicely choreographed fights ,some gorgeous scenery and costumes, a bit of romance

ending in tears... Then the good guys took revenge on the bad guys meanwhile changing the course of history for the better. what is there not to like...?:o))) The first Martial Arts movie I ever saw at the cinema. I remember going back to see it maybe 4 or 5 times. I was about 13 years old and the only girl in the

cinema. good old days! If I could get hold of a copy I would watch this film 4 or five times more!

As someone who literally stumbled, and belatedly at that, on this piece of Japanese cinematic machismo, and a total ignoramus as to the extensive literature AND exegesis of same, I too find this extravaganza of feudal Japan both enlightening AND frustrating, as in, wow!, what was existence then REALLY like? Were there NO thinkers and philosophers? No artists and artisans? Other than that reference to a precious teacup? No classes other than "noble" and "samurai"? Sure, the focus here is ON the latter pair, but even they must have existed in an anbiance that INCLUDED other classes and other types. I am also a bit agog at the plethora of "western" appreciations of such "Eastern" predilections, and wonder if such appreciations extend beyond Bushido and "anime" and the more superficial expressions extant. Finally, after a bit of exploration herein on my part, I wonder when someone will sift the wheat from the chaff and establish a relative "soder" of sequential manifestations. Was Bruce Lee an "original"? Or Shao-Lin"? Who, truly, "invented" the cinematic projections of all those "Eastern arts of "self-defense" and "manly arts"? Not that it truly matters. Male fantasies began with Adam in the Garden. And, no doubt, will continue so long as boys will be boys.

One upon a time in ancient Japan, in the time of feuding dynasties governed by ruthless warlords employing lethal Ninjas to wipe out entire families, lived a little boy. His clan, the Momochi (means wolf) was attacked and killed by the local Shogun (warlord) The boy's life was saved by his uncle who took him to China. He grew up into a mighty warrior with considerable kung fu skills. played by non other than the very talented, not mentioning handsome, young Sanada Hiroyuki. The movie begins with the young man sailing towards japan to avenge his family. You know he will succeed by the way he spears a fish and eats it right there. Ah, fresh sushi! Upon landing he begins to gather the scattered remains of the Momochi clan, namely 3 cousins, who also manage to provide the customary comic relief. They begun their physical training under the instruction of an old, wise and long bearded sage, who teaches them wisdom as well as how to effectively kick Ninja butt. When the training is complete, he tells them "even the lions scare their pups into the wild! now you must go to avenge your family" ...telling you anything more would just spoil it. It's a great fun movie if you're 14 or in need a little break away from reality!

This film is about the vengeance of the son of Momochi Sandayu against the army of ninja's of the shogun Hideoshi ( son of Yeieasu Tokugawa). The film has very good action and the music is modern 70's jazz. This film is very entertaining

First time i saw it i didn't like it,since that time i was a kid who was into Kung Fu movies where there are fighting all the time which in this film there aren't so much hand to hand fighting scenes(just a few).

But years later i digged this movie just to watch it again since it was long time ago and i experienced a great film with nice story and nice stunts and Henry Sanada is great in that movie,seeing him is like seeing Bruce Lee.

Please see it its great,japanese ninja films rules!