6.9 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 4.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
Ishikawa Goemon (Ichikawa Raizo), a talented young ninja, becomes ensnared in a twisted scheme to assassinate Oda Nobunaga, an evil warlord bent on ruling feudal Japan with an iron fist. Deceit, treachery, and entire gangs of enemy ninja lurk around every corner as Goemon travels the countryside to complete his task, win back his honor, and save his skin!
Starring: Raizô Ichikawa, Shiho Fujimura, Yûnosuke Itô, Tomisaburo Wakayama, Reiko FujiwaraForeign | 100% |
Drama | 41% |
Action | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.42:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1
Japanese: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono
English SDH
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A (B, C untested)
Movie | 4.0 | |
Video | 4.0 | |
Audio | 3.5 | |
Extras | 3.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
Note: This film is available on Blu-ray as part of Radiance's
Shinobi set.
Years ago FUNimation, a label almost exclusively associated with anime, kind of unexpectedly released a live action film (albeit one steeped in an
intentionally cartoonish ambience) and I began my Goemon Blu-ray review of that release by kind of joking
about the many different cinematic versions of Robin Hood
(kind of hilariously, that link points to a version that came out after my Goemon review). I guess I could start this review
of
Radiance's release of the first three so-called Shinobi films by kind of joking about the many different cinematic versions of Goemon there
are, since these three films do indeed center on that legendary Japanese character, who, maybe just a bit like Robin Hood, seems to have been
culled
from both historical and fictional elements. There's still considerable scholarly debate about how "real" Robin Hood may or may not have been, but
there's little question that there was indeed a 16th century ninja named Ishikawa Goemon (Raizô Ichikawa), who really rather quite like the
behaviors
often attributed to Robin Hood and his Merry Men, "stole from the rich and gave to the poor". Rather interestingly, at least within the confines of
my
review queue, I'm also currently getting through the new Eureka! release of Prison Walls: Abashiri Prison I-III, another trilogy of Japanese films where several of the supplements discuss
the
incredibly rapid production pace for those particular films, all coming out within a year of each other. Something very similar was at play
with regard to these first three Shinobi outings (there were several more to follow, which one assumes Radiance may be bringing out at
some point), with all three debuting between December 1962 and December 1963.
Shinobi: Band of Assassins is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Radiance Films with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 2.42:1. Radiance's insert booklet only offers some generic verbiage in its transfer notes, as follows:
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.As mentioned above, things get off to a striking start with this film, and that includes the well rendered imagery that offers potential compression bugaboos like smoke and mist in abundance (actually throughout all three films), but which provides secure reproductions of those phenomena. Contrast is very strong as well, though I found this film as well as its sequels to be just a tad on the dark side at times, so that just the barest hints of crush tend to creep in, especially in some of the nighttime scenes with black clad ninjas running to and fro. A surplus of decently lit close-ups provide some of the best examples of fine detail, and both facial features and textures on fabrics of costumes are appealingly precise looking. Minor damage can be spotted throughout. Grain resolves naturally.
Shinobi: Band of Assassins features a DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono track in the original Japanese. There is noticeable crackle and hiss during the opening music, with hiss continuing to be prevalent throughout the rest of the presentation. There's an overall somewhat boxy sound to many of the sound effects, and some continued slight wobbliness in the often exuberantly weird music, but dialogue is presented cleanly and clearly enough. Optional English subtitles are available.
Radiance has packaged these films with Band of Assassins and Revenge sharing a disc, and Resurrection on its own
separate disc, with the following supplements:
Disc One (Band of Assassins / Revenge)
- Shinobi: Band of Assassins (HD; 2:19)
- Shinobi 2: Revenge (HD; 2:19)
- Shinobi 3: Resurrection (HD; 2:31)
Shinobi: Band of Assassins gets this series underway with whatever the ninja equivalent of a bang is, and it sets up some of the central conflicts that will continue to inform the next two films artfully and really rather concisely, all things considered. Technical merits are generally solid (video probably a bit more than audio), and the supplements very appealing. Recommended.
(Still not reliable for this title)
新・忍びの者 / Shin shinobi no mono
1963
続・忍びの者’ / Zoku shinobi no mono / Shinobi No Mono 2: Vengeance
1963
賞金稼ぎ / Shōkin kasegi
1969
賞金首 一瞬八人斬り / Shōkin kubi: Isshun hachi-nin giri
1972
五人の賞金稼ぎ / Gonin no shōkin kasegi
1969
夜の片鱗 / Yoru no henrin | Limited Edition
1964
Yakuza no hakaba: Kuchinashi no hana
1976
Guang Dong shi hu yu hou wu hu / 廣東十虎與後五虎
1980
悪太郎伝 悪い星の下でも / Akutarô-den: Warui hoshi no shita demo
1965
Lie mo zhe / 獵魔者
1982
Mai ming xiao zi / 賣命小子
1979
Jin bi tong / 金臂童
1979
1977
1982
Pas de roses pour OSS 117
1968
1974
Fei dao shou / Fei do sau / 飛刀手
1969
Long men jin jian / Lung moon gam kim / 龍門金劍
1969
Yu luo cha / Yuk law chaat / 玉羅刹
1968
三匹の侍 / Sanbiki no samurai
1964