Il ritorno del samurai

A moderately interesting start, some pretty scenes in sixteenth-century Japan, and a promising idea. But the execution? The comparison that springs to mind after about fifteen minutes is "Cannibal Women in the Avocado Jungle of Death." Really. A specialist in "Oriental history" who doesn't speak any Japanese, walks on tatami without removing her shoes, and is generally dumb as celery? Please. This looks like a student film: the sets are risible, the acting (except, perhaps, for the title character) close to wooden, the plot utterly arbitrary. At least "Cannibal Women" was funny! This is best watched with someone who knows something about Japan, just to watch disbelief repeatedly crawl across their face.

In 16th century Japan, an efficient and fearless Samurai named Yoshimitsu (Hiroshi Fujioka) is wounded in battle after his sweetheart has been killed. He falls into a body of water and is frozen for over 400 years. Then, in the 1980s, his perfectly preserved body is discovered, shipped to America, and he is soon revived, to adjust to a different time in history and a different culture. A journalist named Chris Welles (Janet Julian) tries to protect him from those that would do him harm.

"Ghost Warrior" is definitely a notch above the typical Empire Pictures fare. Produced by Charles Band, written by Tim Curnen ("Forbidden World"), and directed by J. Larry Carroll (co- writer of "Tourist Trap"), it works largely because it's able to downplay comedy and take its premise fairly seriously. It also works because it allows Fujioka to play his time travelling warrior with a great deal of dignity. This doesn't mean that it's without a sense of humour, but it never gets overly campy or cheesy.

Granted, more could have been done with scenes of Yoshimitsu experiencing 1984 L.A. (among other things, he discovers cars, tires, TV sets...and the heavy metal band W.A.S.P.). The character of Alan Richards (John Calvin) is rather ridiculous what with the about-face that he pulls. And the movie ultimately loses a bit of momentum in its final act.

Still, it's appealing, and earnestly acted. The lovely Julian ("Humongous", "King of New York") is a fine leading lady. Fujioka does have an effective screen presence. Veteran Charles Lampkin (Arch Obolers' "Five") is extremely likable as the senior citizen who attempts to befriend Yoshimitsu. Bill Morey ("Death Race 2000"), Andy Wood ("Rambo: First Blood Part II"), Robert Kino ("Night of the Creeps"), and Peter Liapis ("Ghoulies") co-star.

"Ghost Warrior" has a solid, atmospheric opening and a very nice music score by Richard Band. It actually gets pretty gory at times.

Worth a look for 1980s cult cinema enthusiasts.

Eight out of 10.

Ghost Warrior (1986)

* 1/2 (out of 4)

The body of a 400-year-old samurai (Hiroshi Fujioka) is found frozen in Japan so it's moved to Los Angeles where a secret agency brings it back to life. It doesn't take long for the samurai to escape and start killing off some bad people but a reporter (Janet Julian) goes along with him to try and protect him from the agency who wants him dead before anyone finds out what they did. GHOST WARRIOR comes from producer Charles Band so that should tell you to expect a low-budget, silly story and nothing too spectacular. This here is a pretty strange film because it's clearly just trying to cash in on the success of other martial arts movies but I'm not sure who this film was aimed at. The story itself is somewhat sci-fi but those elements are never really explored. The martial arts stuff takes up a good portion of the running time but there's so much more that could have been done but isn't. Early on we get a campy scene where a bunch of punks are picking on an old man and then the samurai comes to his rescue. These scenes are pure camp and they are fun and help make the picture interesting. These scenes also contain some campy violence but sadly moments like these are so far apart from one another. The relationship with the reporter is just downright silly and never really adds up to anything. It's too this stuff wasn't eliminated in favor of more action. GHOST WARRIOR is the type of "C" picture most people are going to be expecting but it's too bad a little more effort wasn't put into it because we could have had a fun camp film.

American cryosurgeons tried to anatomize frozen body of Yoshimitsu Taga, the great samurai general of 400 years ago, then found he had been in suspended animation. Occasionally, a guard of the institution tries to steal the priceless katana(samurai sword) of resurrected warrior, to be slashed with the very treasure. Yoshimitsu wanders about modern American town, happens to slay street gangs with guns to save an old man. Yoshimitsu is living in laws and morals of ancient war age, so that is very natural to him. But cryosurgeons want to kill him secretly to avoid trouble, and of course, police force tries to shoot him down...

You can easily see how silly the plot is, however, I recommend this film. The samurai in this film is REAL. Actor Hiroshi Fujioka is genuine sensei of swordsmanship, so he knows how to use katana and how a samurai think, feel and act in a strange situation. Fujioka's presence made this lame plot a memorable tragedy.

Magnificent and sad music by Richard Band is another salvation of the feature.

A whiskey stream of consciousness review.

Cool exteriors of Motosuka, Japan in the intro scene. As preposterous as the beginning sequence is (knowing the premise). There is a mythical quality that is appealing. Music has some similarities to Red Dawn and First Blood, which is funny, as it is composed by Richard Band, brother of Charles Band (Full Moon Studios). That said, the score is the best and most consistent element of the film. The idea that they could revive a centuries old samurai frozen in ice without brain damage is beyond our current capabilities and requires quite the suspension of disbelief. The fact that it is a cryogenic research facility is a nice touch though, knowing that the hope for revival is in future technological advances and many of todays elite technocrats are fully invested in it. The film borrows a bunch from the film Iceman starring Timothy Hutton. The samurai is much cooler than the caveman, tho me thinks. Having the samurai discover tv for the first time with W. A. S. P. "Tormentor" Playing is a nice touch. Hiroshi Fujioka does a pretty good job of showing curiosity as well as a propensity for the human instinctual gift of understanding in an alien timeline. As much interest as the beginning of the film inspires, the last half hour grinds and seems to lose any of its original inspiration-probably due to lack of budget. There just isn't enough compelling action or memorable scenes to tie the story together. Disappointing with what started with potential. Slashed with a dram of Old Soul (full proof store pick). Cheers!