Exploring Revenge of the Ninja - 50% Action 100% Awesome
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- čas přidán 20. 06. 2021
- Good Bad Flicks enjoys the amazing action movie Revenge of of the Ninja. Directed by Sam Firstenberg.
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Movies, games, and the occasional editorial.
From A-Z list films, video games, and other overlooked goodness. - Zábava
"I did not bring him to America to fight in the street with fools."
Best. Life lesson. Ever.
It sounds like Sam Firstenberg has that most important and rarest of directing traits, a lack of ego. Being up front with his crew about his lack of experience was a smart move.
"You give the audience the food they like." Words to live by.
If only modern movie makers lived by these words.
@Brian Babin This doesn’t make sense. Studios offer a bunch of creatively bankrupt schlock that appeals to the lowest common denominator. Transformers, Live action remakes, Kevin James comedies. Even Marvel films play it safe with their formula. Then you have films that take risks and lean into the artistry and story which, hopefully, will compel people to go see it.
'Some people make slices of life. I make slices of cake.'
- Alfred Hitchcock
I wish Hollywood was hearing this message!
@@Blueskybuffalo I’m quite okay with artistry. I’m less okay with propaganda of any stripe and THAT seems to be the word of the day...although NOBODY asks for it :/
I think these movies fall under the genre of “human-level magical realism”, and I mean that in a good way. The superhero/comic-book-film genre is a big umbrella that has many variations, but usually contains magical powers on some level. The lack of good sfx in the 80’s limited the magical powers to just unbelievable human motions, sometimes by crazy humans and other times by crazy humans on wires. I miss that more stunt-based approach to the magical realism, as opposed to magic powers.
I feel the reason directors like Firstenberg adapt so well to another medium is because they are skilled in the art of making a motion picture. They know their subject and how to frame, light and film it. It's like a painter going from portraits to landscapes.
Yep. He had a good foundation and understood what a certain genre needed in order to work. Many directors could and should learn from him.
3:49 "You give the people the food they like." --- Why does this quote seem so relevant in 2021? I also remember as a kid just going to the videorental every week and new Ninja-movies were released.
Sometimes you have to eat your vegetables instead.
Menachem Golan was the ultimate king of schlock. He made bad movies that were fun to watch. Today’s schlock artists have much to learn.
Cannon Films made great schlock that is still entertaining to watch to this day whenever I see their films come on TV.
Delta Force...I still stop to watch it.
Whenever I hear the Cannon logo’s theme I am drawn into the room with the tv on! Never fails
And to think that Golan was nominated for an Academy Award in 1977...
Congratulations on winning the Silver Bolo!
If any channel deserves it, it's this one
Sam furstenberg is the nicest person ever. He always writes back on his CZcams comments and he's always very warm and inviting.
I've seen Revenge of the Ninja more times than any other movie in my entire life. Thanks GBF. Thanks man
I love it too man! .....It's arguably the best of ALL the 80s ninja movies! You can really tell the ppl involved are all enjoying making the picture 😸_👍
And *Ninja 3: The Domination* - which pains me to watch, because _it's SO CLOSE to 80s greatness!_ but that script has apparent big 'ol missing pieces to it
(First and foremost the 'Ninjas' core motives - before AND after his 'death' / transmigration into Christie (Lucinda Dickey) - Still love it though
Hey, If you love bold, colourful 80s action flicks, (particularly made by CANNON) with ninjas / Kung Fu & Uzi shootouts during New Orleans parades / unique masked killer-cult specialists etc
Sam Firstenberg (Director of this movie: Revenge of the Ninja + Breakin' 2 - Electric Boogaloo + American Ninja + many others) made a PROPER stormer from 1986 : *Avenging Force*
+ Some fine fellow (not me) has uploaded it onto YT in an actual good resolution,
if you love this kinda stuff too you'll have SOO MUCH FUN! Enjoy! 😸_👍
czcams.com/video/z4a-USXAPFE/video.html
@@zetetick395 I'll check it out. Since you like Revenge of the Ninja as much as i do I'm sure you know what you're talking about. Thanks man
This movie was a childhood favorite of mine. The only thing I felt missing in the review was mentioning that kick-ass synth score.
Saw this in the mid 80s as a child. Sparked my interest in Japanese culture. One of the main reason I now live in Japan. Just watched it recently again. I love this movie.
This and NINJA 3: DOMINATION were favorites of mine as a kid. My grandma had them on vhs. 📼
Any grandma that has ninja vhs is a legend
What a cool grandma.
That's awesome that your grandmother had them on VHS.
Was your grandmother a ninja by chance? 😉
Do your granny do karate
The scene where Sho fights the Village People was one of my favorite movie moments. The stunt team just went nuts on that playground.
Yup.
The part in that scene where Cowboy gets half his mustache taken off by the iron fan is still good for a laugh.
The poster, much like Kosugi, is legendary.
Great job with the video. This is a really fun gem. And I had the opportunity recently to actually speak to Sam Firstenberg in person. And he is still very proud of his work here. Before this film and Enter The Ninja, Ninjas weren't really that mainstream of a thing in the United States. After these two films, it was Ninja mania.
Thanks!
I love how it says Tokyo, Japan at 10:48 and we see one of the most iconic buildings of Kyoto (Not Tokyo).
This movie wore out my eyeballs as a teenager. I just couldn't get enough.
The move in the end fight were Sho dives over the evil ninjas katana and goes into a roll was one I tried to replicate over a wall but I just ended up belly flopping onto the grass and knocking the wind out of myself. My friends of course thought this was hilarious while I was deeply hurt. Not by the fall but by my failed ninja skills.
There's a reason you should practice with mats :D
Great Video Cecil. Thanks for the memories.
You are welcome! :)
Now it's time to review the greatest Canon / Chuck Norris movie of all-time Invasion USA.
Now say it louder for the people at the back.
"Tell Rostov it's time to die"
I have both of these on my hard drive... Ready to go at a moments notice.
You might say, "It's time."
Or as I like to call it, "Rocket Launcher: The Movie"
Sho Kosugi was one of my heroes growing up, I still love watching his films.
I remember watching this with my buddies and absolutely loving it. This ninja movie then was the equivalent of a marvel movie now. Ninjas were the superhero’s of the 80’s
Sam Firstenberg just reposted your video on his channel! That is so cool. Of course, he gives all credit to you and gives it some much deserved praise. I love seeing stuff like this happen to cool people that really care about these films and the communities therein. Kudos to you, boss. Glad your content is blowing up!!
This was the first ninja movie I saw. Watched it a half dozen times when it aired on HBO in the 80s
Who is curious for a 2 hour X-cut of Revenge of the Ninja? #ReleasetheFirstenbergCut! lol
"The Octagon" wasn't the first American film to have ninjas featured. I think it was Sam Peckinpah's "The Killer Elite" (1975) starring James Caan and Robert Duvall, who were fresh hot from "The Godfather". The ninjas are in the third act of the film. It's not a perfect film (Peckinpah was high on coke during production), but it's not awful. Ironically, Jim Silke was friends with Peckinpah.
And before that, there was a Ninja prominently featured in an episode of Hawaii 5-0 (played by Star Trek's Mark Lenard!). And previously, though a British movie, James Bond teamed-up with an army of ninjas in You Only Live Twice.
@@plastique45 I forgot "You Only Live Twice". Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson's grandfather played a thug in that film.
@@plastique45 and fwiw, a quick google reveals the Japanese were making ninja movies as early as the silent film era
You Only Live Twice had ninjas, but it’s a UK production, but I could swear there were silly American spy movies with ninjas in the late 60s.
@@CorbCorbinhe said the octagon was the first English speaking film to have ninjas, not the first American film, the first English speaking film.
That pre-finale suit up scene had me emotional. Also, Kane was ninja black ranger in Kakuranger, the source material for season 3 of power rangers.
Wait, he was Ninja Black? The one that spoke American?
@@starboy35tcoos YEP!
Jiraiya! That's awesome! Didn't know that.
There was a two-part episode that guest-stared Sho Kosugi as Jiraiya's master. They end up fighting each other in a spectacular and rather bloody confrontation. Kane Kosugi was also in Ultraman The Ultimate Hero and the Kamen Rider Revice movie.
The guy playing Shanks could’ve been a shoe in for a live action version of the G.I. Joe character Spirit!
Great job on the episode, Cecil. While martial arts films were in abundance during the 1980's, I remember first watching Revenge Of The Ninja and learning specifically what the term "ninja" was: the art of concealment and disguise. Very different than a samurai or bushi warrior. Thanks for giving us a detailed look into this action classic.
Yet another great video. I sat and enjoyed it with a warm cup of coffee
(It's winter here in South Africa).
Great choice. Revenge of the Ninja was a childhood favorite of mine from the first time it debuted on HBO. I was ten years old. Revenge, Silent Rage, A Force of One, An Eye for an Eye and Kill & Kill Again were played on a constant loop at my house when I was a kid. Even though they may not be as good as I remember, the films are still very entertaining!
Keep up the good work. Love your channel. One thing though, MGM were contracted to release all of Cannon's Films back then. It was a contract MGM wanted so desperately to get out of for they thought Golan/Globus made cheap looking films that were destroying the MGM name. There is great piece about it in a documentary about Cannon films (not the doc Golen made, though).
Thanks again. You continue to entertain me.
Revenge of the Ninja was one of my all time favorite Ninja flicks growing up. I still own it as an adult. The shit is just so classic
That scene with the coffee cup says it all. Any movie that has something that cool in it is worth the watch.
i am actually really good at catching shit that drops.....I owe it to this movie of course
And that haunting synth note really brings it home!
@@terminus8444 Indeed
9 DEATHS! My father took me to see it in the theater, the first funny/bad movie I ever saw. The place was mostly empty, maybe a dozen people, but everyone was having a great time. It is a treasured memory!
Congrats on the Silver Bolo! Well deserved!
When this movie came out my local indie theater played it every weekend for .25. For TWO YEARS. And we went every weekend. So much nostalgia.
I was in my early teens. The martial Arts craze/ninja-mania during that era was real. Every Sunday at Noon, we tuned in to "Kung Fu Theatre" on USA Network. We spent every dime we had at flea markets and swap meets for nunchucks, throwing stars, etc. We were kind of obsessed.
Sho Kosugi is the best Ninja EVER! The fight scenes in this film are still great to watch. Though nostalgia I think can sometimes blind you to the truth of how good a film was or is! Time for a possible remake? Certainly my favourite of the trilogy. Sho Kosugi would have been perfect casting for a film based open ‘The Last Ninja’ video game series! Please get round to doing ‘9 Deaths of the Ninja’ in honour of him. Please🙏🙂
These really do help make the start of another week bearable. Love your work!
Do American Ninja 1. Such a classic in it's own right
Damn, y'all takin me back with this one. One of my buddies caught ninja fever bad in 5th grade and was so excited to share Revenge with me and the two others in our core group.
My childhood!
Not only I finally got "Exploring" of my favourite ninja movie but at the end credits, whilst I was excitedly shouting to my husband about most epic scene in movie, you put this very scene in! The coffe mug scene! I felt like happy kid again :D (husband doen't care about ninja movies but politedly watched the review with me, he is great man).
Sounds like a keeper :)
i was one of those teenagers... i begged my mom for tae kwon do lessons and played with nunchucks with my cousins in the back yard. I love these movies. I also just fairly recently learned that they were B movies. In my defense, it was the #1 movie when it came out! How is that a "B movie"?
In the movie Ronin (1998) there’s a similar coffee cup scene, do we know if it’s an homage to this one?
you should look at The Challenge with Scott Glenn, remember seeing that on HBO as a kid, thought it was a pretty good martial arts movie.
It is a good movie.
Yes great film!!
Another most folks have never heard of is Scott Glenn in the original Man on Fire, which Tony Scott remade with Denzel, and set it in a different country.
Glenn movie is pretty dark, set in Italy, and has a very different ending.
aka the equels was released under both titles.
Revenge of the Ninja was the quintessential gratuitous ninja movie. Just one of the many things that made my childhood awesome.
I saw this movie originally on a Spanish channel. It's a trip. Especially if you hear the difference in voices from English to Spanish.
love this channel, when others make reviews about movies they never discuss the process of making the film like this channel does, and the style of the channel, just wonderful! Keep em' coming!!(:
Thank you! I'm glad all the work is appreciated :)
Growing up cable replayed the first two american ninja movies a millions times but this is one I missed out on. It used to drive me crazy wondering what ninja 3 was a sequel of. The fact it was a series of three unrelated movies explains so much.
Every time I watch one of your videos, I think to myself, did I grow up with this guy? I'm about to turn 48 in Aug. I worked at a video store from 15-18yo. Movies, freestyle BMX,RC cars, RPGs, miniature games, comics, and paintball was my life back then and more than half of that is still my life. Love all your vids, brother from another mother.
I think a lot of 80s kids just had shared experiences. We just went outside all hopped up on sugar and acted like ninjas with plastic swords. :)
@@GoodBadFlicks Giant Pixie Sticks did make for good swords. 😁
IMO, the best ninja movie of 1980's! And your title is definitely best way to describe this film. Great job as always Cecil!
Thanks!
There's this game called Saboteur (not to be confused with the PS3/360 game about an Irishman in Nazi-occupied France) released for British computers in the 80's whose cover art pretty much plagiarizes this film's poster. And somehow it *still* has this same cover art for the Switch port!
I'd love to see you cover the American Ninja movies
The first one at least. IMO it still holds up extremely well.
Kane Kosugi was Kai in Ultraman Powered and recently lend his voice in the English Dub of the same character in Ultraman-The Absolute Conspiracy Web series and acted as Jiraya/Ninja Black in Ninja Sentai Kakuranger aka Alien Rangers. Sho also guests star in two episodes of Kakuranger playing as his father/master which was awesome. Revenge of the Ninja is like a live-action Ninja Gaiden movie without the demons and monsters from the game. Always love the scene when Sho is preparing to go battle and perform his ritual to become a Ninja again which is badass overall. A great look at behind the scenes of one of my favourite Ninja movies! Thanks Cecil!
11:28 Kane Kosugi is the same actor who in 1994 goes on to star in Toei's 18th Super Sentai Series _Ninja Sentai Kakuranger_ as Jiraiya/Ninja Black.
Pray for Death is not only the best Ninja movie IMO, it is one of my favorite movies overall. Sho Kosugi was my favorite actor as a kid, guy was/is a beast of a Martial Artist. And his look as a Ninja was damn near perfect.
The fight scenes is the reason what made those '80s teens go ninja-bananas
Having a crappy Monday, than I see this. Instantly made my day awesome.
Excellent work as always...can't wait for the trilogy caper.
Revenge is a great movie that can be enjoyed now days still, I have fond memories of it when I watched as a kid back in the days.
I remember me and my friends buying throwing stars, nunchucks and other martial arts weapons wherever we could after watching this movie - man, we wanted to be ninjas🙂! Good break-down of the movie Cecil....really enjoy the exploring series!
Thank you for watching!
I can add nothing more to that review. You got everything spot on. And I would I agree with you this is sho kashugi at his best. And arguably the greatest American Ninja movie ever made. It's at the bar for ninja movies for the rest of the '80s. I heard an interesting rumor as well too that the creators of the GI Joe cartoon modified Storm Shadow to sho kashugi out of this movie. Not sure if that's even remotely true but I wouldn't be surprised. He set the bar for all ninjas to follow. Can't wait until you guys do pray for death. Love your channel Top notch reviews.
Make sure your stunts won’t kill ya! That’s rule number one!
Jackie Chan looking confused
I guess this means that you're gonna complete the trilogy, by covering Ninja 3: The Domination, soon. Can't wait!!! 😃😃😃😃😄😄😄😄😄
yup
So, Menachem Golan not only had them go back and fix a legit problem with character motivation in the script, he also gave them more funding and more time to film the new scenes. AND the director who was untested at directing action knocked it out of the park. That’s a series of unexpected plot twists. Thanks for the video. I’m sure I rented this sometime or other back in the day, but I’ll give it another look.
Producers aren't always bad!
I watched this movie many times when I was a kid, it has a place in my heart
Damn that Pray for Death helmet is still amazing.
You telling me that without this movie, there would have been no karate kid, and therefore no cobra kai?
This and ninja 3 were a child hood guilty pleasure
In the eighties I loved ninjas. All my friends loved ninjas.
I love the ninja stuff! Ever think of doing Ninja in the Dragons Den?
i cannot get enough of your videos man :D always good to watch at any time of the day.
The best movie in the "Ninja" trilogy.
I watched this a few months ago, thinking I hadn't seen it before. But when Kosugi catches the coffee cup before it hits the floor I had a sudden "Oh yeah I remember this now!" moment.
Anyone remember AWMA (Asian World of Martial Arts) magazine back in the 80's? Bought ALL my ninja gear back then from that magazine in 7th grade. Sho Kosugi was a BOSS!
Damn Kane started so young, I fucking love Ninja Shadow of a Tear that is legit one of my top 10 favourite movies (honestly any collaboration between Adkins and Florentine in my eyes is gold but that is top 2 from that duo)
Revenge of the Ninja is so awesome! I was one of the teenagers that got Ninja fever after enter the Ninja and Revenge! These movies were so influential. Thanks to VHS we watched it more times than we should have. In recent years I have revisited this movie I am surprised at how violent Revenge of the Ninja really is and how much we loved it. My favorite part is when he spits those spikes into that guys face, it didn't dawn on us as kids how in the hell he did all that fighting with a mouth full of deadly spikes. Because, hey he was a Ninja they were capable of anything. The Canon group gave us so many good action movies, I can't imagine the 80s without the canon group. I wonder if we would have ever had the 2 best GI Joe characters (snake eyes and storm shadow) without the cannon groups ninja movies. Great episode as usual!
Thanks!
I love these videos. You continue to remind me of these awesome movies that came out when I was a kid, causing me to go revisit all of them. Great work!
Been waiting for this video, I absolutely love this movie!
I rented it and watched it 4 times a weekend on my bday for several years as a kid.
In an aside, Tanaka didn't just do wwf, he was big in the NWA and throughout the south as well.
Awesome video as usually :) amazing research
I just wanted to say that I love that you're still doing what you were doing when I first watched you. So many CZcamsrs I used to watch have switched up their content, vanished or rarly just stayed the same while continuing to get better. Yo're thankfully one of the last, you've stayed the same, but haven't gotten stale, and I really like that. Plus you made me give the Mario movie a chance, and I love it cause of that, thank you.
"Only a ninja can stop a ninja" - Sho
Always loved Ninja movies, and now it's awesome to find out all the behind the scenes info on it. Thanks so much for making this.
You had me at "Ninja.." ! ^^
Thanks GBF! This brings back fond memories of when me and the kids at school all wanted to become ninjas when we grew up.
Don Shanks=Michael Myers Halloween 5
The Citizen Kane of ninja flicks.
Man, I remember seeing this as a kid.
It was awesome then.
Don Shanks was also Michael Myers in Halloween 5
At 1:40 Thats where the video game Shinobi came from
I've rented the Ninja trilogy zillions of times when I was a kid. Tracked them all down later in my forties...still awesome. Donald Shanks also played Michael Myers in Halloween 5.
Believe it or not, this movie is the reason I moved to Japan and lived there 12 years. I went to Noda-shi, Chiba Prefecture, to study ninjutsu with Grandmaster Hatsumi. I was really disappointed to find out that the dojo wasn't in a village near a waterfall... rather, it was in a dirty little industrial town which reeked of soya sauce (home of the Kikkoman factory).
🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤦
I loved this film back in the day, It definitely set the bar very high at the time of it's release!
And let's not forget the fantastic score by Rob Walsh! He made exceptional use of synthesizers to give this film a very unique sound all it's own.
Thank you, this video was great! This is my favorite from the “trilogy”. I remember going to the VHS rental store and getting whatever had Sho Kosugi on the cover. IMO he’s a good actor even considering the cultural differences and the film genres.
And I broke a few cups trying to catch them just like he did at the end of the video (one of my favorite scenes ever).
RotN is the best ninja movie by far. It is a great movie period. Every fucking fight scene is classic. From killing all the women and kids in the beginning, the village people and van fight and the kid fight, the grandma getting killed, the woman almost getting graped, and the kills in the jacuzzi and the star across the way, and the beating in the bathroom, the final scene and the ending fight are so good. I saw Ninja 3 and Pray for death in the theaters so I was all over this as a kid. Even caught Enter the ninja in 82 on late night cable. Revenge is so much the best.
My step dad trained karate under Keith Vitali in atlanta in the early 80s.
This is a literal perfect movie. Like this, Enter the dragon, and the karate kid are the 3 best martial arts movies ever made.
But also having his friend be his enemy and his almost girl on the bad guys side most of the time...great story telling. Golan nosing around as producer actually helped....damn that first scene is the shit.
Unrelated to this movie but DUDE YOU WON THE SILVER BOLO AWARD!!!
Thank you! I can't believe it! :)
GOAT that fight scene with the lil kid deserves an Oscar
This is one of the best ninja movies ever made.
Ninjas were also briefly featured in the mini-series Shogun. Although not a major part of the story, they definitely made an impression on me as a kid as just about the coolest thing ever.
I remember watching this when I was about 10 or 11 and was amazed I got it in my movie collection on bluray. Never watch Ninja III Domination thou thought the preview was corny...lol. Thanks for the review.
Why the hell were we so crazy about ninjas ...? Sure, the movie-ninja is still awesome now in my 40'ies ... But I made a ninja suit back then. Watched cartoon about turtles and ninjas. Played ninja in my parents' garden. Was amazed by some of the show scenes in American Ninja - and creeped out by the ninja-types in Gymkata. Movies I had to go to this weird store to fetch in dirty bins. But they had ninjas in them. And then suddenly it stopped, and no, wasn't age. Was it scifi? Makes me wonder. Would be great to have some "Cecil's selected ninja-movies that made the whole thing a phenomenon, with some thoughts and history along the way" ... but these Exploring and The Master series will do - thanks for another great one. :-)
I think I love you...
it was probably lawsuits from all the kids repeating all these stunts and fashioning their own ninja weapons that brought an end to it. I remember taking my dad's lawn aerator tool apart to make Chinese stars and fashioning a window pane into a Ninja-to.
@@tylerskiss I actually made a longer reply about 7 hours ago, but it must have triggered a censoring-filter or something. And now my original comment is pounded very far down the list here. Not that it matters, but still ... My reply must've contained the wrong words. Did involve me back then and "ninja-cosplaying" that could have gone so very, very wrong. Short of the long: You may be right. (and sorry if double reply here)
Now, in retrospect ... I'm a little sad that my comment has been thrown all the way down here. Must be because of that not-showing comment mentioned earlier. :-/ Would have loved to hear more stories like the one about "converting" tools and window panes. :-D Some short stories here and there in the comments, must go chasing those. (also, I've noticed my superduper friendly comments on other channels have been moved as well ... If anyone wise in the ways of CZcams can help me re. what's going on, I would really appreciate it. Thanks!)
@@futski I'm not wise in the ways of CZcams, but I'm here bruh. There's allot of people that only care about feedback to their own shit. There are plenty of us that do give a damn too my friend. If you need to talk, lash out, whatever... I'm here. You're never alone friend. I got you.