Enter the Ninja (1981)

After just completing his training at a ninja school, an army vet travels to the Phillippines and finds himself battling a land grabber who wants his war-buddy's property. He must also ... See full summary »

Director:

Menahem Golan

Writers:

Dick Desmond (screen story), Dick Desmond (screenplay)

Stars:

Franco Nero, Susan George, Shô Kosugi

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Franco Nero	...	Cole
Susan George	...	Mary Ann
Shô Kosugi	...	Hasegawa
Christopher George	...	Venarius
Alex Courtney	...	Frank
Will Hare	...	Dollars
Zachi Noy	...	The Hook
Constantine Gregory	...	Mr. Parker (as Constantin de Goguel)
Dale Ishimoto	...	Komori
Joonee Gamboa	...	Mr. Mesuda
Leo Martinez	...	Pee Wee
Ken Metcalfe	...	Elliot
Subas Herrero	...	Alberto
Alan Amiel	...	Maroon Ninja
Douglas Ivan	...	Maroon Ninja (as Doug Ivan)

Storyline

After just completing his training at a ninja school, an army vet travels to the Phillippines and finds himself battling a land grabber who wants his war-buddy's property. He must also fight his rival.

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Plot Keywords:

fight | ninja | first part | fighting | showdown | 

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Taglines:

Warriors of a lost martial art! Hired assassins ...human killing machines!

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Genres:

Action | Crime | Drama | Thriller

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

2 October 1981 (USA)

Also Known As:

Ninja I

Filming Locations:

Manila, Metro Manila, Philippines

Box Office

Budget:

$1,500,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Cannon Group, The, City Film (1980s), Golan-Globus Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

99 min (uncut) 89 min (edited for TV)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

After Mike Stone was let go because of his lack of acting ability, Director Menahem Golan found out that Franco Nero was in Manila and quickly approached him for the role and Nero agreed to do the film. Stone stayed on the film as Nero's stunt double and it is Stone who handles the majority of the action sequences as the ninja.

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Goofs

Over the course of three different scenes, Mary Anne's gag starts off covering her mouth completely, then later is pulled between her teeth, and finally ends up spreading her lips apart but covering her teeth.

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Quotes

Charles Venarius: I want a ninja. Find me a ninja. I want Lander's land!

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Connections

Referenced in Blade II (2002)

User Reviews

A Must See for Ninja Fans

As far as Ninja movies go, this is THE Ninja movie. All of the classic elements are here: smoke bombs, climbing claws, shurikens, villainy... you name it, it's in there.

The movie opens with an excellent trial, where Cole must defeat legions of opposing ninjas (fellow students), then make it back to base and calmly recite the Nine Levels of Power in front of Master Komori. To this day I have a .wav file of the Nine Levels of Power... it is a cool scene.

MINOR SPOILER FOLLOWS

The bulk of the movie is setting up the rivalry between Hasegawa and Cole. Hasegawa, being the evil, black-clad Ninja that he is, causes as much mayhem as possible culminating in the killing of Cole's buddy Frank. Cole, being the good white-clad Ninja, must now (of course) avenge his buddy's death and face Hasegawa one-on-one.

I won't tell you the outcome of the final battle, but I will say that it is a classic Ninja battle. You won't be disappointed.

Sure it is a silly movie, but you aren't watching it for its screenplay, are you? You may never want to see it more than once, but Enter the Ninja is definitely worth seeing.

"Surrender or Die!"