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(aka 'Ninja Wars" or "Iga ninpoucho')
directed by
Mitsumasa Saito
Japan 19
A fortuneteller prophesizes that whoever marries the beautiful princess Ukio will become the ruler of the world. Lord Danjo (Akira Nakao) makes a deal with an evil magician, Kashin Koji, to help take over the throne of the Shogunate by marrying Ukio. When Koji's deadly team of 5 "Devil Monks" capture Ukio's twin sister KaguraIbi, Jotaro (Hiroyuki Sanada) heads after them to rescue both Ukio and Kagura withthe help of a mysterious ninja.
Not a lot of Sonny Chiba in this and nothing akin to his previous films. A period piece, beautifully shot with adequate action, but can tend to be confusing for its depth of characters - not highly regarded. out of
Theatrical Release: December 18th, 1982 - Japan
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Check out more in "The Library"
DVD Review: Ventura (The Sonny China Collection) - Region 1 - NTSC
DVD Box Cover |
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Distribution | Ventura Distribution - Region 1 - NTSC | |
Runtime | 1:40:03 | |
Video |
1.81:1
Aspect Ratio Average Bitrate: 6.1 mb/s NTSC 720x480 29.97 f/s |
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NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes. |
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Audio | Japanese (Dolby Digital 2.0 Dolby) | |
Subtitles | English, None | |
Features |
Release Information:
Edition Details: • Widescreen 16X9 Trailers for 8 other Sonny China / Ventura DVD releases - Karate Bearfighter (3:04) - Killing Machine (3:02) - Karate Bullfighter (2:51) - Karate For Life (2:52) - Shogun's Samurai (3:06) - G.I. Samurai (3;19) - Ninja Wars (1:52) - Legend of the Eight Samurai (2:13)
• 4 page liner notes by Patrick Macias |
Comments: |
This is one of the lesser DVDs of the Sonny Chiba Collection. It again is not HD tape sourced unlike Karate Bearfighter and has more prevalent ghosting (see last large capture) so it could even be from a PAL source. There is a large black border around the image indicating they are not maximizing the horizontal resolution. The 2.0 audio track may actually be less advanced than the original - I am not sure. Extras include liner notes and the same trailers as the others in the collection. Its a shame about this as it is a beautifully shot film, but tube viewers probably won't complain. out of |
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