Revenge of the Ninja
Short description
Cho Osaki, a master of the ninja arts, leaves Japan with his young son Kane after ninjas kill nearly all of his family, hoping to start over in the United States. He opens a doll shop, unaware that his business partner is using the dolls to smuggle heroin. When the partner's betrayal emerges amid a drug war between American and Japanese criminals, and the violence reaches his son, Cho returns to the path he tried to abandon.
Sam Firstenberg directed the film, his first feature in a run of martial arts action pictures that continued with Ninja III: The Domination, American Ninja, American Ninja 2: The Confrontation, Cyborg Cop II and Motel Blue. James R. Silke wrote the screenplay, and Menahem Golan and Yoram Globus produced for Cannon Group and Golan-Globus Productions. Sho Kosugi stars as Cho, with Arthur Roberts as Braden, Keith Vitali as Dave Hatcher, Ashley Ferrare as Cathy, and Kane Kosugi as Cho's son. The credited cast runs to 35 names, including Professor Toru Tanaka as the Sumo Servant.
The film was released on September 7, 1983, and runs 91 minutes. It took about 13 million dollars worldwide, a strong return for a Cannon production of this kind. On IMDb it holds 6 out of 10 from roughly 6,500 votes, and on TMDB 6.3 out of 10 from 182 votes, broadly consistent with each other. A critics' rating of 7 out of 10 from 212 reviews places it somewhat above the audience scores.
What's left behind the scenes
- Sho Kosugi genuinely practices ninjutsu, and during the making of the film he also served as a technical advisor and fight choreographer.
- Initially, the film was supposed to be shot in Los Angeles, however, various permits for filming, payments to the police and fire departments, as well as complex logistics and numerous associated payments would have consumed a significant portion of the project's budget. The relevant structure of the Utah state administration had long been courting the “Cannon Films” studio in the hope that it would move filming to Utah, and in addition, promised that no fees would be required for permits on the state’s territory, and local residents employed on the film could be paid less than elsewhere. As a result, the management of “Cannon Films” was persuaded to move filming to Salt Lake City.
- Many of the weapons shown in the film owe their existence to Sho Kosugi.
- Two weeks were spent filming the final battle between the character played by Sho Kosugi and the main antagonist. According to director Sam Firstenberg, this was due to the large number of special effects, the organization of numerous explosions, the debugging of technical devices, safety considerations, and the careful setup of cameras, not to mention hanging on the wall of a building at the height of the 20th floor and filming from a helicopter.
- Steven Lambert had to play some scenes entirely on his own because Arthur Roberts was simply physically unable to perform what the script required. Additionally, Lambert and Sho Kosugi rehearsed the fight scenes together, and Lambert also played several ninjas at the beginning of the film.
Auditions in India
Casting calls in USA
Castingi w Polsce
Кастинги в Україні
