Five Element Ninjas (1982)

I love this movie so much

Redundant and unnecessary.

A different way of telling a story

Simple and well acted, it has tension enough to knot the stomach.

Director Chang Cheh wastes absolutely no time getting things under way in FIVE ELEMENT NINJAS: the members of the Martial Arts Alliance (including stalwarts Meng Lo ("Liang") and Tien-chi Cheng ("Xiao")), pair off against members of a rival school and give each and every member thereof a resounding beating- in very short order, to boot. When the heroes are sent out a la the Knights of the Round Table in search of The Holy Grail, they're ambushed and wiped out by the Five Element Ninjas. Subtitles keep us appraised along the way of the various weapons and techniques that are being used. Only Meng Lo, Cheng, and their Master (hidden in a hidden room) remain. A female ninja infiltrates the Alliance stronghold, finds out where the Master is hiding, and sends a diagram via bow and arrow to the villains. And that's just the first two-thirds of the movie...

Super Ninjas is a hilariously great Shaw brother's kung fu film. It's very gory, has hilarious costuming, and very poor dubbing. easily one of the most amusing kung fu films i have seen, the first time I saw it I nearly fell out of my chair laughing, and my friend did. Two kung fu schools are about to square off in a tournament to decided which is supreme. One side, the 'good guys' wear odd and slightly homo-erotic white costumes. After 9 fights the fruity white kung fu school seems to be dominating. The 10th match is reserved for the respective masters to square off. The leader of the 'bad guys' has a Japanese samurai take his place. The Samurai is defeated but before he commits seppuku he promises his good friend, a ninja would come and take revenge for him, then he flicks a ring at the victorious Kung Fu master, the ring bruises his palm, and it is later revealed that the poison will prevent him from using any Kung Fu for six months. Sometime later the victorious Kung Fu school gets a challenge from the five element ninjas. It seems the ninja has come to get revenge for the Samurais failure. The elements are Gold, Wood, Water, Fire, and Earth. The Kung Fu master decided that the challenge must be met and dispatches 9 of his best Kung Fu fighters to meet the ninjas. He retains 2 of his best men as well as scores of under-trained ninja fodder to guard the base. While the Kung Fu champs fight valiantly they are all killed fairly quickly, with the exception of the guy who fights the Earth element. He fights like a lion; he is severely wounded but continues to fight, only stopped after he trips and falls over his own free-hanging entrails. This battle sequence is awesome, very poorly dubbed and a bit cheesy but its half an hour of nonstop action and serious gore. Soon after the corpses of the fallen fighters are returned to the base, the surviving members of the Kung Fu school are shocked. They work to fortify their headquarters for the impending ninja attack. When the Ninjas attack the school is unready and most of the students are slaughtered quickly. Only the retained champions are able to put up a decent fight. They desperately defend their poisoned master, hiding in his bedroom. One of the champions' falls and the ninjas firebomb the master's room. Oddly enough the Kung Fu master responds to the fire in his bedroom by throwing all the flammable things he can find on the fire. After he throws his last blanket on the fire he is overcome by the heat and smoke and dies. the last Kung Fu champion, Tien-hao escapes, while fleeing through the woods he is caught in a rope trap set by an elderly ninja. He takes refuge with the elderly Ninja and his three sons. There he learns the ninja ways, and strategies to defeat the five elements via a great martial arts montage. Tien-hao and his three new brothers are equipped with an odd ax like weapon that is really 12 weapons in one. Armed with these weapons and skills Tien-hao pays a visit to the Ninja master whose men had annihilated his home and killed his brothers and master. A duel is set. This time the Kung Fu fighters are well trained and anticipate the Ninja's every move.Gold: These ninjas have golden hats which double as shields.. they also launch knives. The reflective golden surfaces of the hat/shields blinds their foes. But the brothers and Tien-hao are ready using part of their multi-weapon to block the glare.. the gold ninjas are butchered once their hat-shields are destroyed. Wood: These ninjas hide in trees and in tree costumes. This is a very hilarious battle, the ninja trees try to claw the Kung Fu warriors and hit them with throwing stars. The warriors counter by jumping into the trees and by using a scythe on a chain to grab the wood ninjas from safety. The last wood ninja is caught by a flying scythe on each hand and foot.. then in a hilarious stunt that defies all laws of physics with one combined tug by all four warriors the ninja is torn from limb to limb. Water: These ninja use reeds and swim underwater ready to strike the Kung Fu warriors at just the right moment. Again the warriors are ready for the water ninja tricks. They pull nets out of their weapon and trap the ninjas in the water and then skewer them. Out of nowhere the warriors start skating on the water's surface to catch the last fleeing ninja. Fire: These ninja's use smoke flares to blind their enemies. Yet the multi-weapon allows use of banners which disperse the smoke so the warriors can see. Once the flares and smoke are driven away the fire ninjas are quickly defeated.Earth: These ninjas attack from the underground, shooting spears up through the ground to hamstring their opponents. This time the multi-weapons turn into stilts with spear bottoms that pierce the ground to kill the ninjas hiding underground. When the last earth ninja is skewered the Ninja grandmaster explodes to the surface for the ultimate showdown. Tien-hao with his 3 brothers engage the master, though they fight valiantly and with much skill the grand master ninja is too strong. Tien-hao attempts a dangerous gambit, allowing himself to be mortally wounded to get close enough to handcuff the Ninja's feet. Now bound the ninja is no match for the three brothers. The grandmaster ninja is killed, torn in half as he tries to escape, and Tien-hao lives just long enough to see that his revenge is compete. This is an awesomely bad Kung Fu flick.. if you enjoy early cheesy gory Kung Fu films then Super Ninjas is a must see.

I remember seeing this movie as a kid and thinking it was the best Kung-Fu movie I had ever seen. I recently saw it on sale and purchased it,not knowing if it was going to be as good as I remembered. It was better! The fight scenes are fantastic and the story keeps you interested. There are some scenes that made me laugh out loud, but that's to be expected from a low budget Chop-Sockey flick. The different weapons and fighting styles are what keeps the story going and the elements (gold, wood, fire, water, earth) are really a force to reckon with. This movie isn't to be taken seriously, have fun with it. If you do like this movie, check out "Five Deadly Venoms".

Super Ninjas along with The Kid with the Golden Arms, 5 Deadly Venoms, Mortal Combat and Unbeatable Dragon are in my estimation the best of Chang Cheh's movies. Super Ninjas is arguably the best.This movie is absolutely a must see if you like Kung Fu movies. This movie features breathtaking choreography from Chang Cheh and a good plot. After defeating the Japanese in a duel the Chinese accept a invitation to take on the "Five Element Ninjas" (Gold,Fire,Water,Wood,Land) and initially are no match due to the fact that all fighters are gruesomely killed. The Japanese then place a secret agent, a female named Sungi to infiltrate the Chinese headquarters; though suspected by one of the remaining Chinese fighters, she is successful in gaining a detailed mapping of Chinese headquarters. The Japanese then raid headquarters and are able to kill the head master along with Lo Mang (Toad). Lo Mang desperately fights to save himself and his master but comes up short due to a devious plot by the Japenese infiltrator Sungi. Another Chinese fighter is captured and tied by rope but manages to escape due to being taught some Ninja by a master long ago. He returns to this master and completes his schooling to master "the ways of the Ninja". Not to ever be forgotten is the Head Ninja, who has to be one of the best villains ever in a Shaw Brother film. Ninja tactics and techniques are displayed in fine detail here. Ninjas have steel claws in their feet, come out of the ground and fly through the air. All the elements that you look for in a superb Kung Fu movie is here, breathtaking stuntsmanship and gore galore. Without a doubt there are many scenes that you won't forget; examples, one fighter tripping over his own spilling guts, the head Ninja being dismembered at the ending fight, the rock exploding as the Chinese smash through to signal the defeat of the Ninja, the old Ninja master telling the student to "always keep this key, it just might come in handy" and indeed it did, the Samurai fighter saying "loss of a fight means loss of one's life to a Samurai", what about when the Ninja teacher tells his students that Ninjas have "many secret fatal skills". Unforgettable film. One of the best and most unforgettable endings I've ever seen. 9 and a half out of 10 on the scale.