Shinobi: Three Films Blu-ray

'Shinobi: Three Films by Satsuo Yamamoto & Kazuo Mori' (1962-1963) Radiance 2-Disc Blu-ray | HD transfers | Region A+B | Japanese w/ English subtitles

Band of Assassins (Satsuo Yamamoto, 1962)
Revenge (Satsuo Yamamoto, 1963)
Resurrection (Kazuo Mori, 1963)

In 16th-century Japan, a brash ninja-in-training is forced into action when a warlord wipes out his clan and murders his wife and child. Posing as a simple peasant by day, at night he carries out a carefully nurtured plan of robbery and assassination. 

These three ninja classics based on the original Shinobi no Mono novels were a revolutionary take on the ninja. The Shinobi series was an epoch-making success and became a social phenomenon that left deep marks on Japan of the 1960s, from children’s playgrounds to the leftist counter-culture. Packed with spectacular and oft-copied action scenes, it also established the ground rules for all ninja movies that followed, introducing such classic tropes as the shuriken throwing star and the iconic black mask and suit.

Special features include:
- Visual essay on the ninja in Japanese cinema by film scholar Mance Thompson
- Interview with Shozo Ichiyama, artistic director of the Tokyo International Film Festival, about director Satsuo Yamamoto
- Interview with film critic Toshiaki Sato on star Raizo Ichikaw