Available on May 28th, 2024, from Radiance Films
In these first three films from the Shinobi series, the story of Goemon Ishikawa leads the viewer on a path with one of the most influential and earliest cinematic takes on the ninja genre, helping fans see what happened in the early days, through stories that feel as old as time and, somehow, new. The stories here are focused on Goemon Ishikawa, a young ninja who gets stuck in the middle of something much bigger than himself with stakes that become more and more important from film to film.
Here, the films are easy to watch as a trilogy, one after the other, creating a sort of extra-long film, one that could also be easily broken into hour bits to watch more easily. The story here is one that lends itself to a longer format, starting in Shinobi No Mono (aka Ninja, a Band of Assassins), followed by Shinobi No Mono 2: Vengeance, and Shinobi No Mono 3: Resurrection (1962, 1963, and 1963 respectively). The writing of the first two films is by Tomoyoshi Murayama and Hajime Takaiwa, while the third film is credited to Hajime Takaiwa alone. The direction for these is by Satsuo Yamamoto for the first two and Kazuo Mori for the third. The work here is solid, it’s very much of its era though, so the pacing is a bit slower in spots than what we are used to with modern ninja films. There is a lot of development, a good bunch of exposure, but overall, the films are entertaining to this day, giving the viewer something to really sink their teeth into.
The lead for all three films playing Goemon Ishikawa is Raizô Ichikawa who gives a good performance in all three films, giving his character a dimensional presence, making him more than “just a ninja” or a random man, he makes this character one that the viewer can connect with, one who shows emotions, and one who has principles. His work grounds the story and sells the film, making him a hero we can really go along with for the ride and care for until the end. The cast as a whole is good, there are a few bits and pieces of their performances that may not work perfectly well these days, but overall, this is a strong cast throughout the films, showing that casting and direction are as important as good writing and great images.
The trilogy here is one that does suffer a bit from diminishing returns with each entry, but not too steeply, so it’s easy to stick around and watch all three. There are more than 3 films in this series, but these first 3 are a solid start for any ninja fan.
As for the release by Radiance Films, it’s fantastic, which is a regular occurrence for Radiance Films. The image and sound quality are solid and help bring the films to life. When it comes to the extras, the set is a bit lacking in that collectors have become accustomed to having tons of new extras and features on their collectible releases. Here we get the usual new booklet, new artwork, high quality box and packaging, postcards, trailers, and new English subtitles. As for the other features, the best of them are the interview with Shozo Ichiyama about director Satsuo Yamaoto, the new visual essay about ninja cinema in Japan, and the high definition (1080p) transfer of the films which looks great with high quality black and white images which are a bit stark in how they are lit at times, but it works great for the story here and reminds of the style of day when this was shot.
This new Shinobi box set is interesting and a good buy for ninja fans, cinema fans, and those interested in older films that deserve a good release. The high definition is 1080p and not 4K, but oftentimes, the older films are not meant for a 4K release. Here, the 1080p looks solid and it works. In terms of making one want to see the rest of the films, yes, these films do make the viewer want to find the rest of the series (which hopefully Radiance Films will release soon).
