Les Tueurs noirs de l'empereur fou

How can you go wrong with Sonny Chiba and Hiroyuki Sanada in one movie. Both are great martial artists with quite good acting abilities. In "Shogun's ninja" however they forgot to act. They are just there. It could be that there are different versions available. The version I saw was dubbed in English and had a very seventies musical score. I know that for a seventies production some of the stunts are incredible. Now it just looks horrible. Most of the martial arts scenes are poorly executed or badly edited. This wouldn't be much of a problem if the martial arts was good! To be honest the fights were below average and not that interesting. The ninja's in this movie do have some special abilities. But in comparison with other ninja movies made in the seventies these ninja's don't cut it. These ninja's don't seem to be very powerful and mysterious. For me that is an important factor. I considered that this movie could be meant as a parody. But for that to work the action scenes had to be more exciting. I wanted to like this movie but just couldn't.

SHOGUN'S NINJA has so many strange and cool aspects in it, it's hard to even remember it all. Whereas its more fantastical counterpart LEGEND OF THE EIGHT SAMURAI (which even has lots of the same casting) is somehow too disjointed, SHOGUN'S NINJA remains cohesive and fun to watch through all two hours; I couldn't take my eyes off it.

The basic plot revolves around the dying Momoichi clan after Takamaru returns (played by Henry Sanada, in this role looking so much like NINJA SCROLL's Jubei that they must've seen this film). The clan members have steadily been eradicated by the evil Shogun (Sonny Chiba!) and so have to learn all they can to strike back. Along the way, there are so many outrageous stunts, traps, and elements that you will be unsure whether to laugh or stare in awe; more on those later. Takamaru is aided by a pair of kung-fu women (one of whom, Airin, is most likely the inspiration for "Tekken"'s Xiaoyou), the reluctant warrior Hanzo (who is quite reminiscent of Patrick Stewart with hair), and more ninjas than you can shake a stick at. Shogun wants Takamura's swords, because their blades hold the map to the Momoichi gold cache. This of course leads to confrontation after confrontation, with every weapon imaginable and more gory deaths than you can count.

But enough about the plot, which is somewhat tenuous. SHOGUN'S NINJA should be viewed for its crazy features. These include (in some semblance of order) harakiri, a circus monkey, slo-mo kicks, spider AND mole ninjas (not ninja spiders, but almost as cool...), an escape by candle, kung-fu handmaidens, execution by hot oil, human shields, a white-haired master, a booby-trapped forest (complete with ninja tack!), and a showdown in a rock quarry. Yes, that's right, all that crazy crap is in the movie; look for it all!

One of the movie's funniest elements is its music; everything from battle sequences to casual conversations are underscored by psychedelic '70s jazz. At first seeming inappropriate, the score grew on me as the movie continued, being edited in quite well and seeming to actually be written FOR the movie (a frightening prospect in itself!). While some might berate the soundtrack, it must also be taken into account that the immensely popular "Cowboy Bebop" employs a similar style of music that is anachronistic and yet creates a jarring shift in mood; in battles that would otherwise be fraught with tension, the lounge-style sounds kept me from being too involved and were, overall, entertaining!

In addition to the previous list of thingamabobs, SHOGUN'S NINJA still has some surprisingly reflective and artistic moments, from a staredown through steam to flashbacks of a pool of blood. The director obviously knew what he was doing, assembling a competent cast and putting them together in an epic movie that is still over-the-top. Be sure to watch this movie with a load of friends, and you will certainly enjoy yourselves. My rating: 8.5/10

This is truly one of the coolest Ninja movies of all times. The stunts are top-notch and the action is non-stop. As usual in these films it gets pretty campy indeed, but on a whole it´s out standing. Watch out for hilarious stunts when our hero blocks arrows, Ninjas climb trees as vigorously as Spiderman and digging through the ground as moles. This is the film that made me want to become a Ninja as a kid and it leaves Sho Kosugi way behind. A must-see for any lover of martial arts and action!

First time i saw it i didn't like it,since that time i was a kid who was into Kung Fu movies where there are fighting all the time which in this film there aren't so much hand to hand fighting scenes(just a few).

But years later i digged this movie just to watch it again since it was long time ago and i experienced a great film with nice story and nice stunts and Henry Sanada is great in that movie,seeing him is like seeing Bruce Lee.

Please see it its great,japanese ninja films rules!

After almost 9000 of them, it's hard to come up with new ones. Anyway, the movie:

The evil warlord has destroyed the Momochi clan. His minions are running down the last few survivors. He particularly wants the Momochi's legendary gold mine. A map leading to it is on two swords. Will he get them? Or will Sonny Chiba, who has just returned from China to lead the Momochi, win?

It's non-stop action, with many backflips and ninjas swinging on ropes from trees. There are some subplots, like Yuki Ninagawa, who is a member of the Momichi clan, but has been raised by the chief villain, Hiroyuki Sanada, as his sister. However, none of that interferes with Chiba fighting bare-chested against dozens of ninjas at one time.