When video stores could be found on every corner there was a
rush to fill the shelves with tons of product that renters could check out once
the hit titles were cleared from the racks. Where B films were once the second features
in theaters they were now the add ons to those stores. Some of those films got
minor releases around the country but for the most part made their mark on the
video shelves. Among one of the top stars of this genre was Sho Kosugi.
Kosugi made his made his first major appearance in the film
ENTER THE NINJA, starring Franco Nero, as the bad ninja in that film. He went
back and forth from good guy to bad in a series of films that always featured
the new martial arts character, the ninja. It wasn’t enough to be a martial
arts master, now ninjas were the rage. It was only natural that he follow in
the footsteps of his hero Bruce Lee to become a new figure of note.
PRAY FOR DEATH features Kosugi stars as a ninja who is
married with two kids. When his wife wants to move back to the states and open
a business he agrees, leaving behind his ninja ways and swearing to never
reveal his abilities. Not an easy task when you consider his two young sons are
major ninja fans adoring the black ninja on telelvision.
The family moves with the intent of taking over a storefront
they intend to turn into a restaurant. Unfortunately a group of criminals has
been using the back room to store stolen property in, this time around a
valuable necklace. Roughing up and killing the former owner when the jewels go
missing (taken by a corrupt cop) doesn’t get the goods back so they go after
Kosugi instead by kidnapping his son. Big mistake. He meets with them, escapes
and rescues his son and leaves them bloodied and beaten.
The big boss won’t stand for this and it’s apparent that
soon fists will be flying, ninja stars thrown and an all-out battle between bad
guys and Kosugi will soon happen. In the middle of it all will be a family
placed in danger and if anything happens to them Kosugi’s promise to keep his
ninja skills hidden will fall to the wayside.
The plot sounds fairly simple and the truth be told it is.
But story isn’t the major force at play in any martial arts movie and in
particularly the ninja movies of the time. Instead the plot is something to
give rise to the action. Kosugi, an award winning martial artists, does a great
job of leaping, fighting and creating mayhem as the ninja in question here. He
may not display the same grace, speed and abilities of Bruce Lee but he does
better than most.
Fans of the films Kosugi made at this time have had to
comfort themselves with VHS copies of these movies but now Arrow Video is
bringing some of them out in blu-ray format. As with all things Arrow they’ve
done a great job here with an excellent transfer as well as some good extras
that fans will appreciate though they seem sparser than are usually found on
Arrow offerings. Included here are a brand new interview with Kosugi, an
archive interview and ninjitsu demonstration with Kosugi at the film’s New York
premiere and the original theatrical trailer.
I’m sure not everyone will find this as entertaining as I
did but it does deliver a decent action film that can be enjoyed. And for those
who walked the aisles of video stores looking for something different then
you’ll find those memories stirred while watching this. Up next will be RAGE OF
HONOR from Arrow in March.
Click here to order.
No comments:
Post a Comment