Shinobi: Band of Assassins I Revenge I Resurrection


Whether they planned it or not, Radiance has programmed the perfect Shogun prequel by releasing their three-disc Shinobi set just a few weeks after the trendiest show in years wrapped up.  Set during the feudal period of Japan’s Era of the Warring States, Shinobi No Mono: Band of Assassins (1962), Revenge (1963) and Resurrection (1963), follows the political maneuverings of the country’s three great unifiers in their attempts to secure power over equally ambitious domain lords.  But, taking a right turn into crowd-pleasing historical fiction, a secret society of ninjas – complete with covert assassinations and fake news – is actually writing the real history of Japan.

Band of Assassins introduces us to Ishikawa Goemon, a master of all the tricks of ninjitsu, but still naïve to the ways of the world.  He’s easily manipulated by his master into setting one clan against another, distracted by the military conquests of Oda Nobunaga, whose ruthless army cuts down all opposition.  Revenge begins with a shocking act of violence that again puts Goemon back behind the mask, this time wisely using Nobunaga’s own allies to do the work for him.  While Resurrection, in true cliffhanger fashion, opens with Goemon escaping from a pot of boiling oil to take down Hideyoshi, whose dream of building a new empire threatens the safety and security of benevolent rulership.

 

It would take a couple semesters of Japanese history to fully grasp all the pieces on the board.  But even without a degree, it’s easy enough to get the gist of the good guys and bad guys.  In fact, creator Tomoyoshi Murayama was an anti-government agitator who stories only really got traction after Japan’s defeat in WW2. His sleight-of-hand propaganda hit the target after being cloaked in genre trappings, reintroducing the idea of magical assassins who skills can alter the trajectory of history.

 

The films are wrapped up in the all the ninja trappings a modern audience would come to expect: throwing stars, smoke bombs, foot tacks and deadly poisons.  But the political subterfuge takes center stage, pushing the action into brief snippets of limb-hacking, throat slitting spurts of violence.  The Shinobi films, at least these first three, serve as a rather antiquated introduction to what would become a pop culture phenomenon.  But cinema would be much the poorer without them.

 

Radiance’s Limited-Edition Blu-ray understands the historical significance here (this is the first time any of these films have been released outside of Japan) and treats them accordingly with interviews and a visual essay on ninja cinema.  Other extras include a set of promotional postcards, beautifully designed box and collector’s booklet. 

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