Ninja, a Band of Assassins

Original title: Shinobi no mono

IMDb RATING

YOUR RATING

A young ninja becomes embroiled in a plot to kill a tyrannical warlord. He journeys across feudal Japan, facing deceit, betrayal, and enemy ninja at every turn. Goemon must complete his miss... Read allA young ninja becomes embroiled in a plot to kill a tyrannical warlord. He journeys across feudal Japan, facing deceit, betrayal, and enemy ninja at every turn. Goemon must complete his mission, regain his honor, and survive.A young ninja becomes embroiled in a plot to kill a tyrannical warlord. He journeys across feudal Japan, facing deceit, betrayal, and enemy ninja at every turn. Goemon must complete his mission, regain his honor, and survive.

Director
- Satsuo Yamamoto
Writers
- Tomoyoshi Murayama
- Hajime Takaiwa
Stars

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

7.0/10

YOUR RATING

Director
- Satsuo Yamamoto
Writers
- Tomoyoshi Murayama
- Hajime Takaiwa
Stars

See production info at IMDbPro

Awards
- 2 wins

Trivia
This movie was seen in Japan in 1963 by author Roald Dahl, from which he got several ideas for the writing of the screenplay to the James Bond movie You Only Live Twice (1967). The scene where Goemon attempts to assassinate Nobunaga with poison was referred to in "You Only Live Twice" and "Grosse Pointe Blank". Several scenes shows Nobunaga petting his cats. This is also done by the villain Blofeld in "You Only Live Twice".

Quotes
Kotaro: Goemon, what does a ninja live for?
[Continues]
Kotaro: Starting as a innocent toddler, he must endure hard training in ninjutsu... then he's sent to serve some warlord in the east or some daimyo in the west... and does so knowing that his life is always at risk. If he is captured, he must endure exquisite tortures, and yet not divulge the truth. Rather than disclose his name, he will intently seek death instead. When escape is no longer possible...
Ishikawa Goemon: [Goemon continues] "He will burn his face with fire... and if fire be not at hand, he will disfigure his face with his sword... and thus, no one will ever know his true identity... He was born in darkness and he will die in darkness... This is the path of the ninja's life, it is the path of death".

Connections
Featured in WatchMojo: Top 10 Movie Ninjas (2014)

User reviews11

Review

Featured review

6/10

Ninjas torturing Ninjas

It's Japan in 1575. Warlord Tomisaburô Wakayama is assassinating the Emperor's family, killing daimyo and buying Portugese guns to take over Japan. Meanwhile, rising young ninja Raizô Ichikawa is seduced by the wife of his master. The affair is discovered and she is killed. His master, Yûnosuke Itô, orders him to go become a thief -- which is very dishonorable for a ninja -- and pass most of the money on to his handler. Eventually, he will be called on to assassinate Wakayama, but first he must hesitate like Hamlet for three quarters of the movie, fall in love -- which is also a ninja no-no -- with Shiho Fujimura, and have Itô torment him with his superior ninjitsu.

It's a very roundabout, tail-biting plot. I can't figure out why Itô doesn't do it himself, except for the sheer joy of making Ichikawa miserable. Of course, there are wheels within wheels in this 100-minute exhibition of movie ninjitsu backflips, elaborate poisonings and shuriken-tossing, as Ichikawa would rather go off with Miss Fujimura and be happy.

I suppose there's something in the Japanese movie-goer's psyche that gives him pleasure in the perception that handsome, super-powered Ichikawa can't be happy either. It's all very cinematic, and Roald Dahl stole bits and pieces for the James Bond movies.