"Ninjas . . . damn"
So utters a (slumming?) Geoffrey Rush in the trailers from the recently released "The Warriors Way." In case you don't know what I'm talking about, check out the trailer here: http://www.iamrogue.com/thewarriorsway/fullsite/.
From all reports "Way" is unlikely to be making any waves in the history of cinema (it has a 33% "rotten" rating on Rotten Tomatoes and ranked #9 its opening weekend). However, it does seem to be part of a relatively recent resurgence in ninjas at American multiplexes. Last year, Korean pop-star Rain made his film debut in the big-budget "Ninja Assassin" produced by the Wachowski's of "The Matrix" fame. Those 80s sensations the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles reappeared on the big screen in 2007's all-CGI "TMNT" and are being prepped for future film and television properties. 2005's megahit "Batman Begins" even rebooted Batman's origins with specific depictions of him receiving ninja training (certainly implied in other versions). The upcoming X-Men spinoff "The Wolverine" starring Hugh Jackman and directed by Darren Aronofsky ("The Wrestler," "Black Swan") is to be based on the 80s comic book arc featuring the titular mutant's days living in Japan and running afoul of both ninja and yakuza.
Ninja never seem to grow old or entirely out of fashion. Maybe it's those mysterious black-on-black outfits, or their ability to swiftly disappear and reappear like ghosts in the movies. Maybe it's because, despite the comic bookishness of their many cellulooid appearance, they were REAL Sure, they probably could fight hovering in mid-air or do some of the more outlandish tricks filmmakers have them doing, but at one time these daring spies/assassins really were roaming the countryside of feudal Japan, using their specialized martial arts techniques and their oh-so-cool weaponry. James Bond was never real, and it's unlikely his real-life counterparts had gadgets as cool as he did. Batman does not exist. You can't find any historical counterparts to orcs, elves, goblins or the Riders of Rohan, but there were definitely ninjas.
A couple of years ago, I wrote a short article on ninjas for the program book of the Japanese festival at which I volunteer every year (The Ginza Holiday Festival at the Midwest Buddhist Temple in Chicago, held every August). In my research, I discovered a couple of interesting things. First off, is that that cool black outfit we have come to know and love is largely an invention of Japanese legend, perpetuated in theater and later in comic books and films. Certainly, ninja did sometimes don darker clothing for black ops-type work, but they did not necessarily possess the set uniform familiar to us. In fact, most of the time, in their roles as spies and/or assassins, ninjas simply dressed as ordinary people. Sometimes they appeared as samurai, othertimes as beggars, monks or traveling priests (whatever was most convenient).
The word "ninja" and its related term "shinobi" actually don't translate into anything as romantic as "dark assassin" or "mysterious warrior." They both actually derive from the verb "to endure," illustrating their capacity for patience and stealth (Interesting to note that the word "samurai" means comes from "to serve").
Ninja, for reasons I am not entirely sure of, became very popular during the 1980s. I swear, there wasn't a kid who didn't know about them in one form or another. Part of the wave started with a 1981 B-movie called "Enter the Ninja" (actually an Italian production) about an American vet who uses ninja skills learned in Japan to help defend a friend from criminals. It's a fairly awful film, with ludicrously clunky fight sequences. But it helped popularize ninjas and brought to the screen Japanese martial arts star Sho Kosugi as the film's villain.
Enter the Ninja trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3TWn5tPZ0MM
A whole spate of B-grade Ninja flicks followed throughout the 80s (with Kosugi popping up in more than a few of them). These included the "American Ninja" films starring Michael Dudikoff (spare yourself, don't watch them). Kosugi even appeared as the reoccurring villain in a 1984 NBC TV series called "The Master" with Lee Van Cleef (one of the stars of the 60s spaghetti Westerns with Clint Eastwood).
The Master opening titles: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qV5sUH259bA
Course, no one can forget the original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles animated series that debuted in 1987. The characters and storylines from the original indie comic by creators Eastman and Laird were toned down considerably to meet family-friendly standards, and with massive promotion with toy tie-ins, it was a pop culture juggernaut that kept on moving.
Interestingly, when the Turtles lept to the big-screen, they were co-produced by Raymond Chow and Golden Harvest, the legendary Hong Kong film producer and studio that launched the likes of Bruce Lee and Jackie Chan to stardom. Surprisingly, the films turned out to be pretty entertaining (for kids and martial arts aficionados alike) thanks to some solid choreography and unbelievable Turtle puppets and suits courtesy of Jim Henson's creature effects shop.
1990s TMNT Movie fight scene: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JiBSrocGagM&feature=related
Personally, if I had to name a favorite ninja movie, I'd have to go back a number of years before the craze ever hit the US. All the way back to the Sean Connery James Bond film "You Only Live Twice" (1967). It's not a ninja film actually, but James Bond receives both training and able assistance from the Japanese intelligence service, which provide him an entire army of ninja agents to assist him against the bad guys. Sure, the film is a bit creaky in parts (and if you watch it, you'll see exactly where Michael Meyers got the idea for Doctor Evil in the "Austin Powers" movies), but if you don't get excited at the sight of hundreds of ninjas repelling from a ceiling into an enemy's secret volcano headquarters, you don't belong here.
"You Only Live Twice" fight scene: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pIj0Qq0c14o
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