Now, this right here is the KA-RAZY chopsaki kung-fu that I miss about the martial art flicks from the 1980s!
Written, directed and starring Taiwanese martial arts legend John Liu (The Secret Rivals, Invincible Armor), New York Ninja is truly a one-of-a-kind martial arts film as a mild-mannered sound technician for a New York City news station finds himself avenging the death of his pregnant girlfriend in the gritty streets of New York City as a white-clad SUPER ninja against a notorious gang of criminals and street punks!
Ridiculous in nature and completely off the rails, New York Ninja is a MUST-SEE for anyone who loves the insanity of karate-chops courtesy of low budget cult films. It absolutely ROCKS as John (Liu), after suffering through his girlfriend’s murder, watches yet another brutal attack and reaches out to the police for aid. Their methods aren’t effective so John takes matters into his own hands and becomes the one and only NEW YORK NINJA!
Dressing as a white ninja, John takes to the streets as a sword wielding vigilante hell bent on cleaning up the streets of the city he once loved by ridding it of muggers, pickpockets, rapists, and gang members. However, in John’s quest for justice, he soon finds himself the target of every criminal in the city, including a mysterious villain known only as the Plutonium Killer. Will John survive to become the hero that New York City so desperately needs? Find out in the madness that is NEW YORK NINJA!
Originally filmed in 1984 and abandoned shortly after it wrapped as Liu retired on the eve of the film’s release (which would have been his North American debut), New York Ninja has been just sitting - FORGOTTEN - on the shelf somewhere in a dusty and decrepit warehouse of some sort. Maybe it was in a closet. Who knows?! Only the archival wizards over at Vinegar Syndrome know for sure as they - being the fabulous folk that they are - somehow managed to acquire the original unedited camera negative and painstakingly constructed and completed the film, getting it primed for its 4K debut on blu-ray this November!
Since the film was abandoned, none of the original sound materials, scripts, and treatments survived, Vinegar Syndrome - and director Kurtis M. Spieler - enlisted the voice talents of genre favorites Don “The Dragon” Wilson (Bloodfist, Whatever it Takes), Linnea Quigley (Return of the Living Dead, Nightmare Sisters), Michael Berryman (The Hills Have Eyes, Auntie Lee’s Meat Pies), Vince Murdocco (Night Hunter, LA Wars), Matt Mitler (The Mutilator, Battle for the Lost Planet), Leon Isaac Kennedy (Lone Wolf McQuade, Penitentiary), Ginger Lynn Allen (The Devil’s Rejects, Vice Academy), and Cynthia Rothrock (China O’Brien, Martial Law), in order to finish the film and present it to audiences after spending nearly four decades in film obscurity! The results are well worth your time and your investment as New York Ninja is one of the best BADASS SINEMA UNEARTHED offerings out there!
Restored in 4K from the original camera elements, Vinegar Syndrome is extremely proud to present this truly one-of-a-kind film experience when it lands in select theaters next year. Before that, though, the over-the-top glory that is New York Ninja can finally be yours for the first time ever on blu-ray this November 1st!
MPAA Rating: Unrated.
Runtime: 93 mins
Director: John Liu; Kurtis Spieler
Writer:
Cast: Michael Berryman (voice); Darius Churchman (voice); Wayne Grayson
Genre: Action
Tagline:
Memorable Movie Quote:
Distributor: Vinegar Syndrome
Official Site:
Release Date: November 2, 2021
DVD/Blu-ray Release Date:
Synopsis: John is just an average man working as a sound technician for a New York City news station, until one day his pregnant wife is brutally murdered while witnessing the kidnapping of a young woman in broad daylight. Turning to the police for help, John soon learns that the city is overrun with crime and the police are too busy to help. Dressing as a white ninja, John takes to the streets as a sword wielding vigilante hell bent on cleaning up the streets of the city he once loved by ridding it of muggers, pickpockets, rapists, and gang members. However, in John’s quest for justice, he soon finds himself the target of every criminal in the city, including a mysterious villain known only as the Plutonium Killer. Will John survive to become the hero that New York City so desperately needs?
