Would you like to own your own Golden Ninja Warrior Statuette?

IFD offered us many sagas during the years Joseph Lai & his partners produced countless movies. The most remembered ones are the Thunderbolt saga & the Golden ninja warrior saga. While the first one has gained some respect because Godfrey Ho put more attention in the final product, the second one is the most known, beloved & hated by moviegoers. I remember my first IFD movie was Diamond Ninja Force of which title credits showed the Golden Ninja Warrior statuette as if it was another character in the movie, and it was indeed!.

The Golden ninja Warrior warrior statuette was presented to us for first time in Ninja Terminator where we were told about its powers. This same premise was also the line to follow in Diamond ninja force. I have to say I "fell in love" with such statuette from the first moment I saw it in Diamond ninja force & then in Ninja Terminator, Golden ninja warrior & The ultimate ninja.

Yes, the Golden ninja warrior statuette was a nice prop to collectors...well, a nice prop to be collected by movie freaks like me. Something like that must be thought by the people at http://www.standingstonestudios.com/ . I must admit I got shocked when I have found this site & the work they develope. But the real surprise has come from
http://www.flickr.com/photos/stuartyork/ where you can find the pics below & many more.

I am very sure Joseph Lai & people behind Golden ninja warrior movies never imagine their statuette would become into a cult prop 25 years after its presentation.

LONG LIFE TO THE GOLDEN NINJA WARRIOR EMPIRE

The Golden Ninja Warrior has been uncovered!

During the last summer, Teddy Wong, an editor from HKMD & I started a kind of mutual colaboration to add the IFD movies to HKMD database and the same time we work to uncover more taiwanese, filipino, korean & hong kong movies that were used as source movies by IFD directors. We did a good job & many titles from those countries has been identifed, but the KING of those titles is indeed the original taiwanese cut of GOLDEN NINJA WARRIOR.

Opening title of one of the most popular IFD ninja movies

Spanish video design for Golden Ninja Warrior. It is very curious it is signed by IFD's art director Eagle Leung so it is very possible this is the original artwork.

During many years, it has been believed Golden Ninja Warrior was directed by Joseph Lai in Tiawan. It was also believed this film was the only non-cut& paste ninja movie from IFD. Both info was wrong because Golden Ninja Warrior is just another Taiwan black movie bought by Joseph Lai who pasted the ending battle of Ninja Terminator in the opening & offered it as another Golden Ninja movie. You may remember the Golden ninja warrior stattuette is never seen in the original source movie, they just mention it but we only see the Golden Ninja Warrior at the begining taken from Ninja Terminator.

Taiwanese VHS tape that contains the original cut of Golden Ninja Warrior

Teddy Wong was able to find the original movie video cover & together we identifed some of the original cast. You may see the entry at HKMD. I just hope someone owns a copy of this title on its original cut. Any information about it & how to get this movie on its original cut would be highly appreciated.

Localizaciones de la IFD en Taiwan

No puedo estar mas de 4 dias seguidos sin dejar de pensar en la IFD de Joseph Lai o en la Filmark de Tomas Tang. Esta aficion mia a los productos de estos caballeros es ya algo mas que una obsesion, se han pegado a mi como parasitos chupavidas y no puedo desprenderme de ellos. Cada vez que vuelvo a ver alguna de sus pelis me sale el instinto detectivesco y alla me lanzo en busca y captura de algun tipo de información que arroje algo mas de luz a las películas mas denostadas pero al mismo tiempo distribuidas a lo largo del ancho mundo y que el tiempo y su extrema bizarrez les estan otorgando un estatus de culto en muchísimos lugares y cada vez son mas los que salen del armario y confiesan abiertamente que les gustan ( o al menos les diverte) las películas de la IFD y la FILMARK.

Que nadie se lleve a engaño. La IFD nunca rodo nada en Taiwan, el malandrin de Joseph Lai uso peliculas Taiwanesas para sus productos de terror, ninjas, kung fu..etc etc y les intercalo imagenes y secuencias rodadas en HK. Quien no conozca geograficamente ambos lugares, no notara la diferencia, pero cualquiera con un minimo interes turistico-cultural-cinfago ( e incluso erotico, no nos engañemos), se daria cuenta de que una persecucion en coche que empieza en Japon y termina en TST, Hong Kong, no es muy creible por mucho que los dialogos nos indiquen lo contrario como pasa en Ninja Thunderbolt por poner un ejemplo.

ninja thunderbolt se rodo entre Taiwan,Japon y HK, pero el doblaje nos quiere hacer creer que toda la accion se desarrolla en HK

El turno le toca ahora a GOLDEN NINJA WARRIOR y a DIAMOND NINJA FORCE, ambas pelis supuestamente “dirigidas” por Joseph Lai la primera y por Godfrey Ho la segunda. No quiero reseñar las pelis, ya que existen miles de reseñas, sobre todo de Golden ninja warrior, en casi todos los idiomas usados en internet, pero si quisiera añadir algunos datos y curiosidades sobre estos dos titulos miticos que junto a Ninja Terminator y Ultimate ninja tienen en comun el uso y riñas entre los diferentes imperios ninjas por la dichosa estatuilla del guerrero ninja dorado.

La IFD le dedico 4 magnificas peliculas 4 a esta estatuilla

Entre la mayoria del fandom de las pelis de Joseph Lai, aun existe el falso rumor de que Ninja thunderbolt es la primera y unica peli de Joseph Lai que no tenia insertos postizos o dicho de otra manera que no pertenecia al grupo del “corta y pega” que luego hicieron famosos tanto Lai como Tang. El VCD de Ocean Shores de THE NINJA & THE THIEF demostro que era falso. Todas las pelis de ninjas de la IFD usaron el metodo del corta y pega. La unica que incluyo menos metraje nuevo es GOLDEN NINJA WARRIOR que se limita a incluir un resumen de la pelea final de Ninja Terminator como prologo ya que el metraje restante es una película 100% Taiwanesa sin ningun aderezo.

Esta misma localizacion se puede ver de pasada en DIAMOND NINJA FORCE donde los protas asiaticos corren por la playa y en un momento dado se ponen a chingar que da gusto.
Y ademas existe una película titulada WHITE PHANTOM ( editada en España como El fantasma blanco) rodada en Taiwan que tambien uso el mismo lugar para sus enfrentamientos ninja.
Asi que una vez localizado el lugar en la isla de Taiwán, me puse mi gorra de pensar ( como dice el samura) y con el google y el google earth a punto, me dispuse a la caza y captura del dichoso emplazamiento. Y.....bingoooooo, de nuevo. Otra vez di en el clavo!!!!
Las localizaciones de rodaje de GOLDEN NINJA WARRIOR, DIAMOND NINJA FORCE estan situadas en Sanjhih una ciudad al norte de Taipei. Comprueben ustedes mismos las fotos y cuando la impresión les deje respirar tranquilos, enivenme unos jamones, vinillos y muchos litros cubicos de Cerveza Franziskaner para que me pueda reponer de tantas horas de búsqueda y ataduras de cabos.

Tachan, Tachan, ¿Donde esta le golden ninja warrior?

Estos interiores se usaron tambien en White Phantom

Que Bonito es la memoria fotografica ¿verdad?

Según he leido por algunos sitios de internet, este lugar fue una especie de resort turístico, pero que los fuertes vientos que soplan por la zona, hizo que el proyecto se viniese abajo y finalmente fue abandonado. ¿Cuándo se construyo? ¿Cuánto duro el negocio? ¿Cuál fue la verdadera causa del abandono?. Lo que si hay que decir que el sitio da un yuyu impresionante, ya que la atmosfera fantasmagórica y esas formas geométricas del lugar, no es algo que veamos todos los dias a menos que hagais como yo y esteis engachados a las pelis de Tomas Tang y Joseph Lai de forma tan enfermiza como yo.

The Golden Ninja Warrior movies

Along the years Joseph Lai's IFD developed some sagas among all the genres they offered. The first one was the Thunderbolt saga which included titles such as Mission Thunderbolt, Inferno Thunderbolt and so on, later when the ninja craze started he did a similar movement creating the Ninja Operation & Ninja Knight sagas, but there is one which was never labelled as an official saga by the company & it is maybe the most recognizable one by the IFD films fans: The Golden Ninja Warrior films.

A true icon from IFD

These films are a collection of 4 unrelated movies which, of course, can work on an independent way from each others. The only link between them is the scary figure of the Golden Ninja Warrior which gives to his holder the supreme power to rule the ninja empire. How was this long nosed ninja spirit created? Who was the designer? Where can we buy our own Golden ninja Warrior "action figure"? All these questions will be kept without answers since I don't have a clue about it, but we can check the movies inspired by this weird golden goblin.

Main body of mighty Golden Ninja Warrior

The saga was NINJA TERMINATOR. The script of this movie tells us how 3 renegade ninjas steal from their master the Golden ninja warrior in order to get the supreme power. The ninja empire will send after them some ninja killers but all of them will fail in their tasks to recover the valuable statuette. Finally 2 of the robbers will be challenged by the empire's envoy & only one of them will survive to hold the ninja supremacy.

The original source of the movie is a korean-Hk coproduction starring korean lead actors Wong Cheng Li & Jack Lam ( he was a regular from some Asso Asia actioners). The title of this movie is still a mistery since there is not international title for it. Checking throught the net, I found an interesting clue among the posts of the very best ninja site www.vintageninja.net

Korean magazine ads about the ogirinal movie used for Ninja Terminator

-Golden Ninja Warrior is supposed to be a sequel to Ninja Termitator since it opens with its final battle while a off-voice explains to us that the ninja empire is again on danger & the Golden Ninja Warrior figure has to be return to China for a ceremony. Apart from this pasted scenes from Ninja Terminator & the explanation, we will never see the Golden Ninja Warrior & the movie has nothing to do with it.

The main actor is a richard Harrison lookalike guy labeled as Donald Owen ( we will se him again but uncredited in Ninja knight: thunderfox & Rage of the ninjas), he ordered to scort the Golden nija warrior to China and protect his female classmate from tha attackts of the villanous ninjas & a police officer in love with her.

¿Donal Owen? Is this his real name??? Who knows?

Queenie Yang??? She was credite in other IFD movies as Morna Lee!!!!

Golden Ninja Warrior possibly is the only IFD ninja movie that has not cut & pasted shots ( if we forget the intro). It is a genuine taiwanese ninja movie bought by Lai & re-edited and re-dubbed for the international markets.

Original Spanish video art cover

The final showdown of Golden Ninja Warrior was shot in Sanhjih, a North west city near Taipei that was relatively popular by its UFO houses, a kind of bizarre architechtonical futuristic tourist resort. This place was shown in another taiwanese ninja & action movies such as White Phantom, Ninja the Violent sorcerer or Super Dragon's dynamo.

This place was fully bulldozed & demolished in 2009.

-Diamond Ninja Force (aka Ghost Ninja) is the true & only direct sequel to Ninja Terminator, here Gordon holds the Golden Ninja Warrior to protect his friend's family & avoid the black ninja empire controls the land where a supreme magical power is buried. Ninja magic Vs black ninja magic Vs horny female ghosts.

Once again the main body of the movie is a taiwanese ghost movie which was added new shots starring Richard Harrison & some scenes we previously saw in Inferno Thunderbolt.
In Diamond Ninja Force the bad guy is Donald Kong Do, the former ninja leader in Ninja Terminator. After having lost the Golden ninja Warrior is forced to use Black ninja Magic in order to recover his previous power. Since Gordon has the Golden Ninja Warrior to protect the world, the vicious bad ninja will use the Black Ninja statuette for his crimes.

Donald Kong Do reprises his role from Ninja Terminator in Diamond Ninja Force

Jack Sun who was one of the ninjas assigned to recover the Golden ninja warrior in Ninja Terminator plays here another role.

Jack Sun always was behind Philip Ko while working in IFD

-The Ultimate Ninja is the last appereance of the Golden Ninja Warrior figure. In this last chapter, a vicious ninja steals the Black ninja statuette & also try to steal the Golden Ninja warrior to gain all the power & become the Ultimate ninja. But the good ninjas will do everything to stop this villanous actions.

The Ultimate Ninja was made using a thai action movie that tells the story of 3 brothers & sisters who join to help their place against local gangsters. It happens that one of them is a Ninja.

German video art cover

The Ultimate Ninja was done after Richard Harrison left IFD & Bruce Baron took Harrison's place. This movie, as the other 3 movies starring by Bruce Baron for IFD, was choreographed by Philip Ko.

Bruce Baron replaced Richard Harrison in the last chapter of The Golden Ninja Warrior saga

After The Ultimate Ninja the Golden Ninja Warrior dissapeared & we couldn't enjoy more ninja adventures starred by a long-nosed goblin who holds the ninja supremacy secrets! But this statuette will be always in our mind as an icon of insane entertainment.