Rating summary

Movie		2.0
Video		1.5
Audio		3.0
Extras		3.0
Overall		2.0

Treasure of the Ninja Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman July 11, 2021

The commentary track on this disc suggests that AGFA and Bleeding Skull regulars Joe Ziemba and Annie Choi are decidedly big fans of William Lee, the auteur (?) behind Treasure of the Ninja and a number of other films collected for this release, and for them, as well as for anyone else who may have stumbled into Lee's cinematic orbit, the IMDb suggests that this perseverant film maker is still at it, with several projects either in post-production or moving toward that target. Bleeding Skull's website has a fun article about Lee and Treasure of the Ninja that covers some of the same territory as the commentary on the disc, outlining how Lee made the film on what I've often joked as being an "aglet budget" (not even enough for a shoestring, in other words) while he was a student at Ohio State University. Lee shot on Super 8 without sound, since that was so much cheaper, and then post-looped the entire affair, providing several character voices himself. Unable to find a distributor, Lee resorted to selling tapes himself until "real life" beckoned and he moved on to other pursuits. Decades later when he noticed online auction sites were selling Treasure of the Ninja for considerable sums, "real life" seemed to be offering a new avenue for recognition and maybe even a bit of income, and this Blu-ray is at least part of the after effects of that awakening.

As Annie Choi jokes in the opening moments of the commentary, who would have thought that Columbus, Ohio had a "ninja problem", and that's just one of the (many) outlandish elements at play in Treasure of the Ninja. Lee basically did everything in and for this film, including starring as the memorably named Magneta Faze, some kind of governmental operative tasked with keeping pretty archaeologist Dr. Stewart (Constance Lester) safe from a (rather small) coterie of ninjas, which is convenient since Faze himself is also of that ilk (if ninjas can be properly classified as an ilk). That's really it from a "plot" perspective (with an understanding that there is a supposed ninja treasure at stake), with the film kind of haphazardly getting to its various action elements, which are rather surprisingly well staged, given the overall lo-fi ambience of the production. The sound effects in particular are slightly hilarious in that same over the top way that they often are in "real" martial arts outings.

There's a certain gonzo affability about this enterprise, when taken on its own small scale merits. Lee is (or was, his IMDb bio, which he wrote, suggests he has had some significant health challenges) an athletic presence, and his ear for goofy dialogue helps give Treasure of the Ninja a seemingly intentional comedic edge.

Treasure of the Ninja Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Treasure of the Ninja is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of the American Genre Film Archive and Bleeding Skull with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.33:1. The back cover of this release states that this is culled from a "new transfer from the original 3/4" master tape", while also offering the following:

Notice! Treasure of the Ninja was shot on Super 8 and edited on tape. Please approach the technical quality of the transfer with empathy.

Maybe I fall into that same category as Jennifer Aniston once accused Brad Pitt of being in, lacking a "sensitivity chip", but there's simply no getting around the pretty ragged appearance of this transfer, one that is unfortunately hampered both by its Super 8 source and its "edited on tape" workflow. As can clearly be seen in many of the screenshots, there are any number of anomalies that accrue aside and apart from "typical" age related wear and tear like scratches and dirt (both of which are quite prevalent). For just a couple of examples, look at the weird crosshatched pattern that extends from the man's face down across his sweater in screenshot 6, or the really noticeable quasi-ghosting in screenshot 4 (pay special attention to the legs in the frame). The palette is generally decent looking, but does tend to skew kind of oddly toward greens at times.

Treasure of the Ninja Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

As is mentioned in the commentary, Treasure of the Ninja was shot silently and all sound was added later, and so the DTS-HD Master Audio Mono track does show expected signs of "loose sync". While not as problematic as the video side of things, there are some recurrent issues on the audio track as well, including a rather odd and long lived anomaly that I frankly initially thought was a helicopter rotor as the film began, only to realize sometime later after no flying craft appeared, that it's some kind of damage that ebbs and flows through the track at various times. Surprisingly, it's completely absent at times, including during the credits sequence which offers a rather boisterous and full bodied funktastic song. Dialogue is generally cleanly presented, though there are some amplitude deficiencies at times. The sound effects are often quite funny and enjoyable. Though it's not listed on the menu, optional English subtitles are available via the button on your remote.

Treasure of the Ninja Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Commentary Track features William Lee with Joe Ziemba and Annie Choi.


• Dragon vs. Ninja (HD; 1:04:45) is this release's "bonus movie", offering a 1984 opus, described as being a "previously unreleased battle epic" from William Lee that (of course) once again features ninjas. This offers considerably better video quality than the main feature to my eyes.


• The New Chinese Connection (HD; 22:35) is a Lee piece from 1980 drawing an intentional line between William and that "other" guy with the surname Lee. This has some audio issues.


• Willie Jack (HD; 3:12) is the first of several Lee shorts featuring a young martial artist played by James Buchanan.


• The Return of Willie Jack (HD; 2:30)


• The Revenge of Willie Jack (HD; 3:24)


• Willie Jack in the Jungle (HD; 2:53)

Treasure of the Ninja Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Annie Choi kind of gushes a little bit in her praise of William Lee on the commentary track, though she probably rightly points out that Treasure of the Ninja has a certain ebullience that is infectious, though less tolerant types might also point out that there's an obvious "student film" quality to it all. This is another AGFA release that is seemingly custom designed for a cult audience, and those folks will probably be willing to cut this release's technical limitations some slack.