Movielogr
Shogun's Ninja (1980)
Directed by Norifumi Suzuki
Twitter Facebook Google+Overview
In the middle of the 16th century, Hideyoshi, a power hungry warlord sets out to destroy the Momochi clan. He sends his war commander in search of the clan’s hidden gold only to find that two daggers are the key to the hiding place of the treasured gold. Spanning decades, the quest for the missing daggers takes Shiranui through war and ancient tradition.
Rated R | Length 117 minutes
Actors
Hiroyuki Sanada | Sonny Chiba | Etsuko Shihomi | Yuki Ninagawa | Isao Natsuyagi | Asao Koike | Makoto Satō | Fumio Watanabe | Tetsurō Tamba | Katsumasa Uchida | Shôhei Hino | Masashi Ishibashi | Akira Hamada | Yoko Nogiwa | Masumi Harukawa
Viewing History (seen 1 time)
| Date Viewed | Device | Format | Source | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 07/12/2025 | TV | Other | Owned | 6 stars |
| (Average) 6 stars |
Viewing Notes
After logging the recent Sakamoto joint Shogun’s Ninja I saw that there was another movie with the same title. Turns out it is one of those epic Sonny Chiba + Hiroyuki Sanada flicks from the late seventies / early eighties like Legend of the Eight Samurai, Ninja Wars, Shogun’s Samurai, etc.
Hadn’t seen this one but it was on Tubi so I pulled it down and watched. Sadly this was the dubbed version but seemed fine for a late afternoon viewing. This movie isn’t as fun as the others featuring those two.
Chiba is the big bad and just feels off; I’ve seen him so often as the hero that him being the villain does sit right. Sanada is super ripped as the hero doing his usual swinging from ropes. Makoto Sato shows up as a ninja leader. Sue Shihomi is a good supporting character as always. Some fun setpieces but so overly long with too much wheel spinning instead of staying focused. Hattori Hanzo is one of the characters which was amusing.
I could probably edit this down to a much tighter 100 minutes that would really sing.
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