54-55, 127-128 Shinobi

[Finch]

Radiance store order

Shinobi (LE)

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. Starring “the Japanese James Dean” Raizo Ichikawa (Sleepy Eyes of Death, Conflagration) alongside Tomisaburo Wakayama (Lone Wolf and Cub, the Bounty Hunter trilogy) and Ayako Wakao (Elegant Beast, Red Angel), the Shinobi series was an epoch-making success and became a social phenomenon that left deep marks on Japan of the 1960s, from children’s playgrounds to the leftist counter-culture. Packed with spectacular and oft-copied action scenes, it also established the ground rules for all ninja movies that followed, introducing such classic tropes as the shuriken throwing star and the iconic black mask and suit.

LIMITED EDITION BOX SET SPECIAL FEATURES:

High-Definition digital transfer of each film presented on two discs, made available on Blu-ray (1080p) for the first time outside of Japan
Uncompressed mono PCM audio
Interview with Shozo Ichiyama, artistic director of the Tokyo International Film Festival, about director Satsuo Yamamoto
Visual essay on the ninja in Japanese cinema by film scholar Mance Thompson
Interview with film critic Toshiaki Sato on star Raizo Ichikawa
Trailers
New and improved optional English subtitles
Six postcards of promotional material from the films
Reversible sleeves featuring artwork based on original promotional materials
Limited edition booklet featuring new writing by Jonathan Clements on the Shinobi no mono series and Diane Wei Lewis on writer Tomoyoshi Murayama
Limited Edition of 3000 copies, presented in a rigid box with full-height Scanavo cases and removable OBI strip leaving packaging free of certificates and markings

Cert: TBC
Format: Blu-ray
Region: AB
RAD054BDLE
EAN: 5060974681020
Release date: 27/05/24

Press:

"The neatly constructed thriller [Band of Assassins] is packed with clever ninja subterfuge." - DVD Talk

"brilliantly crafted, and like the best jidaigeki, completely immerses you in its world" - J Film Pow-wow

"unflinchingly violent and almost perpetually exciting" - Rock! Shock! Pop!

Radiance trailer for the first film

[knives]

This is exciting especially for how it suggests the picking up of other former animego films. Finishing off Sleepy Eyes of Death and Torasan in particular would be a dream come true for me.

[Finch]

I had the same thought. Fingers crossed!

[therewillbeblus]

The first two entries here are solid dramas with some powerful ninja action thrown in for good measure. The violence can be startlingly extreme for the time, but never overbearing - it's always serving the purpose of raises the stakes for the story. The third film jumps the shark a bit with its undoing of the second's ending and overall bland narrative trajectory, but it's a worthwhile saga to invest in, even if I can't see myself watching it more than once. Don't go in expecting nonstop ninja fighting, though - this is a dramatic tragedy drenched in both fictitious lore and historical context before anything else.

[Murdoch]

My copy of Band of Assassins cuts to black at the thirty minute mark in the middle of a daytime scene. Anyone else experiencing this? Wondering if it's an issue on just my copy.

Edit: Looks like I got a defective copy, happened once more at the 53 minute mark.

Edit x 2: Well, despite the issues with the disc, I've gone through the first two entries in the saga (Band of Assassins and Vengeance). While I became a little overwhelmed by the plotting of the films and keeping the different warring factions straight, I did love the subterfuge, having expected fairly by-the-numbers swordplay films.

I expected Goemon to be a rather generic hero-type, but I loved that he's this fallible young up-and-coming ninja who's biggest plot point in the first film is sleeping with his boss's wife! He also has a bloodlust that's apparent in the second film, as every time he tells his wife he just wants a quiet life with her, the next scene is him restless and wanting to fight again! I also loved the main villain Nobunaga's ruthlessness every so often being interrupted by him snuggling a kitten. The second film focuses on Goemon's vengeance against Nobunaga and it has some great scenes like Goemon sneaking in to assassinate the new big bad and the rather brutal final fight with Nobunaga.

Editx3: The third movie largely pushes Goemon to the sidelines. It's enjoyable enough but the villain/center of the plot - Hideyoshi - is not particularly interesting, at least not as much as the cat-loving Nobunaga (who himself is a rather two-dimensional murderous warlord)! His story deals with his clan's internal struggle as Hideyoshi's illegitimate son pushes for power following the birth of Hideyoshi's new son. But these power plays are predictable enough in how they play out, and while Goemon is cut to a few times espousing his hatred of Hideyoshi, I couldn't help but wonder what he was doing during the long scenes of Hideyoshi doting over his infant.

The ending to the third film I also found very underwhelming:

Spoiler

Goemon confronts Hideyoshi as the latter lies dying in bed, reveals his identity, and then Hideyoshi dies rather quickly through supposed natural causes (?) as Goemon looks on. If this were played as Goemon having wasted years focusing on a revenge that escaped him, it would be a great cap to the trilogy. But instead the ending seems to want to have its cake and eat it too - Goemon looks on triumphantly as Hideyoshi dies before him, then quickly abandons any effort to assist the new leadership he helped establish, stating that he got his revenge and is fulfilled, then disappears, roll credits.

Goemon's quest is a self-destructive one, where he's lost everything he held dear by being so driven by violence. Or maybe he never really held his wife or child in that high of a regard and he finds avenging them more fulfilling than the life he would've had if they lived?

Ultimately the third film seems to disregard introspection by offering a very hasty conclusion to a brutal and ultimately meaningless tale of revenge. But perhaps the point all along was this meaninglessness, that Goemon was pushed to the side of the plot because he had no more to offer except watching an old man die and deeming it the justification he was looking for for everything he suffered through. The fighting will go on as a new leader takes over and he just wanted to be done with it and find what little satisfaction that could be gleaned from the hollowness of his retribution.

I'm glad these are all available to watch and it's a beautiful package, but ultimately a series of diminishing returns for me. Fun to ponder though!

The only other "ninjutsu" movie I've seen involving the lead infiltrating an enemy organization to destroy it from the inside is, I guess, Yojimbo although that's a far different type of film than these. If anyone has any recommendations for something that would scratch my sudden itch for this type of subterfuge in Japanese cinema I'd be much appreciative

[Finch]

Three more spectacular tales of ninja action in this continuation of the hugely influential series. This time, Raizo Ichikawa (Shinobi 1-3) stars as Mist Saizo, a ninja with a grudge who won’t rest until he has assassinated the supreme leader, the Tokugawa shogun. directed by three of the Daiei Studio’s top period action specialists, these films feature epic battles, ingenious spycraft and thrilling ninja fights.

In Siege, Raizo Ichikawa is Mist Saizo, the legendary folk hero and Iga ninja. Working in the service of warlord Yukimura Sanada (Tomisaburo Wakayama), he plots to assassinate Shogun Ieyasu Tokugawa, but finds himself facing the might of the nation’s supreme ruler.

In Return of Mist Saizo, our black-clad hero continues his mission to avenge his master, even after Ieyasu has abdicated from the throne. Told as one continuous story, these two films weave their ninja action in and out of Japanese martial history, featuring epic battles, ingenious spycraft and thrilling fight scenes.

In The Last Iga Spy, Mist Saizo’s son Saisuke takes over his father’s name and mission. He is recruited by a rebellious warlord to assist a plot to overthrow the government, but the Shogun hires a rival ninja clan to thwart the uprising. Meanwhile, other forces are also at play. Directed by Kazuo Mori (Shinobi 3: Resurrection, Zatoichi at Large), this film pits ninja against ninja, including a breathtaking rooftop battle scene that is one of the highlights of the entire Shinobi series.

LIMITED EDITION BLU-RAY FEATURES

High-Definition digital transfers of each film, made available on Blu-ray for the first time outside of Japan
Uncompressed mono PCM audio
New Interview with Japanese period film historian Taichi Kasuga (2025)
New Interview with ninja film scholar Mance Thompson (2025)
Select-scene audio commentary on Siege by Tom Mes (2025)
Trailer
Newly improved English subtitle translation
Six postcards featuring promotional images from the films
Reversible sleeve featuring artwork based on original promotional materials
Limited edition booklet featuring new writing by Jonathan Clements
Limited edition of 3000 copies, presented in full-height Scanavo packaging with removable OBI strip leaving packaging free of certificates and markings

UK/US releases August 18 & 19th

[knives]

What is the chance that after Radiance puts out set three, the final one, they’d have at least a limited run of all three sets together?