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Ninja III: The Domination Collector's Edition - Blu-ray Review

5 beers

In which a schlocky cult classic - complete with beauty, brawn, and brains - is REBORN! Time to dance your fear away, fight in a dusty graveyard, and sharpen those badass blades of fury. Just know this about that long missing deleted scene: it isn’t included and is likely gone forever. We lost a great action scene at the beginning of the movie (giving us a reason for the whole adventure), but – trust me – what we do get from Scream Factory, which fixes the audio issues from the original blu-ray release is MONEY.

Make no mistake, Ninja III: The Domination is the absolute BEST movie cultural archivists have to SHOW just how incredible awesome the decade was at providing entertainment. This film rips everything from Poltergeist to The Exorcist, Flashdance, and beyond and, thanks to Cannon Films, shoves it all inside a kickass action flick with ninjas at its core.

How can anyone pass this nonsense up?! Answer: You can’t.

"Ninja III: The Domination is the absolute BEST movie cultural archivists have to SHOW just how incredible awesome the decade was at providing entertainment."


No one is going to stop me from waxing poetic about Ninja III: The Domination ever again. I’m not having it. This flick might be batshit insane but, quite honestly, it’s the type of crazy that makes my nipples hard. All you have to do is press play on this monster and watch as a ninja huffs a blow dart into a security guard’s .45. And that’s only the beginning of an absolutely insane action-packed opening in and around a municipal golf course.

Obviously, this dude hates golf. He then crushes a golf ball with bare hands and proceeds to take down an entire onslaught of bodyguards before stopping a golf cart with his bare hands and killing everyone who happens upon the green. Talk about a hole in one.

And then the police are summoned and the true hysteria begins. A 451 at the golf course? Oh, sign my ass up! The ninja can’t be stopped. At least not yet. He’s obviously possessed by something supernatural, but watching him take down a helicopter, a bunch of cars, motorcycles, and a whole hell of a lot of dumbass people for about 13-minutes is all sorts of AWESOME.

Cue the cheesy rock song! Where’s our Flashdance chick?! Oh, there she is! On a pole in the hot sun; her uniform reads Christie and, with hard hat on, is not one to mess around…much. Unless it is with a strange, glowing sword.

Ninja III: The Domination, starring Lucinda Dickey as Christie, the telephone linewoman who stumbles upon this mad ninja after he’s sliced and diced his way through the opening carnage, gets something unwanted. It’s not an STD, ya perverts. You see, the ninja – with a simple sword exchange – successfully passes his spiritual torch onto her; from one ninja to a modern woman who, charmingly enough, has no use for soft drinks. She now has no time for nonsense.

No, thanks to the memories passed from one dying ninja to her, all she wants is justice for his clan. She can’t play Bounce, the arcade game in her apartment, any longer; she must be remade (or is it uploaded?) with a sword.

Directed by Sam Firstenberg (American NinjaBreakin’ 2: Electric Boogaloo), Ninja III: The Domination has everything you could possibly want in a genre movie and then some.. And this is the third in the series? Come on! We get arcades, a hot ass-kicking lead, supernatural mumbo jumbo, athletic shorts, Members Only jackets, and hair, hair, hair! This bomb-ass B-movie has it all.

From making thighs burn in an aerobics class to the fabulous Patrick Nagel pop art in the background, Ninja III: The Domination is all about delivering fashionable high kicks and low blows. Christie has a new power and she doesn’t need any help in defending herself…especially from the cops. She kicks all sorts of ass one afternoon defending a woman being roughed up by a bunch of sweaty men and then, in some of the strangest foreplay to ever be put on film, dumps a fresh can of V8 Vegetable Juice on her boobs.

Ninja III: The Domination Collector's Edition - Blu-ray Review

Suddenly, swords are glowing and floating toward her and the wind blows wickedly; all from INSIDE her apartment. Something is amiss. Don’t worry, though, it will soon pass and, as long as you haven’t wronged her or the spirit possessing her, then you will be okay.   But Christie suddenly develops the need to kill a whole hell of a lot of cops by any means necessary. She’ll even take down women in a hot tub with a poisoned mood ring! Holy shit!

She’s fierce. She’s cool. She’s also being tailed by someone more dangerous than she is, a mystery man with a large eye patch, and he knows that only a ninja can destroy another ninja. This is a movie where belt buckles hide ninja stars and guns, while always drawn, are never fired. Over the top and completely off its rocker, Ninja III: The Dominion is back to shine again thanks to a totally RAD Collector’s Edition from those fine freaks over at Scream Factory.

Relive the glory days of VHS with this brand new 4k scan from the original film elements. Ninja III: The Domination STILL does not disappoint.

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Ninja III: The Domination Collector's Edition - Blu-ray Review

MPAA Rating: R.
Runtime:
92 mins
Director
: Sam Firstenberg
Writer:
James R. Silke
Cast:
Shô Kosugi, Lucinda Dickey, Jordan Bennett
Genre
: Action | Adventure | Fantasy
Tagline:
He's the ultimate killer, she's the perfect weapon.
Memorable Movie Quote: "You fool! You can not stop me! I am the ninja! No one, nothing can stop me!"
Theatrical Distributor:
The Cannon Group
Official Site:
Release Date:
September 14, 1984
DVD/Blu-ray Release Date:
June 12, 2018
Synopsis: Aerobic instructor Christie Ryder (Lucinda Dickey, Breakin', Breakin' 2: Electric Boogaloo) becomes possessed by the spirit of an evil ninja when she comes to his aid after he was shot down. Dominated by the killer's vicious and relentless rage, she sets out to brutally attack his enemies. Her boyfriend, confused by Christie's changing personality and afraid that he might be her next victim, enlists the help of Yamada (Shô Kosugi, Enter the Ninja, Revenge of the Ninja). In a life-threatening exorcism and ultimate fight to the death, Yamada proves that he is Christie's only chance for survival.

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[tab title="Blu-ray Review"]

Ninja III: The Domination Collector's Edition - Blu-ray Review

Blu-ray

Blu-ray Details:

Home Video Distributor: Shout Factory
Available on Blu-ray
- June 12, 2018
Screen Formats: 1.85:1
Subtitles
: English
Langauge:
English
Discs: Blu-ray Disc; single disc
Region Encoding: Locked to Region A

Scream Factory brings Ninja III: The Domination back to life with a seriously awesome 4K scan of the original film. Loaded with juicy details, this is an atmospheric release that doesn’t shy away from the sunlight. It has dark layers, yes, and those shadows are well-defined and crisp but the new transfer does not disappoint. Scream Factory’s brand new 1.85:1 HD master is detailed and looks better than ever. Some shots, due to the era of the day, are fuzzier than others but the image is reasonably well defined with crisp contrasts and solid textures. Colors are solid, with reds being a standout. Blacks are, too. Surprisingly, there's enough fine detail on display to make this seem revelatory. The era-ready color palette looks terrific, too. The disc comes with a DTS-HD Master Audio Stereo soundtrack.

Supplements:

Commentary:

  • Fans get the old audio commentary form Director Sam Firstenberg and Stunt Coordinator Steve Lambert that was included in the original blu-ray release.

Special Features:

Loaded with NEW interviews from its cast and crew, the supplemental items on this release – if the film weren’t enough to convince you to pick it up – completely sell the idea of buying this movie again.  We get 18-minutes with Lucinda Dickey, 11 minutes with Jordan Bennett (who reveals the vegetable can dumping was his idea), 12 minutes with the stuntman, and a Trailers from Hell sequence.

  • Dancing with Death with Lucinda Dickey (18 min)
  • Secord’s Struggle with Jordan Bennett (11 min)
  • Birth of the Ninja with Alan Amiel (12 min)
  • Theatrical Trailer
  • Trailers From Hell With Screenwriter Josh Olson
  • Still Photo Gallery
  • Behind the Scenes Gallery

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Ninja III: The Domination Collector's Edition - Blu-ray Review

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