Ninja bugeicho momochi sandayu (1980)

User Rating:

6.1/10   

Director:

Norifumi Suzuki

Writers:

Fumio Konami (writer)
Ichirô Ôtsu (screenplay)

Release Date:

15 November 1980 (Japan)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Drama

Plot:

In the middle of the 16th century, Hideyoshi, a power hungry warlord sets out to destroy the Momochi clan...

Plot Keywords:

Ninja | Flute | Fall From Height | Massacre | Monkey

Cast

Hiroyuki Sanada	...	Momochi Takamaru
Sonny Chiba	...	Shiranui Shogen
Etsuko Shihomi	...	Ai-Lian
Yuki Ninagawa	...	Otsu
Tetsuro Tamba	...	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

Also Known As:

Shogun's Ninja

Runtime:

117 min

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Certification:

Finland:K-16 | Iceland:16 | Norway:18 | USA:R

Company:

Toei Company

An old school ninja classic in Japanese cinema

This early '80s Japanese ninja production features a confusing story, an unrelated jazz soundtrack, a supporting cast of famous screen greats (that include Japanese martial arts legends Hiroyuki "Henry" Sanada and Sonny Chiba) and lots of combat sequences that rely on flying ninjas and martial art fights (staged by Chiba himself) to make a "hilariously" entertaining old school B-movie.

SHOGUN'S NINJA was a historical and adventurous ninja classic that featured a young talented Hiroyuki Sanada (THE LAST SAMURAI, THE PROMISE and RUSH HOUR 3) playing the lead role as Takamaru, a descendant of the overthrown Momochi clan who grows up learning martial arts and unites with his childhood friends and remaining clan members. They prepare for battle against the rebel warlord Hideyoshi Hashiba (Asao Koike) and his right-hand man, commander Shogun Shrianui (Sonny Chiba- THE STREET FIGHTER series, KILL BILL Vol. 1 and THE FAST AND THE FURIOUS:TOKYO DRIFT), responsible for murdering Takamaru's parents ten years earlier.

The story looks like someone who had a glass of the hard stuff because it gets a little confusing orchestrated it. It starts off with Hideyoshi ordering Shogun to eliminate the Momochi clan and their leaders (Takamaru's parents) than it flashes forward ten years later where Takamaru is grown up with martial arts and ninjitsu skills, and holds one of two daggers with a printed map on it that leads to a hidden gold mine. Hideyoshi learns about the dagger being in Takamaru's possession and orders Shogun to get the dagger. What makes matters worse is that another ninja clan member named Hattori Hanzo (Isao Natsuyagi- G.I. SAMURAI) wants the dagger too. Hanzo sends his loyal sister (Yuki Ninagawa) to steal the dagger but a little twist unfolds when she turns out to be Takamaru's childhood friend-turned-lover. She steals it; Shogun and his two handicapped ninja companions (who like to jump off Shiranui's shoulders like turnbuckles in wrestling to perform flying attack moves) caputre Takamaru. He eventually escapes and Ninagawa decides to return the dagger to him. Takamaru also runs into an old ninja warrior (Tetsuro Tamba- SAMURAI REINCARNATION and the Shaw Brothers classic, THE WATER MARGIN) from his past who trains him in higher methods of ninjitsu to prepare him for battle against Shogun and his posse.

Japanese martial arts star Etsuko "Sue" Shihomi (Sonny Chiba's DRAGON PRINCESS, SISTER STREET FIGHTER, and KARATE BEAR FIGHTER) makes her special appearance as Takamaru's former love interest from his past who joins him in battle to display her incredible skills with two nunchuckus. If you do not sit and watch the movie without leaving to make a pit stop, you will be lost and confused but other than that, SHOGUN'S NINJA delivers enough good qualities to make it an enjoyable B-movie flick for martial arts movie lovers.

You will find some of the sequences to be laughable at times due to the fancy flying moves and other things the ninjas engage in. Hiroyuki Sanada encounters rival ninjas armed with shotguns. He dodges the bullets by swinging on a tree repeatedly like a gymnast. Sue Shihomi hangs upside down on a rope and swings around to attack ninjas with her nunchuckus as if she was performing at a circus. The old ninja warrior jumps off a mountain and floats while falling to his destination and then uses superhuman speed when running (with the help of fast motion camera tricks). These crazy events are just some of which were staples in many of these genre films that adds an extra edge to the entertainment value while some happen to be funny.

Hiroyuki Sanada put on a good performance as the hero and delivered some effective martial arts moves, lifted under the choreography of Sonny Chiba. Some of the sequences contained blends of slow motion and fast-paced editing to help give the fights a stylized look. Like in many of Japan's ninja/samurai period dramas, SHOGUN'S NINJA was filled with lots of over-exaggerated violence, especially when it comes to the blood-squirts, flying shuriken and sword attacks, and decapitating bodies, many of which Quentin Tarantino salutes to in KILL BILL Vol. 1 & 2.

As a fan of Japanese cinema movies, I've watched Hiroyuki Sanada in numerous movies during my youth days and learned now, that he's come a long way though out his movie career going from a young pop star to becoming one of Japan's top martial arts icons aside his on-screen protégé Sonny Chiba. The two have worked together and appeared in Hollywood and Hong Kong cinema films. Sanada retained his film resume through out the '90s and the millennium in Japan appearing in movies like RINGU (the original Japanese version of THE RING), TWILIGHT SAMURAI and jumped into the Hollywood scene to play a supporting role in THE LAST SAMURAI with Tom Cruise, and RUSH HOUR 3 with Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker. Sonny Chiba, who starred in classics like SAMURAI REINCARNATION, THE KILLING MACHINE, THE EXECUTIONER and of course, THE STREET FIGHTER series, has already made little-known appearances in countless Hollywood films before catching the eyes of a larger audience in KILL BILL Vol. 1 and THE FAST AND THE FURIOUS:TOKYO DRIFT.

If you enjoy old school ninja or samurai flicks like SHOGUN ASSASSIN or the LONE WOLF AND CUB series, then SHOGUN'S NINJA is one to get because packs plenty of quality martial arts, ninjitsu and gravity-filled fights with a cast of martial art masters to pull it off and make it an enjoyable collector's item for fans.