During the feudal era in Japan (mostly from the 15th century onwards), many isolated rural clans resisted and even became hostile to the idea of obeying the laws of the nobility, especially when they were enforced by the often oppressive samurai. Unable to face the well-funded and well-equipped samurai in traditional combat, some of these stalwart clans have developed unique martial arts techniques and fighting strategies based on the prowess of their surroundings, along with weapons based on common tools and simple farming equipment. . in order to level the playing field in combat.
Here are the 15 best ninja and samurai movies
15 Killer Elite (1975)
Sam Peckinpah? one of the greatest action movie makers of all time made a ninja movie?! With James Caan, Robert Duvall and Burt Young ?? !! For outdoor enthusiasts, this sounds too good to be true...and sadly, it is. This rather abstruse thriller about a team of veteran mercenaries protecting a Japanese diplomat isn't considered one of the legendary tough guy's best directors and isn't a particularly entertaining ninja movie, but it's a solid film and a milestone for ninja fans as one of the first mainstream American feature films. giving the shadow assassins a "realistic" presentation, albeit limited mostly to the extended ending of the shipyard fight.
Today's screening is more of a curiosity, an opportunity for martial arts fans to see a ninja presented in a more "down to earth" western Peckinpah style (no wires, no exaggerated sound effects, no invincibility to shoot), although some may be disappointed to find that when a ninjaKiller Elite, finally, they appear, they do not receive due respect from the main (western) composition. Instead, the film treats them more as a deadly (but not frightening) part of the strange/"exotic" cultural quirks of Japanese characters. However, at the time, seeing a kung fu/grindhouse fixture like a ninja sharing a screen with big Hollywood stars was something completely new and exciting.
14 NINJA FANTASY (1987)
No one did more to make ninjas a fixture on video store shelves in the 80s (but also the target of ridicule and parody) than the enigmatic Hong Kong producer and director Godfrey Ho, who is believed to have made over 80 films since the 1980s. to 1990 under abuse. fictitious names, including Godfrey Hall, Benny Ho, Ho Shi-Mo, Ed Wu, Stanley Chan, Ho Fong and others. Nearly all of his films had the word "ninja" somewhere in their titles and were created by editing newly filmed fight scenes with colorfully dressed ninjas into (unrelated) pre-existing low-budget films from Thailand, the Philippines and elsewhere. Asia, and then with English dubbing to (loosely) tie the scenes together with a whole new storyline.
Ho's films are often interchangeable, butNinja Fantasy (also released asTwinkle Ninja Fantasy andEmpire of the Ninjas) remains one of his most easily recognizable and well-known works - especially thanks to the infamous sequence in which a blue-clad ninja fights a swarm of red-suited attackers who sneak up on him and his girlfriend on a secluded beach, turning into fish. Ho may have been a true cynic, a gonzo outsider artist, or both, but his bizarre action scenes have an unmistakable energy, and his signature penchant for Skittles-colored ninja costumes has influenced everything fromninja turtles beforeMortal Kombat. .
13. Octagon (1980)
Here it is: the only remotely good Chuck Norris movie where Bruce Lee doesn't spank the would-be star."Walker: Texas Ranger" and the Bowflex merchant at the Coliseum. Considering he moved from martial arts films to gunfights almost immediately after the advent of the erarambo- imitator, it's easy to forget how much of Norris' original appeal as a white American action hero with Asian kung moves Star Fu seemed to audiences in the late '70s - and"Octagon" serves as a worthy reminder, and is also (almost) a good film in its own right.
Castfuture karate commander will be a former ninjutsu-trained karate champion called upon to help fight a terrorist cell that turns out to be a ninja clan whose ranks include his Japanese ninja "blood brother" (Tadashi Yamashita) who infiltrated by surviving a deadly obstacle course called the Octagon. Plot aside, it's a thoroughly entertaining action movie with great ninja scenes and is often credited with starting the "ninja frenzy" of low-budget action movies of the 80s.
12. Shinobi (2005)
Believe it or not, Japanese pop culture is still less obsessed with ninja than the West and especially neighboring China, but the subject enjoys occasional bouts of public admiration, especially in the realm of manga, anime, and historical fantasy novels.Shinobi: Heart Under Blade is an adaptation of one of those novels,Ninja Koga Scrolls Futaro Yamada, fictionalized dramatization of the feud between the Koga and Iga clans at the dawn of the Tokugawa shogunate, which also served as the basis for the anime series "Basilisk". .
Story? ThisRomeo and Julietwith the Ninja: The male and female heirs of the Koga and Iga leaders plot to unite and unify their clans, an event that Shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu believes could create an army powerful enough to challenge his rule due to the predominance of ninja's superhuman powers both clans. To prevent this, his forces secretly foment hostilities between rival villages while he orders a five-on-five fight to the death between each clan's best fighters. It's all very melodramatic and tragic, and also brushes off some weird lines from the romance (where the ninja couple's romance is also a plan to mix their bloodlines to lessen the inbreeding that created their clan
11. Ninja Terminator (1985)
The aforementioned Godfrey Ho has at least 115 famous films to his credit, so don't be surprised if he appears twice on this list."Terminator Ninja" often considered Ho's "best" ninja movie, and by far the most significant, as it features some of the best action movies (largely thanks to obscure martial arts actor Richard Lam) and the most coherent storyline (quest to put together the three parts of the movie ). a golden statue said to grant ultimate ninja power) and the presence of B-movie star Richard Harrison, often referred to as "ninja actor Godfrey Ho".
Harrison, a veteran of the gladiator and spaghetti western genres, who once joked that his "greatest contribution to cinema" was the rejection of"A Fistful of Dollars" and Clint Eastwood's recommendation for the role instead paid him to direct what he considered a small number of ninja films for Ho while working in Hong Kong. Only later discovering that through cut-and-paste editing of Ho, he "starred" in over a dozen Z-class ninja films, which are later said to have ruined his reputation as an actor, but are among the most popular today. famous work.
10. Pray for death (1985)
When low-budget ninja films were at their peak in the US, Japanese actor and martial artist Sho Kosugi became a B-movie star thanks to memorable performances in Canon Films' so-called "Ninja Trilogy" (Enter The Ninja, Revenge of The Ninja andNinja III: The Domination) and that he is a "real" ninja... since he is believed to have studied ninjutsu extensively along with karate (a school of Shindo jinen-ryu), kendo, judo, iaido, kobudo, and aikido. He also had a lot of on-screen charisma, which he showed off in "Prayer for death" one of the rare American martial arts films of the era that placed Asian characters at the center of their own story.
The plot is rather formulaic: Kosugi is presented as a Japanese family man who moves with his family to the United States so that his American-born wife can open a restaurant. He is then forced to reveal his (secret) ninja skills in order to protect said family from corrupt cops and local crime bosses. Simple stuff, but the acting is extremely satisfying, and it's commendable to see a Japanese immigrant family as the unequivocal characters in a film set in an era when anti-Japanese xenophobia was at its peak in the United States.
9 Cyborg Ninja (1988)
Keita Amemiya, Director/Fantasy Artist/FX Supervisor/Designer, sometimes referred to as “HR Giger of Japan”, is best known for his directing and character design duties on various seriesKamen Rider andsuper sentai (also known aspower rangers) . Amemiya first made a name for himself with this quirky sci-fi theatrical work meant to launch a franchise for Namco. Focusing on a future soldier turned into a semi-automatic ninja to fight off an invasion of cyborgs from another dimension, it is light on plot but heavy on ninja combat and creative low-tech special effects, though its main enduring contribution to wider popular culture. was a semi-popular arcade game never released outside of Japan.
8. Ninja 3: Spirit of the Ninja (1984)
Canon Films followed up on their profitable B-ninja hitsEnter The Ninja" and "Revenge of the Ninja» with this third "spiritual sequel" of the series, united only by the presence of Sho Kosugi in (unrelated) supporting roles. It is the strangest of the three and is therefore widely considered the "best" of the lot.
A bizarre mix of ninja and exorcist movie imagery, the plot follows a woman who is possessed by the spirit of a dead ninja that forces her to commit martial arts killings against her will. James Hong tries to help out as a Chinese exorcist, but the task of making things right ends up falling to Kosugi, a good ninja who can exorcise evil through a ritual duel. There is nothing like him, not even in the ninja genre.
7.007: You Only Live Twice (1967)
One of the greatest ninja action films ever, and undoubtedly one of the best original James Bond films... if you can get past all the incredibly uncomfortable (even by James Bond standards) racism - which is easier said than done in a film whose central plot element is that Sean Connery can "go Japanese" with skin-darkening makeup and black hair dye. Yeah.
It's a shame, as it has the best Bond (Connery), the best Bond villain (Donald Pleasance as Ernst Stavro Blofeld), the best Bond villain's lair (a missile launching base hidden inside a hollowed-out volcano), and the best Bond ending. sequencing; 007 leads an army of ninjas to storm the volcano's base. It even has one of the most iconic scripts from the Connery era, thanks to Roald Dahl (really!), serving on adaptation duties. It's a shame that the film's second act (built on a "Japanized" Bond) is so deeply uncomfortable.
6 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1989)
Whatever the other virtues of the countless TMNT adaptations that have graced the screens over the years, the first live-action film stands out against the odds as a truly solid action movie that doesn't have the mundane stuff it does. This is largely due to the strong aesthetic decision to ground the narrative in the gritty urban noir setting set in the original independent comics (a vicious satire on "Daredevil" Frank Miller) who started the franchise but rendered the turtles themselves. a fashion for their more distinctive incarnations in the animated series.
The result is a stunningly addictive action movie that seems to have real stakes and a surprising amount of soul (what "kids movie" is going to slow down today due to the meditative 2nd act of being on a farm?), built around a set of really addictive Ninja Battles. who were much more intense than expected by the children who were carried away from the cartoon chest slapstick. The results astounded the minds of an entire generation... and angered parents so much that the Turtles were forced to not use their weapons in the sequel. Fake.
5. Heroes of the East (1978)
Although they originated in Japan, the way the world's popular culture presents the ninja is based almost entirely on their portrayal in Chinese martial arts films.Shaolin Ninja Challenges (also called "Heroes of the East" and"Ninja Trials") is one of the all-time classics of the genre, directed by the legendary Lau Kar-leung (36th Shaolin Chamber, Flying Guillotine Master, My Young Aunt, Drunken Master II) starring Gordon Liu ("Kill Bill", "Octagonal Pole Wrestler").
Liu is a Chinese student of Shaolin Kung Fu who is outraged to learn that his businessman father arranged his marriage to a Japanese partner's daughter, but decides to endure it after weighing his options (Cons: lifelong commitment, had no say in the case, doesn't know this woman Pros: She is very hot). However, upon learning that his new fiancée is also a martial artist, they clash over their professional ideals (Japanese karate is "undignified", Chinese weapons are "inelegant", etc.) and especially her expertise in the art of ninja . what he considers dishonorable. But when she gets angry and returns to Japan (to her handsome former ninjutsu instructor), Liu plans to win her back by hosting an invitational fighting tournament between China and Japan, he knows she won't refuse. This'
4. Ninja 2 (2013)
Scott Adkins (coming soon in "Doctor Strange") is the most dynamic western martial arts star currently active in the B-movie scene, beloved by hardcore action fans of two sequelsUndisputed andUniversal Soldier: The Reckoning.But while the originalNinja" was largely an unforgettable experience outside of Adkins' crushing action scenes,"Ninja: Shadow of Tear" - A true ninja classic.
Directed by Isaac Florentin, an Israeli martial arts specialist who has established himself as one of the main martial arts directors and choreographers in the original seriespower rangers from the era"Mighty Morphine" before"Lightspeed Rescue" (with whom Adkins often collaborates)"Shadow of a Tear" is a vengeance story crafted entirely to create stunningly brutal, impeccably choreographed ninja fight scenes that showcase Adkins' impressive physical prowess.
3. Sword of Vengeance (1972)
This film started one of the most famous samurai franchises of all time, also known as the series."Baby Cart" ; in which ninjas serve as the main antagonists and inspired the graphic novel (and the Tom Hanks hitman movie)"Road to death".
Story: Ogami Itto, the shogun's chief executioner, conspired with rival Retsudo Yagyu, head of the shogun's personal ninja assassination squad.When his wife is killed, Itto goes on the run and becomes a ronin for hire, taking his young son Daigorō with him in a specially equipped baby carriage that is armored, bulletproof, and equipped with concealed weapons that both father and son can summon. (hence the "Baby Cart"). Together, they travel across feudal Japan, doing the work of soldiers of fortune and fending off the ongoing attacks of the Yagyu ninja clan.
2. Five Elements Ninja (1982)
Chang Cheh, the "Godfather of Hong Kong Cinema", directed about 100 films in his time and is considered one of the most important directors in the martial arts genre, if not the entire history of Chinese filmmaking, with classics such asThe Five Deadly Venoms, Crippled Avengers, The Water Margin other. And in"Five Element Ninja" he helped solidify the mold by which nearly all subsequent ninja films would be drawn.
When a Chinese martial artist kills a Japanese rival in combat, his students find themselves being pursued by a quintet of revenge-seeking ninja teams whose attacks and fighting techniques are based on the elements of Water, Fire, Earth, Wood, and Gold. Often cited as popularizing the "color-coded ninja" visual trick (red for fire, blue for water, etc.), the wide variety of weapons and styles (both authentic andvery imaginary) help Che pull off some of Che's most impressive action sequences, including a bravura twenty-minute (actually!) final stage in which kung fu students take down all five elemental teams with a flurry of new weapon moves that have to be tested to be believed. .
1. Duel to the Death (1983)
Ching Siu-Tung was an action director for Hong Kong martial arts films for over a decade before he decided to direct his own film. The result was an explosion of fresh ideas and bold new techniques that divided genre critics, audiences and other directors of the time, but is today widely seen as the beginning of Hong Kong action cinema's transition from the Shaw brothers' "Golden Age" to the modern one. an era that gave birth to global superstars such as Jackie Chan, Jet Li and directors such as John Woo; heightening previously forbidden bloodshed and sexuality while eschewing studio settings for naturalistic camera work and outdoor filming.
But more importantly for our purposes, it redefined the genre of ninja for decades. Color-coded uniforms were gone, black pajamas were back, and small teams were replaced by surpluses of endlessly renewing foot soldiers swarming over action scenes like human fire ants—and that was just the beginning.
As with many other ninja-related films of the genre, the plot concerns an annual international martial arts competition culminating in a ceremonial duel for national pride between China's and Japan's greatest swordsmen. But while the two main fighters face their inner demons while traveling to the tournament, other masters making the same journey are systematically kidnapped by ninjas as part of a sinister Japanese scheme to steal the secrets of Chinese kung fu. The film is best remembered today for the groundbreaking sword fight scenes where the fighters “double jump” for aerial attacks, sweeping their swords under their feet and kicking off to stay in the air, but this was once new school ninja action. this caused chatter.
And what is this ninja action! Suicide vest ninjas, a pack of ninjas flying giant kites, ninja knights, giant sized ninjas that break up into five or six normal sized ninjas, a distraction dummy ninja playing swords, smoke bombs, fireballs and shurikens rain down thousands, like deadly snowflakes; this is the complete package. Movies like this have never had a ninja before and every subsequent image is indebtedbefore the duel of death.
