Sonny “The StreetFighter” Chiba? Hiroyuki “Duke” Sanada? Ninja’s, swords, magic, samurais and exploitations? AN EYEPATCH?!?!! Yes folks, take our money indeed. We revelled in this gem from the 1981 SHOUT! Sonny Chiba Collection from Director Kinji Fukasaku starring an impossibly young Duke Sanada and his mentor Sonny Chiba, grizzled one eyed samurai Jubei.
No question this film was ‘homaged’ almost wholesale in modern samurai and ninja cinema and anime with more than one scene being recreated in films like Ninja Scroll – with good reason. This movie is balls out crazy and incredibly memorable, amazing set design steals the show and legendary performances by Sonny Chiba and Kenji Sawada’s villain Shiro absolutely seal the deal. Unsheathe your swords and help us vanquish rapey zombie monks in Samurai Reincarnation!