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Shinobi: Limited Edition – Radiance Films (Blu-ray)

Theatrical Release Dates: Japan, 1962 (Shinobi: Band of Assassins), Japan, 1963 (Shinobi: Revenge, Shinobi: Resurrection)
Directors: Satsuo Yamamoto (Shinobi: Band of Assassins, Shinobi: Revenge), Kazuo Mori (Shinobi: Resurrection)
Cast: Raizô Ichikawa (All Films), Shiho Fujimura, Yûnosuke Itô, Katsuhiko Kobayashi, Tomisaburô Wakayama, Yôko Uraji, Reiko Fujiwara, Chitose Maki, Kyôko Kishida (Shinobi: Band of Assassins), Sô Yamamura, Shiho Fujimura, Mikiko Tsubouchi, Tomisaburô Wakayama, Eijirô Tôno, Shigeru Amachi (Shinobi: Revenge), Ayako Wakao, Saburô Date, Chikako Hosokawa, Yoshirô Kitahara, Masao Mishima, Jun'ichirô Narita (Shinobi: Resurrection)

Release Date: May 27th, 2024 (UK), May 28th, 2024 (USA)
Approximate running times: 104 Minutes 27 Seconds (Shinobi: Band of Assassins), 93 Minutes 19 Seconds (Shinobi: Revenge), 85 Minutes 56 Seconds (Shinobi: Resurrection)
Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1 Widescreen / 1080 Progressive / MPEG-4 AVC (All Films)
Rating: 15 (UK), NR (USA)
Sound: DTS-HD Mono Japanese (All Films)
Subtitles: English (All Films)
Region Coding: Region A,B
Retail Price: £34.99 (UK), $64.95 (USA)

"It’s the 16th century and Japan is in chaos. Samurai clans engage each other in battle over who gets to rule the nation, while warlords call upon the ninja to spy on and assassinate their rivals. Goemon, an ambitious young member of a ninja family, is thrown into the turmoil of Japanese history when his village is wiped out by the forces of leading warlord Oda Nobunaga, who has sworn to eradicate the ninja in his quest for absolute power. Fueled by vengeance, Goemon uses every weapon in his arsenal to bring down Oda and to prove that a ninja is an army of one." - synopsis provided by the distributor

Video: 4.25/5 (Shinobi: Band of Assassins, Shinobi: Revenge, Shinobi: Resurrection)

Here’s the information provided about the transfer, "Each film in the Shinobi series was transferred in High-Definition by the Kadokawa Corporation and supplied to Radiance Films as High-Definition digital masters."

Shinobi: Band of Assassins and Shinobi: Revenge come on a 50 GB dual layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 46.3 GB

Feature: 23.7 GB (Shinobi: Band of Assassins), 21.2 GB (Shinobi: Revenge)

Shinobi: Resurrection comes on a 50 GB dual layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 26.4 GB

Feature: 19.8 GB

The source looks excellent; any debris that remains is minor. Image clarity, contrast, and compression are solid, and while black levels generally look great, there are a few moments where they are not as convincing. Also, the image is free of any digital noise reduction.

Audio: 3.75/5 (DTS-HD Mono Japanese - Shinobi: Band of Assassins, DTS-HD Mono Japanese - Shinobi: Revenge), 4/5 (DTS-HD Mono Japanese - Shinobi: Resurrection)

Each film comes with one audio option, a DTS-HD mono mix in Japanese with removable English subtitles. There are some sibilance issues, and the first two films have some background hiss. Dialog always comes through clearly, and everything sounds balanced. That said, when it comes to range, all of these audio tracks are limited.

Extras:

Extras on the disc with Shinobi: Band of Assassins and Shinobi: Revenge include an interview with Shozo Ichiyama, artistic director of the Tokyo International Film Festival,about director Satsuo Yamamoto (14 minutes 5 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo Japanese with removable English subtitles).

Extras on the disc with Shinobi: Resurrection include a theatrical trailer for Shinobi: Band of Assassins (2 minutes 19 seconds, Dolby Digital mono Japanese with removable English subtitles), a theatrical trailer for Shinobi: Revenge (2 minutes 19 seconds, Dolby Digital mono Japanese with removable English subtitles), a theatrical trailer for Shinobi: Resurrection (2 minutes 31 seconds, Dolby Digital mono Japanese with removable English subtitles), an interview with film critic Toshiaki Sato on star Raizo Ichikawa (14 minutes 18 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo Japanese with removable English subtitles), and a video essay on the ninja in Japanese cinema by film scholar Mance Thompson (18 minutes 11 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles).

Other extras include reversible cover art, six postcards of promotional material from the films, removable OBI strip leaving packaging free of certificates and markings and a 20-page booklet (limited to 3000 copies) cast & crew information for each film, an essay titled A Band of Assassins written by Jonathan Clements, an essay titled Tomoyoshi Murayama - Modernist Master written by Diane Wei Lewis, an archival writing titled A Film Made With Zoom Lenses written by Yasukaze Takemura and information about the transfers.

Summary:

Shinobi: Band of Assassins and Shinobi: Revenge were directed by Satsuo Yamamoto, whose other notable films are Zatoichi the Outlaw and Peony Lantern.

Shinobi: Band of Assassins: Rival warlords hire assassins to kill their rivals in a power struggle over who will rule Japan.

Though the Shinobi film series is widely considered the definitive example of ninja films, Shinobi: Band of Assassins, the first film in this series, is not without its shortcomings. At 104 minutes in length, its narrative covers a lot of ground, and yet there are many long stretches where nothing more than characters talking happens. There is a deliberateness to the pacing that some viewers find to be slow and uneventful.

Content-wise, when compared to the two films that preceded it, Shinobi: Band of Assassins is essentially a foundational film that lays out who everyone is and their motivations. It is a character-driven film that is heavy with dialog, and when it comes to action sequences, they are sparse. That said, when there is action, things liven up considerably, especially the main action sequence, a 10-minute finale.

From a production standpoint, the positives outweigh the negatives. The main draw is Raizô Ichikawa’s portrayal of Ishikawa Goemon, the protagonist of this film and series. I really wish that this film devoted more time to ninjas in action. The most surprising aspect of Shinobi: Band of Assassins is how unflinching it is when it comes to moments of torture. Ultimately, Shinobi: Band of Assassins does a good job laying the foundation for what follows.

Shinobi: Revenge: This film picks up six months after its predecessor ended, and this time around, a warlord has put bounties on all ninjas.

The narrative opens with a recap of events from Shinobi: Band of Assassins. Also, the narrative moves at a faster pace than its predecessor. The film, Shinobi: Revenge, stands out from its predecessor with an increased focus on action and expanded screen time for the ninja. There is an ample amount of on-screen carnage and moments of torture.

Raizô Ichikawa returns in the role of Ishikawa Goemon, and he delivers an excellent performance. This time around, he is given ample opportunities to display his ninja skills. Shinobi: Revenge also introduces the character Hattori Hanzō; years later, Shin’ichi ‘Sonny’ Chiba would become synonymous with this character when he portrayed Hattori Hanzō in the TV series Shadow Warriors.

From a production standpoint, there is no area where Shinobi: Revenge is lacking. And though there is still more talk than action, it is a better mix this time around. One of the narrative strengths of Shinobi: Revenge is the cliffhanger ending, which leaves Ishikawa Goemon's fate uncertain. Ultimately, Shinobi: Revenge is a solid sequel that takes all of the elements laid out by its predecessor and improves upon them.

Shinobi: Resurrection: Ishikawa Goemon's fate is revealed in this film, picking up where its predecessor left off.

The first of three Shinobi films directed by Kazuo Mori. His other notable films are Samurai Vendetta, Agent Shiranui, The Tale of Zatoichi Continues, Zatoichi and the Doomed Man, Wrath of Daimajin, and Zatoichi at Large.

This opening moment is arguably one of cinema’s greatest moments of misdirection. Ishikawa Goemon was actually the one who survived, while a lookalike died instead. Though ninja are known to escape under the most difficult circumstances, one still must take a leap of faith to believe the switch that occurs in Shinobi: Resurrection.

Shinobi: Resurrection, like Shinobi: Band of Assassins, has too much talking and not enough action. And out of these three films, the narrative is the weakest. When it comes to action sequences and moments with ninjas, this is where Shinobi: Resurrection shines brightest. Ultimately, Shinobi: Resurrection does a great job wrapping up the story arc that began with Shinobi: Band of Assassins.

Shinobi is a solid release from Radiance Films that gives each film strong audio/video presentations and informative extras, recommended.