Revenge of the Ninja
AMG AllMovie Guide:
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Revenge of the Ninja
Plot
Sam Firstenberg directs Sho Kosugi in the martial arts action film Revenge of the Ninja. Kosugi plays a former ninja assassin whose family is killed by other ninjas. He begins life anew in America, but unexpectedly comes to work for drug traffickers who he must face off against. ~ Perry Seibert, RoviReview
This surprise hit for Cannon Films is a typical example of the better films from their early '80s heyday; it's junky and virtually devoid of substance but delivers the goods with an often jaw-dropping amount of energy. James Silke's story line is a train-wreck of implausibilities and paper-thin characterizations, but it delivers some novel, comic-book bit of action virtually every five minutes. It's the perfect setup for a fun throwaway, and Revenge of the Ninja works on this level for two reasons. The first is Sam Firstenberg's direction, which takes a breezy, no-frills approach that bypasses all the story's silliness to push its high action quotient front and center. It might not ever get you involved in the story but it also keeps things from getting dull. The second (and most important) reason is the presence of the underrated Sho Kosugi: he delivers the high-kicking skills and the raw charisma needed for his hero's role, making up for what he lacks in polish with sheer determination. Indeed, his shining moment is an amazing scene where he chases down a speeding van by leaping over several car-roofs and clawing his way inside of it while it tears down the road. In the end, Revenge of the Ninja is far too raw and goofball in tone to ever stack up to a classic like Enter the Dragon, but it's perfect Saturday afternoon fun for martial arts fans with a sense of humor about the genre. ~ Donald Guarisco, RoviCast
- Sho Kosugi - Cho Osaki
- Keith Vitali - Dave Hatcher
- Virgil Frye - Lt. Dime
- Arthur Roberts - Braden
- Mario Gallo - Caifano
Credit
Paul Staheli - Art Director, David Womark - Associate Producer, Michael Schroeder - First Assistant Director, Dennis White - First Assistant Director, Sam Firstenberg - Director, Reed Smoot - Second Unit Director, Michael J. Duthie - Editor, Mark Helfrich - Editor, Sho Kosugi - Fights Choreographer, W. Michael Lewis - Composer (Music Score), Robert J. Walsh - Composer (Music Score), Laurin Rinder - Composer (Music Score), Ivo Cristante - Production Designer, Hanania Baer - Cinematographer, David Gurfinkel - Cinematographer, Yoram Globus - Producer, Menahem Golan - Producer, Diane Perryman - Set Designer, Joe Quinlivan - Special Effects, Steve Lambert - Stunts, Steve Lambert - Stunts Coordinator, James R. Silke - Screenwriter| Revenge of the Nerds III: The Next Generation (1992 Film), Revenge of the Nerds II: Nerds in Paradise (1987 Film) | |
| Revenge of the Ninja Warrior (1985 Film), Revenge of the Patriots (1976 Film) |
AMG AllGame Guide:
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Revenge of the Ninja
- Release Date: 1993
- Genre: Adventure
- Style: Interactive Movie
- Similar Games: Dragon's Lair (Arcade), Dragon's Lair II: Time Warp (Arcade)
Game Description
Similar in style to Dragon's Lair, Revenge of the Ninja is an interactive adventure game that puts you in the boots of a skilled, teenage ninja who has witnessed his girlfriend being captured by an evil sorcerer/samurai. Traversing through 15 levels, players must respond quickly to the on-screen commands, whether it be pressing a button or moving a direction on the D-pad. The chosen will either be right and continue the movie/scene or wrong and send you back a bit in the level, costing you a life.~ Glenn Wigmore, All Game Guide
Roots & Influences
The Dragon's Lair game's are the main titles that have used this formula of gameplay where the user has to quickly respond to on-screen commands to succeed.~ Glenn Wigmore, All Game Guide
Wikipedia on Answers.com:
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Revenge of the Ninja
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This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (August 2008) |
- This article is about the film. For the Sega Mega-CD game, see Ninja Hayate
| Revenge of the Ninja | |
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 Theatrical release poster |
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| Directed by | Sam Firstenberg |
| Produced by | Yoram Globus Menahem Golan David Womark |
| Written by | James Silke |
| Starring | Sho Kosugi Keith Vitali Kane Kosugi Virgil Frye Arthur Roberts Mario Gallo |
| Music by | W. Michael Lewis Laurin Rinder Robert J. Walsh |
| Cinematography | David Gurfinkel |
| Editing by | Michael J. Duthie Mark Helfrich Daniel Wetherbee |
| Distributed by | Cannon Films MGM / United Artists |
| Release date(s) | September 7, 1983 |
| Running time | 90 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Box office | $13,168,027 |
Revenge of the Ninja (1983) is an action movie starring Sho Kosugi as a ninja. It is considered part of a ninja trilogy, starting with Enter the Ninja (1981) and ending with Ninja III: The Domination (1984), but the stories are not directly related. The final battle is considered a battle between good and evil.
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Contents
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Plot
Revenge of the Ninja opens with a massive ninja attack on the home of Cho Osaki (Sho Kosugi) in Japan, resulting in the slaughter of his entire family except for his mother and his younger son, Kane (Kane Kosugi). When Cho arrives at his estate and discovers the carnage, the ninjas attempt to kill him as well, but Cho, being a ninja himself, avenges his family. Afterwards, however, he swears off being a ninja forever and moves with his son and mother to California, where he opens a doll gallery with the help of his American business partner and friend, Braden, and his assistant Kathy.
One night, Kane accidentally drops and breaks open one of the dolls, exposing a white dust (heroin) contained therein. As it turns out, Braden uses the doll gallery as a front for his drug-dealing business. He tries to strike a deal with Caifano, a Mafia boss, but Caifano and Braden cannot find common ground and eventually engage in a turf war. Braden, as a silver "demon"-masked ninja, assassinates Caifano's informers and relatives to make him cower down. The police are confused about the killings, and local police martial arts trainer and expert, Dave Hatcher, is assigned to find a consultant. Dave persuades Cho to see his boss and Cho attests that only a ninja could commit these crimes, but refuses to aid the police any further.
In order to avoid payment for his 'merchandise', Caifano sends three men to clear the gallery. Cho happens to walk into the gallery while the thugs are loading the goods in a van, is attacked and responds with hand-to-hand combat. The henchmen escape in the van with Cho in pursuit, but he fails to stop the thieves from getting away. Meanwhile, Braden stealthily arrives to Cho's art gallery to find that it was just looted. Cho's mother and Kane both encounter him; Braden kills Cho's mother, but Kane manages to elude him. Cho, badly mangled, returns to find his mother murdered and his son missing.
In order to finish the last witness, Braden hypnotizes Kathy, who is in love with Cho, to find and bring in Kane. When she recovers her senses, she contacts Cho and informs him both of Braden's treachery and that he is a ninja. Seeing his only remaining son in mortal danger, Cho breaks his devotion to non-violence and makes his way to Caifano's headquarters to stop Braden. In the meantime, Braden finds out about Kathy's betrayal and prepares to have her executed. Kane manages to free himself and Kathy, and the two inform the police.
Braden makes his final assault on Caifano and his organization, killing everyone he encounters. Eager to help his friend Cho, Dave also rushes to Caifano's headquarters but is ambushed by Braden, who mortally wounds him. Cho rushes to help his faithful friend, but the latter dies in his arms.
The film ends with an epic battle to the death between Braden and Cho on top of Caifano's skyscraper. After a long struggle, Cho kills Braden and is reunited with his son and Kathy.
Cast
- Sho Kosugi as Cho Osaki
- Keith Vitali as Dave Hatcher
- Virgil Frye as Lieutenant Dire
- Arthur Roberts as Braden
- Mario Gallo as Chifano
- Grace Oshita as Grandmother
- Ashley Ferrare as Cathy
- Kane Kosugi as Kane Osaki
Censorship
The original theatrical release was heavily cut, as was the VHS. Sho Kosugi's son's death (ninja star in the head) was cut, as were the deaths of three guards at the hands of the evil ninja Braden. Braden's gory death was also slightly trimmed. All cuts were reinserted into the Region 1 DVD from MGM. Optimum Entertainment is going to release this film uncut in widescreen in May 30th on DVD.
Filming location
While the story is set in Southern California, the movie was filmed in Salt Lake City; several Utah license plates can be seen.
Reception
The movie had a mixed reaction.[1][2]
Box office
The movie made $13 million domestically in the United States.[3]
References
- ^ Van Gelder, Lawrence (1983-09-08). "Revenge of the Ninja". The New York Times. http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9E0CE3DF1338F93BA3575AC0A965948260. Retrieved 2011-02-04.
- ^ "Revenge of the Ninja". Variety. 1982-12-31. http://www.variety.com/review/VE1117794444?refcatid=31. Retrieved 2011-02-04.
- ^ "`Ninja` Knockin`` Em Dead". Chicago Tribune. 1986-05-15. http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1986-05-15/features/8602040119_1_ninja-kosugi-home-movies/2. Retrieved 2011-03-23.
External links
- Revenge of the Ninja at the Internet Movie Database
- Revenge of the Ninja at AllRovi
- Revenge of the Ninja at Box Office Mojo
- Interview with Keith Vitali at cityonfire.com
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Copyright © 2012 All Media Guide, LLC. Content provided by All Game Guide ®, a trademark of All Media Guide, LLC. All rights reserved.
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