#80s ninja movies

[turtleblogatlast]

I unironically love how blatantly late 80’s early 90’s all the brothers’ styles are in “The Clothes Don’t Make the Turtle” because like…of course those are their styles! The majority of the media they grew up adoring is heavily influenced by that time period, so it makes perfect sense that they all took inspiration from it. It’s honestly super cute to see, they’re such kids I swear.

[theactioneer]

Pray for Death (Gordon Hessler, 1985)

[tmntxthings]

Yk that dude who almost always gets run over whilst crossing the street in Rottmnt? Yeah.

You swallowed. Thinking to yourself as you looked across the street, that this would be the day. Today, you were going to make it.

The sign changed to green, the picture of a figure moving. Your left hand tightened its grip on the grocery bag you held. You wouldn’t continue to live in fear. That was a horrible way to live.

Without leaving your house. Choosing to never go outside again. Or more accurately, to never be a pedestrian again. Well…

You had tried to bike it before, but that had ended just as similar as the rest. Getting rushed from what seemed to be all around by a cacophony of noise. Sometimes you were freezing in place or being tossed around.

Each time had put the fear of death in you. Squeezing your eyes shut, holding your breath, only to count to three and New York’s street bustle was back to normal again. The sign changed to red, a raised hand took the place of the figure.

No villains being chased by mutants. Not almost getting sideswiped by huge vans. Each “miracle” as everyone would call it, was you being impossibly left unscathed.

Damn miracles. It was a curse. To constantly be on the verge of a heart attack! Seriously, no matter which street you crossed as long as it was in New York, you were doomed to the inevitable.

A free ticket to see your life flash before your eyes! Shaking your head you knew exactly what this was. You were stalling. Maybe you’d just haul a cab. Tell him to spin the block so it would just put you on the other side of the street. Where your destination resides.

Your apartment a shining beacon of safety, was within reach. Just one crosswalk. And you would be home safe. You looked down the street.

One way, then the other. Traffic. Cars. Streetlights. People. But this was how it always started off as. No sign of them.

Yet.

You sighed. This was all in your head. Just a bizarre reoccurrence of events. It couldn’t seriously happen every time you got on a crosswalk.

That would be insanity. That would be something out of a movie! Not real life. So as you siked yourself up, for a sixth time, your eyes made contact with your goal.

The three steps that led up to the door justttt across the street. This was it. You were doing this. You were gonna walk this damn crosswalk. And make it to the other side.

The people around you started walking. You joined them. The light still green, the figure in motion. A timer of thirteen seconds counted down.

Your eyes never left your destination. So you were ignorantly unaware of how the people around you, just dispersed. Moving off faster or slower. Creating distance, enough space, for you to have a bubble.

The hairs on the back of your neck rose. And as fast as lightning something went speeding by inches in front of you. Surprise, really should be the last emotion at this point.

Disappointment. Or acceptance was one more accurate as you jolted backwards. Arms raising and as if in slow motion someone was grabbing ahold of your waist securely.

There was a flash of blue as you met the gaze of who was holding onto you. One of the mutants you had come to expect. Green and a brightly colored mask. There was no look of shock on your face. Just one of exasperation.

He had the nerve to wink in this slowed down state of the world. Whisking you out of harms way in seconds, placing you back down, further along on the white stripes and was gone.

Off saving the day you presumed since you had done a little research on the vigilantes of NYC. They were the city’s heroes whether they admitted it publicly or not. Your heart betrayed you, beating faster than a hummingbird’s as you stumbled to the finish line.

Despite your lack of facial reaction your body was alive, hairs standing, trembling limbs and the breath practically sucked out of you.

“Are you okay?!” People were crowding around you now. A sense of déjà vu clouding your mind as the same questions were asked. The same exclamations pointed out.

“That must’ve been quite a shock!” And the like were a bit muffled to your ears. You couldn’t help but stare after where the chase had departed. Taking with them the few seconds of mayhem you had to endure.

Your mini heart attack.

That settles it. You thought to yourself in defeat. Marching away from the crowd, up the steps, pulling out a key to unlock the door.

You were in a movie. Some cliche action film most likely. And your role, your purpose in this world, was to almost die.

Just you know, in passing.

[fabuloustrash05]

Okay I really enjoyed Tottmnt, I hope for another season, but did anyone else feel off anytime they mentioned/referenced real life things from celebrities, shows, movies, memes, etc.

Like it felt out of place and would always catch me off guard when things like Donnie mentioning going on Wikipedia or using Google, celebrities like Drake, Beyonce, and Jay-Z getting mentioned, or talking about movies and shows like Star Wars, Star Trek, and Friends, would happen.

[thefugitivesaint]

Sho Kosugi, ''Shadowland Magazine'', Vol. 1, #5, 2012 Source

If you weren't a child of the 80s, you probably don't remember how ninja crazy the 80s were. There were dozens of (mostly cheaply produced) ninja films and Sho Kosugi was involved in many of them (he starred in, I believe, 20 films and a few TV shows, primarily 'The Master'). He's skilled in multiple different forms of martial arts and became a source of inspiration for people interested in ninjitsu, aikido, and karate. As a young lad, I loved his Cannon ninja films, 'Enter the Ninja', 'Revenge of the Ninja' and 'Ninja III: The Domination'. Kosugi is probably why I took karate lessons and read Black Belt magazine and thought the ninja aesthetic was cool (I was 8 when 'Enter the Ninja' came out in 1981 so what the hell did I know?) I was inspired, having come across this piece on Kosugi, to revisit some of those ninja films from the 80s. Do they hold up? They do not. Did I have fun watching any of them? Some. It also depends on what you mean by "fun?" In hindsight, many of the films that were part of the "ninjamania" of the 80s were textbook examples of Orientalism. Most offered superficial understandings of "eastern" ideas and of the martial arts involved even when helmed by skilled martial artists. The acting was usually laughable. The plots were thin at best. It was all about the action scenes but, unfortunately, most of the films could barely deliver. At least Kosugi's films were relatively decent on the action front (for the time). I came across a piece discussing the making of the film 'Ninja III: The Domination' that you might want to watch if you've ever felt the inclination to see that film (or rewatch it). (I actually never caught how much 'Ninja III' lifted from 'Flashdance' for instance.) Not much else to add to this barely thought out entry.

[bulbabutt]

and remember kids! no real teenage mutant hero turtle would use a violent weapon like nunchaku!

...or things shaped like nunchaku! nice try, thats also gotten you banned in the UK, michelangelo!

[andrecomics]

TMNT Michelangelo brushmarker doodle

[super-un-stable]

Something the turtles forever movie was definitely missing was unnecessary angst and drama

[arcadebroke]

[i-am-trans-gwender]

It's weird being nostalgic for stuff not from my generation.

I think of Back To The Future, Toy Story, Willy Wonka as movies from when I was a kid but all of them came out in 3 decades I wasn't there for.

I watched a lot of Gummi Bears, Fraggle Rock and Animaniacs as a kid. I was later shocked to find out all 3 ended before my parents even got married.

On a related note it was also weird to find out so many things I liked as a kid were based on older stuff. I thought Nickeloden made TMNT themselves. I knew Marvel characters from The Superhero Squad Show and I assumed that The Avengers 2012 was based on it.

[nellarw95]

Happy Birthday David 🥳🎂🎈🎁🎉

April 18,1971

Buon Compleanno 🥳🎂🎈🎁🎉

18 Aprile 1971

[vintagegeekculture]

Cannon Studios advertising and promotional materials shown at film festivals to get investors. 

[theactioneer]

Revenge of the Ninja (Sam Firstenberg, 1983)

[l-ultimo-squalo]

Miami Connection (1987) Dir. Y.K. Kim, Richard Park Wu-sang

[videoreligion]

Ninja Terminator (1986)

[videoandpizza]

The Wizard (1989)