New books for the discerning shadow reader
Continuing some gift giving ideas, these for the bookshelf: We’ve highlighted Matt Alt and Hiroko Yoda‘s Ninja Attack! before, but I wanted to give it a brief review now that I have it in hand. This may quietly be one … Continued
Own ninja pop culture history!
Siren Visual way down in Australia has re-released their previously available box sets of the landmark series The Samurai with all-new packaging, and just in time for the holidays come new releases of the latter seasons. I love this new … Continued
Let the gift-giving season begin!
Let’s start a few weeks of gift-giving (or retail self-therapy) ideas for any and every ninja fan. I’ll kick things off with these 7-8″ Summit Collection resin ninja statues, a real throwback to the days of un-licensed figurines in the … Continued
What I’m thankful for today…
There are some VN specific things I’m thankful for, and one involves you all, so I thought I’d share. I, Keith J. Rainville, proprietor of this here Vintage Ninja website, am thankful for… …our expanding audience. We’ve had a ton … Continued
NINJA IN THE DRAGON’S DEN Japanese program stills (part 2)
Ninja in the Dragon’s Den is that rare Chinese/HK movie that actually gives props to Japanese martial arts. Henry Sanada‘s shinobi is every bit the equal of Conan Lee‘s kung-fu hero, and when the misunderstandings that led to their antagonism … Continued
NINJA IN THE DRAGON’S DEN Japanese program stills (part 1)
The 1982 Corey Yuen crossover actioner Long zhi ren zhe (aka Ninja in the Dragon’s Den and Legend of the Ninja) was a double vehicle, with two equally marketable leading men. Conan Lee was *going to be* the more muscular, harder-edged … Continued
Martial and *marital* arts in HEROES OF THE EAST
OK, so we all love martial arts movies, but what does that term actually mean? Are what we think of as martial arts films actually about martial arts? A lot of martial artists aren’t genre film fans themselves, gratuitous fights … Continued
Ninja in the USA
Ninja in the USA is a fine example of the muscle-bound Alexander Lou‘s kung-fu-ninjutsu, and is notable for his couture-esque golden chain mail costume. There’s a nice French-language page dedicated to it here.
Ninja Attack San Francisco!
Alright San Franciscans, get your asses on down to Viz Cinema Saturday for a little shinobi seminar. From the release: Now you see them, now you don’t! The ninja – Japan’s famed shadow warriors of legend – are the subject … Continued
Another generic 80’s ninja
Manufacturer: UNKNOWN Date of Production: UNKNOWN Lone Marking: “CHINA” Gotta think he came with a few gold-colored plastic weapons of ludicrous design and scale, and possibly a cloth cape, plastic parachute or some other type of trendy 80’s mode of … Continued