Alas, I have no idea…
…what movie (or movies) these are from, but they certainly are on-topic for the month! If anyone can shed some light on the images above, drop yer beloved e-publisher a line at unknownpubs-at-yahoo-dot-com.
MAGIC SERPENT (part 2)
The main-event of Kairyu Daikessen is an extended kaiju beatdown between dragon and toad, with a castle destroyed in the process. Kairyu Daikessen is actually more available now than it ever was back in the day. Beautiful widescreen subtitled editions … Continued
The unsung kaiju-ninja epic MAGIC SERPENT (part 1)
Kairyu Daikessen was a 1966 Toei fusion of ninja revenge and giant monster magic. It delivered in spades on both fronts and was a fantastic movie. Then it was picked up by American International Pictures for English-language distribution, and has … Continued
Wolf vs. Sheepdog
CASTLE OF OWLS WEEK continues with some miscellaneous awesomeness centered on the the conflict between Juzo (Ryutaro Otomo) and Gohei (Minoru Ohki). As I’ve mentioned previously, this initially plays out like the old Sam the Sheepdog vs. Ralph the Wolf … Continued
Kunoichi in CASTLE OF OWLS
While the overt conflict of Castle of Owls may be the wolf-vs-sheepdog of Juzo and Gohei, there is a deeper interior conflict in both men played out by their relationships to women, all of whom are deadly female ninja themselves. … Continued
B&W stills from OWLS
The Japanese DVD of Castle of Owls has a modest gallery of B&W set-shot publicity stills: CASTLE OF OWLS WEEK continues with an in depth look at the ninja women of the film, and a side-by-side comparison of the photography of … Continued
More aging CASTLE OF OWLS stills
Hey, that’s the rest of the image from the home-page header! Yep, yer right. It’s also perhaps the most striking image of Ryutaro Otomo from Toho’s publicity shoots. Those spike shuriken are just awesome. Otomo’s stern, strong eyes lend a … Continued
CASTLE OF OWLS publicity stills from Thailand
Inspired by Gobi’s awesome sketch from this post, I’ve declared this CASTLE OF OWLS WEEK at Vintage Ninja! I’m not saying the 1963 Ryutaro Otomo action-drama is the best ninja movie ever made, but damn if it isn’t my absolute … Continued
KAIKETSU KUROZUKIN press stills
I must admit I’ve had a difficult time in researching this post, and the pedigree of the property involved. Reading below, it’ll become pretty evident that while yes, I have a network of nerds who can identify any antique handgun … Continued
Chinese flyer for “Black Ninja”
Sepia-tone 2-sided flyer for the Ryutaro Otomo ninja vehicle Maboroshi Kurozukin Yamine Toku-Kage (can’t confirm that title or translate, although the words for black hood, phantom, and shadow are in there…) from Singapore – possibly late 60’s? Enjoy some whacked-out … Continued