New DEAD RINGO trailer
Check out the latest from Eddie Mort! And see a pile of imagery at the Dead Ringo tumblr.
JIRAIYA THE BRAVE: Ninja and toad magic in the roaring 20s
This 1921 silent movie might just be the first time the legend of Jiraiya was put on film. It could also well-be the first time giant toad and snake magic with special effects transformations appeared on screen, four decades before … Continued
Give us your TOP 5
Had a reader on the VN Facebook page (have you ‘Liked’ us? If not, SHAME!) post a great question: “If you had to distill your favorite ninja films into a grievously unfair list of only 5, what would they be?” … Continued
Toei VHS inserts
Some Kurozukin and other hooded hero goodness from the VHS days: I miss video stores in general, but I especially miss Little Tokyo stores from the height of the VHS clamshell era. Such great design at work with these case … Continued
Great gallery of Japanese cinema stills
I highly recommend taking a stroll (or ‘scroll’ more accurately) through EigaGoGo: Japan Cinema‘s tumblr gallery. Tons of vintage Japanese cinema publicity stills from all genres, with some great shinobi stuff peppered in. Click any image to enlarge. The above … Continued
The self proclaimed “Internet Ninja Movie Database From Hell”
And who’s to argue with that claim, once you see the rather staggering array of foreign video packaging for ninja movies assembled on this French-language newsgroup. Wow… Well-collected mon freres!!!
African movie posters
Some of the ninja-centric paintings from Ghana ‘movie theaters’ that were on display at last year’s Movie Mojo shows at Chicago gallery Primitive:
Vintage Toei studio lot prop room pics!
I have a program from the 1981 Toei Studios version of Baian the Assassin that features a 2-page spread on the backlot prop room. The photos are frustratingly small, but I’ve done my best to blow them up for what … Continued
Kick-ass pressbook stills of Sonny Chiba’s Jubei in MAKAI TENSHO
There are plenty of versions of Makai Tensho (aka Samurai Resurrection, Samurai Reincanation, and more), but my absolute fave adaptation is the 1981 Kinji Fukusaku-directed Kadowkawa effects epic. Spanning the decades and various actors, Jubei Yagyu has been portrayed as … Continued
Euro lobby cards for 9 DEATHS
European (and other French-language market) lobby cards for Sho Kosugi‘s 9 Deaths of the Ninja, known abroad as American Ninja (where American Ninja was known as American Warrior). The 1984-85 span was a trying one for the ninja craze. Sho … Continued