And So Begins the "Ninja Trilogy" with Enter the Ninja
A conversation a while ago led me to purchasing Ninja III: The Domination because I couldn’t find anywhere to watch it for free. The “Nina III” part piqued my curiosity about Part I and Part II. Professor Google educated me and, I learned that I had part II in my collection already in Revenge of the Ninja. Part I was a movie from 1981 titled Enter the Ninja and it was one I hadn’t seen or could find to watch for free. Thank you Tubi for coming to the rescue again and getting this movie in your catalog. You saved me $10 on eBay. Let’s talk about the first part of the confusing “Ninja Trilogy”, Enter the Ninja starring Sho Kosugi and Franco Nero.
Insert Crazy Off Topic Spider Story
I’m going off topic here, but I noticed something interesting in Enter the Ninja that stood out to me. I wish I would have watched this movie prior to the summer season here in SC. I am a fan of writing spiders if I can see them. Their color, size, and beautiful webs have always impressed me. As a child, I had one for a pet briefly. In SC this recent season, there has been another spider that looks very similar, and it seems has almost replaced the writing spider. I learned from a neighborhood app that these are joro spiders and they are native to Japan. In one of the beginning scenes, you see one of these arachnoids crawling along a branch in front of Sho Kosugi. Now that I got that out there, let’s talk about the movie.
Accuracy of True Ninjutsu in Enter the Ninja
Enter the Ninja includes some interesting and somewhat accurate demonstrations of true Japanese ninjutsu. I am not a practitioner, traditionally speaking, of this art but, I have done as much research as I could possibly do. From my research, I made the following observations that I consider to be accurate portrayal of the art. First, Ninjutsu is well known to have very strenuous tests, especially for higher level belts. If you don’t believe me, watch the infamous Godan, or 5th degree blackbelt, test here. I’ve read that on other tests or training simulations, students are required to deflect arrows with a sword. The best source to begin an in-depth study on this art is in the book, Ninjutsu in History and Tradition by Masaaki Hatsumi. Also, watch videos or read books by Anthony Cummins or Stephen Hayes. Any traditional “ninja scrolls” that have been translated are good sources too.
Several Tools at Their Disposal and Sabotage
Traditional ninjas used many different weapons to do their clandestine work. This movie features many of these. Enter the Ninja presents this idea in many scenes. Anyone familiar with these stereotypically black cloven stealth warriors knows the stars, which are used. Of course, in Enter the Ninja, they kill the opponent. In real life these were distractions, and a fatality would usually come from another tool. Bo shuriken, or straight throwing spikes, are featured in Enter the Ninja as well as blow guns, bow and arrows, caltrops, bombs, and hand spikes. At one point, a man is sent to Japan to hire a ninja. In ancient times, this was a documented practice. One famous account involved Hattori Hanzo. Quentin Taratino named a character after this real Japanese ninja in Kill Bill. You can read an ancient account about Hanzo here or watch a YouTube video here.
Another thing shinobi were well known for was sabotage. Much like the special operations groups of today, the ninja of ancient Japan would infiltrate a fortress and sabotage things so that the forces who hired them could easily enter. Perhaps they could have been used to destroy a bridge ahead of a potentially retreating army or assassinating a leading strategist in a war campaign. Their skills were sought after and used in many ways. In Enter the Ninja, sabotage practices are seen when Sho Kosugi’s character burns down a farm village. If the farmers have nowhere to live, they can’t work on the farm thus encouraging the owners to sell due to lack of help. Yes, Kosugi’s character wears black while he does this which I imagine would make sense as it happens at night. Let’s look a little deeper at the attire of the ninjas in Enter the Ninja.
Ninja Did Wear Many Different Hats
I’m not sure why the main ninja played by Franco Nero wore white but, he did. When Sho Kosugi’s character is recruited and sent to the Philippines, he dons the black traditional gi. In the beginning, there are several ninjas that are wearing red gi. I’m sure this was done for the simple fact of keeping things understandable in the scenes involving multiple ninjas. Reality for the ninja meant often wearing normal clothes. Sure, if they were going to be in snow, they would wear white or out at night wear black but, this was rare. The ninja aimed to gain acceptance into a compound as an employee or someone who belonged there. Cole, the protagonist, would often sneak in by wearing a security guard uniform. This was an accurate representation of Ninjitsu. You can watch a video where Stephen Hayes demonstrates this here.
Caltrops Use in Enter the Ninja
That’s about it for the good so, on to the bad and or misrepresentations in Enter the Ninja. The caltrops, devices that no matter how they land have a spike sticking up, were used as a throwing tool to kill a man in Enter the Ninja. These prevented a ninja from being chased and were not used to kill. Enter the Ninja had these, along with shuriken, being used as deadly weapons which is unrealistic from my understanding. I’m sure that you could use a spike or the blade of a shuriken to kill, just not in the fashion presented in Enter the Ninja. Again, I’m not a trained ninja but I find these things and those following to be inaccurate.
Terrible Fight Choreography and Kung Fu Sound Effects in Enter the Ninja
Two other bad things about this movie were the fight scenes and the antagonist, Venarious who was played by Christopher George. Regarding the fights, I have seen a lot of terrible fight choreography in my time and certainly in Ninja movies but little like this. I’ve read a book on Taijutsu, or the hand-to-hand art of the ninja, and I’ve never seen a good depiction of it on film. I’ve heard it said from reliable sources that it’s very similar in concept to Kuk Sool Won from Korea. Enter the Ninja includes back flips, cartwheels, and standing on the hands to kick two people at once. Van Damme would be proud of the high-flying midair splits to attack two aggressors simultaneously. Reality doesn’t sell tickets to movies, I get it. The silliness though, this was the real issue, for me, with Enter the Ninja.
I am 100% on board and a fan of old school Shaw Brothers kung fu theatre mouth movements don’t match English overdub likely to be sampled on a Wu-tang album kung fu movies. In fact, I absolutely love them. When you pair pieces of this genre with the slightly realistic more serious American movies of the 1980s, it doesn’t work well. I expect whistling sounds as spears are tossed in a Shaw Brothers classic but not when a Ninja throws a bo shuriken. Or better yet, something happens and the wa-wa-wa sound plays – are you kidding me? Venarious must be the silliest mob boss in the history of films. For fun he wears wild robes and in the fashion of a conductor wand and all, conducts synchronized swimming. I can think of a lot better things that a mob boss could do with a pool full of girls.
Enter the Ninja Filming Locations & Familiar Faces
Filming locations and familiar faces are always something I’m interested in when watching movies. Enter the Ninja was filmed in the Philippines and Japan from what I have found. Mansions are always interesting to see, and Enter the Ninja has one that is very impressive. One location has stumped me though. The headquarters of Venarious – where is this building? I cannot find any pictures of it or given location? Is it real or fake? Does anyone know? The photograph above is taken from a screen shot at 1:05:00 in the movie. Let me know if the comments if you know the answer. Yandex and Google reverse image search are no help.
A familiar face besides that of Sho Kosugi did appear in Enter the Ninja. An older fellow that tagged along on the latter missions with Cole was a character named “Dollars” played by Will Hare. I knew I recognized Dollars from somewhere. I consulted IMDB and learned that he had played “Grandpa” in Silent Night, Deadly Night from 1984. Sho Kosugi, of course, has been several movies including all three parts in the Ninja Trilogy. Also, he was in Pray for Death, 9 Deaths of the Ninja, Rage of Honor, and he played Rikimaru from the PlayStation game Tenchu: Stealth Assassins among others.
How is Enter the Ninja Connected to Ninja III: The Domination or Revenge of the Ninja?
Big question – how are Enter the Ninja, Revenge of the Ninja, and Ninja III: The Domination connected? These are considered the “Ninja Trilogy” and this question has bugged me forever. The only commonality I’ve seen is that they are about ninjas and all feature Sho Kosugi. The author of a review on Blueprintreview, David Brook shared this opinion and made the same observation when asking the question for himself. You can read this review for yourself here. It’s the Ninja III title that throws me off, I think. It would have made sense to leave the “III” off and not confuse everyone. Maybe it was a marketing ploy to get folks to find, watch, and buy the other movies? You can read my blog on Ninja III: The Domination here if you’re interested in learning more about another movie in “The Ninja Trilogy.”
Enter the Ninja is a Decent Ninja Movie
I know it sounds weird for me to say this but of the 80s ninja movies I’ve seen, Enter the Ninja in some ways was among the better ones. I say this only because of the exaggerated accuracy of some aspects of the art presented in Enter the Ninja. Fans of ninja movies, especially of the 80s ninja craze, should at least watch this movie once. If I need a Kosugi fix, it will be Pray for Death or Revenge of the Ninja for me. Back to that big question in the previous paragraph, if anyone knows something I’m missing, please let me know in the comments. While you’re on my page check out my artwork and photography here. You can read more of my blogs here and follow me on all social media here. All likes, shares, subs, and follows are appreciated.