American Ninja 1-4 Collector's Edition [Blu-ray]

For those of you that love old school 80's martial arts / action movies then I highly recommend you get this collector's set. So ok these films are not going to win awards anytime soon but they are a lot of fun & 30 years later American Ninja still has a huge following . American Ninja has somewhat become a bit of a cult classic in it's field. At one point it was a vehicle for Cannon group favourite Chuck Norris, for some reason or other he passed on the project and up steps Michael Dudikoff who had no martial arts background & yet was cast in the titular role for as Pvt Joe Armstrong (The American Ninja). The plot with all these films is the usual affair, martial arts, explosions, real stunts unlike the CGI world of today & throw in a love story in the mix & you get the point. What I like about this set is that 88 films has delivered not one but all 4 American Ninja's, (American Ninja 5 is not really considered to be a sequel amongst the fans) it's at a great price too. Unfortunately this has only been distributed to the UK region coding B but hopefully Shout Factory! will release these films to the fans across the pond. For those of you luckily enough to own a multi region player then I would say get this set. All previous cuts waived for the DVD release are here so no worries about not seeing all of the Ninjitsu weapons in all their glory. As for the transfer it's not 100% compared to newer titles but looking at the trailer it is a vast improvement & for a B-Movie its pretty good. The soundtrack is in mono but this was how the movie was recorded back in 85. However American Ninja 1 & 2 has a commentary track from Director Sam Firstenberg along with the American Ninja himself Michael Dudikoff. American Ninja also has a nice featurette dedicated to the late Steve James (Jackson) with interviews from cast & crew which has some interesting insight into the film. You also have the usual trailers for the franchise& some from 88 films. The reason I gave this 4 stars as I would of loved to seen some deleted scenes & have the isolated score. But that's just me. So if you want to own a piece of Ninja Magic then put this in your basket now.

88 Films never fail with their releases and this is another great example, we get all 4 American ninja movies in one awesome bundle, if your a massive fan of cult classic martial arts movies then these are a must of course, there is always plenty of great action and many big scale fight scenes with lots of ninja's and sword fights etc, all on a great budget, from mercenaries in the Philippines to The Lion, a super-criminal who has kidnapped a local scientist and mass-produced an army of mutant Ninja warriors to many other terrorists with ninja armies at their disposal, the stories are crazy sometimes but what the heck, they are all great fun movies, the cast is always good, Michael Dudikoff is a great lead as the American ninja in parts 1,2 and 4, Steve James was a great actor too who is no longer with us, he starred in the first 3 movies as the best friend sidekick, Dudikoff sat out of the third movie and David Bradley was another American ninja who goes on his own little ninja butt kicking adventure but both stars Dudikoff and Bradley both got together in part 4, these are a great set of movies and are worth adding to your collection especially as you get all 4 at a great price!88 films Blu-ray 4-disc set is great, the picture quality is very nice in HD certainly looks a lot better than VHS and DVDFeatures include a new feature length making of the movies with interviews from the stars etc which gives great insight into the whole saga, 90-minsa commentary on the first 2 movies and trailers.Blu-ray's are all Region B only, all approx. 90-mins, 1985, 1987, 1989, 1990.No reversible sleeve on this set but all 4 discs fit nicely into one quality case.

Classic 10/10

Cheesier than a cheese sandwich, and more corn than a corn field. Knockabout ninja movie boom mania, which does exactly as it's title describes. Silly fun actioner which doesn't bother with complications like a script, or plot, and gets on with chop socky chop chop. Every cliche covered in ninjary goodness. The wooden leading man is utterly terrible as an actor, but who cares if you are looking for Oscar winners then you are sadly deluded. At least everyone can genuinely fight. Also has the coolest black guy stereotype fighter since Jim Kelly. Four ninja stars out of five.

This is an awesome Blu-Ray set released by 88 Films. All four movies are in 1.85:1 widescreen format with a good transfer to Blu-Ray format. The first movie is still in mono sound but the extra special features makes this release a must have for American Ninja fans. Parts 2-4 are in stereo sound. On disc one there is over 80 minutes of interviews with the cast and crew who are still with us in year 2015. The interviews explain the insight of making American Ninja 1 and 2 in which I both loved watching when growing up in the 80's and still do today. I cannot believe this set has not been released in the US. Thanks Amazon UK for selling this product at a great price!

Brilliant acting, great cinematography, a compelling story. If these are what you are after then please don't bother with this.But please don't think I don't like it. I loved it- this is the cinemantic equivalent of a donner kebab- dirty, bad for you and scarily, just what you want after a couple (or perhaps more) pints with the lads. There's no point talking about ther plot- there isn't one. It's like Delta Force with ninjas and more dodgy 80's outfits. For 99% of the population this film will never even register on the radar but for the "chosen" 1%, it should already be in your basket. Go on, you know you want to...

A very nice collection at a nice price point. If your expectations are appropriately curbed in terms of picture quality - these were made in the 80s, when cheap film stock was king - you'll most definitely be pleased. The first film looks great on blu, with the others taking up the rear but still getting the job done. The added documentary is a nice addition with insightful interviews with the Michael 'The Dude' Dudikoff and Sam Firstenberg. A strong recommendation for those fans of schlock cinema at its finest.