Stephen Butler"},"studio":{"wt":"[[Trans World Entertainment (film company)|Trans World Entertainment]]"},"distributor":{"wt":"[[Trans World Entertainment (film company)|Trans World Entertainment]]"},"released":{"wt":"{{Film date|1985|08|09|df=yes}}"},"runtime":{"wt":"92 minutes"},"country":{"wt":"United States"},"language":{"wt":"English
Japanese"},"budget":{"wt":"$4,000,000 (estimated)"},"gross":{"wt":""}},"i":0}}]}" id="mwAg">1985 American film
Pray for Death | |
---|---|
Directed by | Gordon Hessler |
Written by | James Booth |
Starring | Sho Kosugi James Booth Donna Kei Benz Norman Burton Kane Kosugi Shane Kosugi Matthew Faison Parley Baer Robert Ito Michael Constantine |
Cinematography | Roy H. Wagner |
Edited by | Bill Butler Stephen Butler |
Music by | Thomas Chase |
Production company | |
Distributed by | Trans World Entertainment |
Release date |
|
Running time | 92 minutes |
Country | United States |
Languages | English Japanese |
Budget | $4,000,000 (estimated) |
Pray for Death is a 1985 American martial arts action film directed by Gordon Hessler and starring Sho Kosugi, James Booth, Norman Burton, Michael Constantine, and, the lead's sons Kane and Shane Kosugi.
The plot follows a retired ninja warrior, now married to an American woman, moves to Los Angeles at his wife's request in order to begin a new life for their two sons. Shortly after their arrival, he is mistakenly drawn into a protracted conflict with an L.A. crime boss and his vicious henchmen. He is forced by a series of brutal circumstances to come out of retirement and bring the criminals to justice.
At the insistence of his American-born wife, Aiko, Yokohama salaryman Akira Saito decides to immigrate from Japan to the United States to raise their two sons Takeshi and Tomoya. Unbeknownst to his family, Akira is in fact a highly skilled ninja, who had faithfully protected the secrets of his temple minded by his adoptive father and sensei, Koga. Years before, Akira's brother, Shoji (also raised and trained by Koga) sought to steal from the temple while in disguise, forcing Akira to engage him in battle and kill him. Akira's meditation on this matter is disrupted by an attack from Koga to encourage him to wipe the guilt from his mind before it kills him. Akira announces his intentions to move to America to start a new life, to put the shadows of the ninja behind him. Koga makes him swear never to reveal their secrets, and gives him a ninja helmet as a gift, while reminding him he can never leave his shadows behind.
In Houston, the Saitos meet with Sam Green, the widowed owner of a closed restaurant and apartment that Akira and Aiko have bought. After the sale is completed, the cigar store area of the building is broken into by police Sgt. Trumble, a corrupt cop, along with his partner Sgt. Joe Daly. Both work for local mobster Mr. Newman. Daly removes loose floor boards and puts a large white box underneath, containing the Van Adda necklace. However, he reconsiders and double-crosses the mob, taking the necklace. The next day Newman's enforcer, Limehouse Willie, waits until the building is deserted, only to discover the necklace is gone. Seeing Sam Green's packed luggage in his car, Willie incorrectly surmises that he is skipping town with the jewels. He brutally kills Green, even though he does not find the necklace. His suspicion now falls on the Saito family.
The next day, as Akira and Aiko enjoy their first day of business as "Aiko's Japanese Restaurant", Tomoya and Takeshi go out to the local store and are confronted by local bullies eyeing Takeshi's bicycle. Tomoya, who has a red belt in karate, defends his younger brother and beats up the bullies. During the fight, Willie abducts Tomoya and leaves Takeshi with a broken nose when he tries to stop him. Willie phones Akira demanding that he deliver the necklace (of which he knows nothing) to Pier 25 in exchange for his son's life. Curious, he goes into the cigar store and finds the broken door lock, the loose floor boards, and a grey thread from Daly's suit jacket, which shows Daly is left-handed.
Akira arrives empty-handed at the pier and boards one of the ships and is restrained by Willie and his men. Akira's claims that it was a left-handed man in a grey suit that took the necklace. Willie cuts him across the chest and threatens his son with a blow torch. Akira smashes the light above his head and uses his ninja skills to escape with Tomoya. He listens to Aiko and goes to the police the next day. Meanwhile, although Willie is convinced that the necklace is not with the Saitos, Newman still wants them eliminated because of what they know.
At the precinct, Akira speaks with Lt. Anderson. Both Trumble and Daly are there as he identifies Willie from mug shots. Anderson can do nothing to keep him away from the Saitos without evidence, so Akira agrees to help him obtain it. Daly informs Newman and is assured Willie will clean up his mess, but also says they need to have "a little chat".
At the Saitos' apartment, Takeshi accidentally kicks his soccer ball out the window, and Tomoya goes out to recover it. Aiko chases after him and both are run down by Newman's thugs stationed outside in their car. Akira arrives seconds afterwards and recognizes the thugs from the night before and gives chase in his car, then on foot. The resulting struggle results in both men being killed. Tomoya is on life support at the hospital, while Aiko is bruised but still being kept overnight for observation. Anderson arranges for police protection to guard them.
Akira sneaks on board Willie's yacht during a party and cuts the power and sneaks up behind him. With a knife to Willie's throat, he warns him to stay away from the Saitos or he "will pray for death". Akira has vanished by the time the lights come back on. Ignoring the threat, Willie sneaks into the hospital and murders Aiko, but is stopped by Anderson and his men before he can also kill Tomoya. He is able to escape during the confusion. Akira returns to the hospital to have a moment with his wife's body. He swears he will make Willie and his men pay for destroying their dreams by returning to the ninja shadow world. He takes Tomoya out of hospital care against Anderson's warnings that they cannot guarantee police protection if he does so.
Elsewhere, Daly and Trumble meet at a restaurant. Willie shows up and murders them both for their treachery.
Akira relocates the boys to a warehouse. Behind closed doors, he performs rituals that signify his return to the ways of ninjitsu, and, with a makeshift forge, he creates a new ninja-to sword blade. In full ninja garb, Akira prays to Aiko's spirit before donning the helmet his father gave him. He attacks Newman's mansion, dispatching Newman and all his henchmen in what quickly becomes an all-out massacre. Willie is able to escape, but Akira later confronts him when Willie shows up at the warehouse. They fight a protracted duel to the death until Willie ultimately winds up being pinned through his wrists by Akira to a long buzzsaw platform. He opens his mask and Willie recognizes him before Akira turns on the buzzsaw and begins slowly walking away. Willie then begins to beg him to kill him (openly praying for death) as the spinning blade draws in the mobster and slowly slices the screaming Willie in half.
In the final sequence, Akira and his sons are visiting Aiko's grave. As they are leaving, they are approached by Anderson, who discusses the massacre, mentioning that it is rumoured that the assassin was a ninja and asks if they still exist. Akira denies this with Takeshi confirming it and saying the detective has been watching too many ninja movies. Anderson wishes Akira good luck, but as he leaves he tells him that if he sees the ninja to tell him that the police do not want to see him again. He then tosses him a shuriken left behind at the crime scene (it is implied that he knows Akira is the ninja in question). They bow respectfully and part company as the credits begin.
The film was unfavorably viewed by some film critics. [1] USA Today critic and "drive-in" movie reviewer Joe Bob Briggs both praised Sho Kosugi, stating "Sho Kosugi ... the hottest kick since Chuck Norris and Bruce Lee"! [2] and Briggs praising Kosugi as "the best kung fu man since Bruce Lee" and ranked the film high on his 10-best list for 1986. [3] The last sentence in a review associated with TV Guide reads: "PRAY FOR DEATH isn't merely a good Ninja film, it's a good film, period." [4]
Pray for Death was released on Blu-ray by Arrow Releasing on a special edition, which contains the following:
Ninja Scroll is a 1993 Japanese animated jidaigeki-chanbara film written and directed by Yoshiaki Kawajiri, starring the voices of Kōichi Yamadera, Emi Shinohara, Takeshi Aono, Daisuke Gōri, Toshihiko Seki and Shūichirō Moriyama. The film was a co-production between JVC, Toho and Movic, with Madhouse serving as the animation studio. Ninja Scroll was theatrically released in Japan on June 5, 1993, and received an English-dubbed release through Manga Entertainment in 1995.
Yōtōden is a 3-episode Japanese original video animation produced by J.C.Staff, the studio's first production. In 1989, Yōtōden was re-edited into a feature film version titled Wrath of the Ninja for English-speaking regions, but is currently out of print. A manga adaptation was serialized in Newtype.
The Foot Clan is a fictional ninja clan in the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles comics and all related media and are the main antagonists. It is led by the devious Shredder and his second in command Karai. The Foot Clan was originally a parody of the criminal ninja clan The Hand in the Daredevil comics published by Marvel Comics. In addition to the obvious similarity in their names, both clans originate from Feudal Japan, practice ninjutsu and black magic, and are now powerful global organized crime rings who are familiar with multiple illegal activities such as drug smuggling, counterfeiting of money, gunrunning, murder, assassination, computer hacking, theft, and terrorism.
Denkou Choujin Gridman, known as Gridman the Hyper Agent in some English-speaking territories, is a 1993–1994 Japanese tokusatsu "Giant Hero" series created by Tsuburaya Productions and would be Tsuburaya's last non-Ultra superhero production before Bio Planet WoO. It was the inspiration and source material for DiC Entertainment's Superhuman Samurai Syber-Squad.
Sho Kosugi is a Japanese actor, martial artist and writer with extensive training in Shindō jinen-ryū Karate, Kendo, Judo, Iaido, Kobudo, Aikido and Ninjutsu. A former All Japan Karate Champion, he gained popularity as an actor during the 1980s, often playing ninjas. He starred in a trilogy of martial arts ninja films produced by Cannon Films, before starring in the primetime television series The Master. His work helped establish ninjas in popular culture, leading to a "ninja boom" or "ninjamania" during the early-to-mid-1980s.
Shinobi: Heart Under Blade is a 2005 Japanese romantic drama film directed by Ten Shimoyama and written by Kenya Hirata. It is an adaptation of Futaro Yamada's novel The Kouga Ninja Scrolls, although the characters are highly altered. It depicts the clash between two ninja clans, Iga and Kouga, and the fated love between Gennosuke (Kouga) and Oboro (Iga). The film's theme song was "Heaven" by Ayumi Hamasaki.
Revenge of the Ninja is a 1983 American martial arts–thriller film directed by Sam Firstenberg, and starring martial artist Sho Kosugi, Keith Vitali, Virgil Frye and Kane Kosugi. The plot follows a ninja trying to protect his only son from a cabal of ruthless gangsters.
Ninja III: The Domination is a 1984 American martial arts action horror film directed by Sam Firstenberg, and starring Sho Kosugi, Lucinda Dickey, Jordan Bennett, and James Hong. It is the third film in Cannon Films' Ninja Trilogy anthology series, the first being Enter the Ninja, and the second being Revenge of the Ninja. Like the previous films in the series, it has also garnered a cult following.
Enter the Ninja is a 1981 American martial arts film directed by Menahem Golan and starring Franco Nero, Susan George, Sho Kosugi and Christopher George. The film is about a martial artist named Cole (Nero) who is visiting his friend Frank in the Philippines. On arrival, Cole learns that his friend is being harassed by the wealthy businessman Charles Venarius who wants Frank's land for the oil underneath. Frank and his wife are continuously thwarted by Cole who defends them with his martial arts skills. Learning of Cole's presence, Venarius hires his own ninja (Kosugi).
Kane Takeshi Kosugi is an American actor and martial artist of Japanese and Chinese descent.
Battles Without Honor and Humanity: Police Tactics is a 1974 Japanese yakuza film directed by Kinji Fukasaku. It is the fourth film in a five-part series that Fukasaku made in a span of just two years.
Ultraman Gaia: The Battle in Hyperspace is a 1999 Japanese superhero kaiju tokusatsu film produced by Tsuburaya Productions. It is a sequel to the previous year's Ultraman Tiga & Ultraman Dyna: Warriors of the Star of Light and became second in a successful Ultra Series. This film is the only theatrical spinoff of the Ultraman Gaia TV series.
Ninja Assassin is a 2009 martial arts film directed by James McTeigue from a story and script by Matthew Sand and J. Michael Straczynski. The film stars Rain as a disillusioned assassin looking for retribution against his former mentor, played by Sho Kosugi. Ninja Assassin explores political corruption, child endangerment and the impact of violence. The film was produced by The Wachowskis, Joel Silver and Grant Hill under Legendary Pictures, Dark Castle Entertainment and Silver Pictures. It was distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures.
Ninja Kids!!! is a 2011 Japanese family-oriented comedy film directed by Takashi Miike. The film is live-action adaptation of the Japanese anime series Nintama Rantarō. The film stars Seishiro Kato as Rantaro who is sent to a ninja training school by his parents. During the summer, they are challenged by a group of rival ninjas which culminates in a race to ring a bell on top of a mountain.
Keroro Gunso the Super Movie 5: Creation! Ultimate Keroro, Wonder Space-Time Island is a 2010 anime film. It is the fifth film based on the popular comedy manga and anime series Keroro Gunso.
Ninja is a 2009 American martial arts film directed by Isaac Florentine and starring Scott Adkins, Tsuyoshi Ihara and Mika Hijii. The film's plot revolves around an American martial artist named Casey Bowman, who is asked by his sensei to travel to New York City and protect the Yoroi Bitsu, an armored chest that contains the weapons of the last Kōga ninja.
Ninja: Shadow of a Tear is an American action thriller film directed by Isaac Florentine and starring Scott Adkins, Kane Kosugi, Mika Hijii and Shun Sugata. It is the sequel to Florentine's 2009 film Ninja. The film was shot in Bangkok, Thailand, and it had a special pre-release screening at the 2013 Fantastic Fest in Austin, Texas. It was officially released for download through iTunes on December 17, 2013 and for Blu-ray Disc and DVD on December 31.
Nin x Nin: Ninja Hattori-kun, the Movie is a 2004 Japanese action adventure film based on the manga series Ninja Hattori-kun by Fujiko Fujio.The film is directed by Masayuki Suzuki and stars Shingo Katori as Kanzo Hattori. The official English title of the movie is Nin x Nin: The Ninja Star Hattori.
Trans World Entertainment was an American independent production and distribution company which produced low-to-medium budget films mostly targeted for home-video market. In the early 1990s, the company became embroiled in the Credit Lyonnais banking scandal in Hollywood and was foreclosed on by the bank and subsequently folded into Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) for sale.
Shinobi no Ittoki is an original Japanese anime television series produced by DMM Pictures and TMS Entertainment and animated by Troyca. It aired from October to December 2022.