Ninja, a Band of Assassins (1962)

Ishikawa Goemon (Ichikawa Raizo), a talented young ninja, becomes ensnared in a twisted scheme to assassinate Oda Nobunaga, an evil warlord bent on ruling feudal Japan with an iron fist. ... See full summary »

Director:

Satsuo Yamamoto

Writers:

Tomoyoshi Murayama (novel), Hajime Takaiwa

Stars:

Raizô Ichikawa, Shiho Fujimura, Yûnosuke Itô

2 wins.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Raizô Ichikawa	...	Ishikawa Goemon
Shiho Fujimura	...	Maki
Yûnosuke Itô	...	Sandayû Momochi
Katsuhiko Kobayashi	...	Nobuo Oda
Tomisaburô Wakayama	...	Oda Nobunaga (as Jô Kenzaburô)
Yôko Uraji	...	Hinona
Reiko Fujiwara	...	Hata
Chitose Maki	...	Tamo
Kyôko Kishida	...	Inone
Takeshi Katô
Kô Nishimura	...	Kizaru
Yutaka Nakamura
Kuniichi Takami	...	Kôtarô
Toshio Chiba
Sônosuke Sawamura

Storyline

Ishikawa Goemon (Ichikawa Raizo), a talented young ninja, becomes ensnared in a twisted scheme to assassinate Oda Nobunaga, an evil warlord bent on ruling feudal Japan with an iron fist. Deceit, treachery, and entire gangs of enemy ninja lurk around every corner as Goemon travels the countryside to complete his task, win back his honor, and save his skin!

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Plot Keywords:

ninja | ichikawa goemon | jidai geki | well | secret room | 

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Genres:

Action | Drama

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Release Date:

1 December 1962 (Japan)

Also Known As:

Ninja 1

Company Credits

Production Co:

Daiei Studios

Technical Specs

Runtime:

104 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

This movie was seen in Japan in 1963 by author Roald Dahl, from which he got several ideas for the writing of the screenplay to the James Bond movie You Only Live Twice (1967). The scene where Goemon attempts to assassinate Nobunaga with poison was referred to in "You Only Live Twice" and "Grosse Pointe Blank". Several scenes shows Nobunaga petting his cats. This is also done by the villain Blofeld in "You Only Live Twice".

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Quotes

Kotaro: Goemon, what does a ninja live for?
[Continues]
Kotaro: Starting as a innocent toddler, he must endure hard training in ninjutsu... then he's sent to serve some warlord in the east or some daimyo in the west... and does so knowing that his life is always at risk. If he is captured, he must endure exquisite tortures, and yet not divulge the truth. Rather than disclose his name, he will intently seek death instead. When escape is no longer possible...
Ishikawa Goemon: [Goemon continues] "He will burn his face with fire... ...

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Connections

Followed by Shinobi No Mono 4: Siege (1964)

User Reviews

The first movie of the legendary Ninja Goemon

There has been many movies about a legend in the Japanese ninja history of Goemon, this is the first movie from 1962 and also gave inspiration to the James Bond movie you only live twice and it's show that Japanese actors are 10 years a head of time when it comes to dimensional acting, as in the west were use to schooled dialogue, Japan had their actor play out their role with their hearts.

Goemon is a young ninja of his clan and a man with a future. But he is also weak for women specially the wife of his leader. But later his life turned apart when his father is killed by his own powder and the wife is also killed. The leader is blaming Goemon for all this bad events but he spare his life, in one condition to kill an evil lord that threat to destroy all ninja clans. Goemon agrees but only to find out he has been fooled by his own leader.

Every time I see these black and white movies from Japan I'm surprised that the acting feels like today. The acting at that time was good but it was 1950s good but in Japan the acting feels new like today even it's from 1962. I give a big applause to Japanese acting and this movie is no exception. Fantastic acting and choreography and strong plot and a must have for all ninja lover. 10/10