Rage of Honor

Rage of Honor

United States - 1987

Director - Gordon Hessler

Media Home Entertainment, 1987, VHS

Run Time - 1 hour, 32 minutes

Fists of Dragons/Ninja Terminator via Ninja Theater & Sho Kosugi

There is only one thing worse than a mutilated box. No box at all, but still.

Fists of Dragons (Hao xiao zi)
a.k.a. Little Rascals of Kung Fu
China - 1980
Director - Yeh Yung Chu
Trans World Entertainment, 1986, VHS
Run Time - 1 hour, 32 minutes

The uncut box claims that the film was directed by Yeh Yung Chu, and the opening credits on the tape confirm this. The actors listed at IMDB are exactly the same, but the director is listed as Wing-Cho Yip. Furthermore IMDB gives one of the alternate titles as Cunning Kids, which was confirmed by an image search that turned up the artwork below at Rare Kung Fu Movies under bothFists of Dragons and Cunning Kids. And in fact, after re watching the film, I can confirm that they are the same, except for the dubbing of course.

I picked up this film not because of Sho Kosugi, but because it was recomended at some point as a potential film for Kung Fu Grindhouse. As I recall it was not worthy, though it's been years since I watched it. The interesting thing to me now is of course the presence of Kosugi who merely presents the film. Really it's more of an introduction, and let me tell you, at bit of a sad one at that. The series name should give you some clue to the depths to which the video marketing industry had already sunk by 1986. Last time I checked, Ninja's didn't really have much to do with China, so why is this wu-shu movie under the title "Ninja Theater?" Because the American public were slaves to the very word ninja.
Kosugi himself offers only a brief demonstration of the use of the ninjitsu katana, noting that it is straight and shorter than the typical Japanese sword. Then he fights some guys for a minute or two before introducing the film as a "demonstration of some excellent Chinese Boxing."
There's something more than a little disheartening about lumping all of these distinct elements under the concept of martial arts.
Ninja, kung-fu, ehhhhhhhh, it's all oriental, right?

The Chinese VHS box art for Cunning Kids from Rare Kung Fu Movies

But there is more...
Over at The Scandy Factory, the Scandy Man has posted this nice image of the Ninja Theater version of Ninja Terminator. (right) His awesome post includes the intro sequence with Sho Kosugi's demo, a must watch to be sure, and some ephemera from the Sho Kosugi ninja fan club. This is one of my all time favorite movies of all fucking ever, comparable perhaps only to Challenge of the Tiger. Both of these are highly contingent on the fact that they star Richard "God Among Men" Harrison. Ninja Terminator was given a fantastic DVD release from Video Asia as part of the Silver Fox collection, and Challenge of the Tiger was double-featured by Mondo Macabro b-sided with For Your Height Only.

A Swedish VHS box insert courtesy Rolfens DVD.

German insert box courtesy Critical Condition.

From my own meager shelves.

Not to be confused with this Ninja Terminator, part of an Anchor Bay double VHS box from 1995. I haven't watched this specific film, but Ninja Wars, the A-film is a chopped version of "Black Magic Wars" (?) or Iga Ninpocho, a graphicaly violent but ultimately slooooow Japanese samurai gorror film. Aren't they all?

This started as a post about one movie and evolved into a morass of ninja insanity. Thanks for your dedication.

Enter the Ninja

Enter the Ninja
United States - 1981
Director - Menahem Golan
MGM/UA, 1991, VHS
Run Time - 1 hour, 41 minutes

I've referred to this film in several prior posts about Sho Kosugi films, 9 Deaths of The Ninja and Pray for Death. This is the first movie in the classic Sho Kosugi ninja trilogy. I love the international flavor of this film. Director Menahem Golan is an Israeli, half of Golan/Globus and the venerable 80's exploitation powerhouse Cannon Pictures. Star Franco Nero is of course Italian, co-star Kosugi is Japanese, and the film itself was shot on location in the Philippines. If you're feeling brave and want to watch two ninjas fight in a cockfighting ring, you can watch the trailer for Enter the Ninja at Cult Trailers, and the whole movie free on IMDB.

If not entirely believable, which you shouldn't expect anyway, it is pretty fun. As I recall, Nero is called out to the Philippines to help out an old war buddy and some poor campesinos. They are being harassed by the mafia who has discovered oil on the farmers banana plantation. The mafia hires Kosigi I guess because a ninja is more frightening to a bunch of peasants than 50 guys with uzi's?... Yes, uzi's (or something similar), Menahem Golan loves to include high volumes of automatic weapons fire in all his movies. It makes them more, more...shooty.

A UK VHS insert from the awesome Cannon Films.org

The full poster from impawards.com

Pray For Death

Pray For Death
United States - 1985
Director - Gordon Hessler
USA Home Video, 1986, VHS
Run Time - 1 hour, 33 minutes.

Just look at that huge box, now that is a thing of beauty designed by "The Art Department" no less. It's a cheap take on the 80's color splash design style but at least it mirrors the pattern from the front on the back. Nice continuity. The patriotic colors are great too considering the distributor and the story line which features Kosugi as a Japanese expatriate trying to find peace in the USA. If they'd called it American Ninja they would've made bank.
After witnessing the brutal glory that is Sam Firstenberg's Revenge of the Ninja I was sold on Sho Kosugi so I picked up a couple more of his movies including the prequel Enter the Ninja starring Franco Nero. Pray for Death had some of the highest reccomendations of all of Kosugi's films so I was very excited to find it, especially in one of these giant "please just try and steal me" boxes.
Though this tape claims a run time one minute longer than that listed at IMDB, it is still somehow possible it was edited. Unfortunately that doesn't change the fact that it was boring.




This here is a trailer for the movie "Die 1000 Augen der Ninja", alternate West German name of Pray For Death from Spannick's YouTube channel. In Germany Ninja have one thousand eyes but the trailers are still better than the movies they advertise. Now that I've posted this I suppose I'll have to rewatch it in the hopes that my memory is wrong.

9 Deaths of the Ninja

For posterity's sake I must include this tidbit of terrible cinema history which has in fact made it to DVD (and is available from Netflix). I had heard of 9 Deaths of the Ninja a few times, and that it was quite awful. I have also seen several other Sho Kosugi films including the epic Ninja trilogy beginning with Enter the Ninja in which he is the bad guy against whom Franco Nero (the original Django) as the Good Ninja must fight. Following that was the awesome Revenge of the Ninja in which Sho plays Cho, the Good Ninja. His battered visage from Revenge graces the current Kung Fu Grindhouse T-shirt, seen here at right. I had no idea sho and 9 Deaths were connected but I was pleasantly surprised as the title sequence unrolled before my eyes, Sho was the undisputed king of 80's Ninjasploitation.

In case you haven't seen it, here is the reason why (yes, the ninja is Sho:

Sequence courtesy of Bad Movie Realm.