Ninja bugeicho momochi sandayu (1980)

In the middle of the 16th century, Hideyoshi, a power hungry warlord sets out to destroy the Momochi clan. He sends his war commander in search of the clan's hidden gold only to find that ... See full summary »

Director:

Noribumi Suzuki

Writers:

Fumio Kônami, Ichirô Ôtsu (screenplay)

Stars:

Hiroyuki Sanada, Sonny Chiba, Etsuko Shihomi

Cast

Credited cast:
Hiroyuki Sanada	...	Momochi Takamaru
Sonny Chiba	...	Shiranui Shogen
Etsuko Shihomi	...	Ai-Lian
Yuki Ninagawa	...	Otsu
Tetsurô Tanba	...	Tozawa Hakuunsai
Isao Natsuyagi	...	Hattori Hanzo
Asao Koike	...	Toyotomi Hideyoshi
Makoto Satô	...	Junka no Yatoji
Fumio Watanabe	...	Tokugawa Ieyasu
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Masumi Harukawa	...	Yodo-Gimi
Masashi Ishibashi	...	Momochi Sandayu
Lee Murayama	...	Tang Shun-Qi (as Ichiryu Li)
Yôko Nogiwa	...	Chiyo
Katsumasa Uchida	...	Shiranui Gennosuke

Storyline

In the middle of the 16th century, Hideyoshi, a power hungry warlord sets out to destroy the Momochi clan. He sends his war commander in search of the clan's hidden gold only to find that two daggers are the key to the hiding place of the treasured gold. Spanning decades, the quest for the missing daggers takes Shiranui through war and ancient tradition.

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Plot Keywords:

treasure | katana sword | suicide | japan | archery | 

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Drama

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Release Date:

15 November 1980 (Japan)

Also Known As:

Shogun's Ninja

Company Credits

Production Co:

Toei Company

Technical Specs

Runtime:

117 min

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

User Reviews

Alright, not a great Chiba flick, but alright.

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.