Ninja III: The Domination 4K 1984 Ultra HD 2160p

The sequel to “Ninja Revenge” is about an evil ninja who was supposedly killed by the police but forced his spirit to inhabit the innocent Dickie. Lots of fight scenes, a real treat for fans of the genre.

User Review

Once upon a time, ninja films had a good life in the movie theater. Films about these skilled warriors were churned out one after another, unfortunately being brought to the screen in the most ridiculous form. Do you know what hell you had to go through to find even one worthwhile work? All those nauseating films starring Taiwanese actor Alexander Lo Rei, such as Ninja Squad: Invisible Killers, Mafia vs. Ninja, Ninja Hunter, and Ninja Vulture, left much to be desired. I'm not even talking about Keita Amemiya's “Ninja from the Future.” It's better to accidentally wander into a Star Wars fan club in the evening: watching Darth Vader drinking beer is much more interesting than watching this Japanese nonsense. The then-famous Hollywood “ninja” Sho Kosugi (father of the now-famous Kane Kosugi), who starred in some action movie about night warriors every other day and even beat the newly minted Van Damme's “Black Eagle” in a “dream” once, was not particularly impressive either. The same goes for director Sam Furstenberg, who shot several films on this theme. “The Way of the Ninja” is not worth commenting on at all, and “Revenge of the Ninja” is not as outstanding as some claim. All this reminds me of the case with Bruce Lee. The man supposedly died in 1973, but thanks to the Hong Kong businessmen of the time, action films featuring “him” continued to be released (after all, someone said, “You Asians all look the same!” And how clever do you have to be to confuse a phenomenon like Bruce Lee with fishmongers?). It's exactly the same with ninja movies. They wrote and pooped on the subject, excuse my moment of culture, and then buried it in a hole, as cats do. There are so many examples that you could list them until the next apocalypse in 2012 and then make some extra money selling candles. But perhaps we should rather join today's modest gathering...

‘Ninja III: The Dominance’ - for all its flaws, the only film I've seen in which the image of the ninja is shown ‘right on the mark’. And I am glad that I had the honor of seeing this film as a child. In some respects, the film closely resembles the Indonesian production ‘Ninja Revenge’, directed by Ratno Timoer (please note that I am not referring to Sam Forstenberg's ‘Ninja Revenge’). I don't know who borrowed from whom, but “exchanges” on such grounds are quite possible. There is one single truth - both films were inspired by The Exorcist. The possession of a fragile girl by an evil ninja spirit and the ensuing exorcism scenes are overly intrusive and, to put it mildly, not particularly original. The fact is that Ratno Timoer's little-known film actually benefited from this in a way.
The creators, perhaps without knowing it, have created an elegant picture that may take ardent art house fans by surprise (what would Sumarokov have done?). It is the Planet of Fear of its time (in Indonesian), about which many know nothing. But the film ‘Ninja III: The Dominator’, an obvious rip-off of ‘The Exorcist’, only suffers as a result. Given that the ‘Americanization’ of ninja films has not bypassed this picture, such a development is merciless for the opus.

But what pleasantly surprises me is Sam Forstenberg's sincere attitude towards his brainchild. The film's atmosphere can be quite captivating, if you are not a ruthless cynic. After all, from a technical point of view, Ninja III: The Dominator is weak even for its time, let alone today's viewers and their demands. The film was produced by the Cannon Group, and one of the financiers was the well-known Yoram Globus. Yes, these are the people who gave us Bloodsport, Cyborg, etc. The films of this studio were made on a shoestring budget and were no match for such giants as Universal, Columbia Pictures, or Warner Brothers. But this does not detract from the work of the studio, which undoubtedly made a significant contribution to the history of cinema.

The result: a feature film with elements of mystification and a straightforward plot. A film that perfectly conveys the image of an evil ninja, but still cannot escape the abyss of mediocrity. A product of the 1980s, it is saturated with the attributes of that decade: disco, American women with large hips, black and white patrol cars, slot machines, etc. And, of course, a ninja taking revenge on his enemies.

Info Video

Codec: HEVC / H.265 (94.6 Mb/s)
Resolution: Native 4K (2160p)
HDR: Dolby Vision, HDR10
Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1

Info Audio

#English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
#English: FLAC 2.0
#English: Dolby Digital 2.0 (Commentary by Director Sam Firstenberg and Stunt Coordinator Steve Lambert, Moderated by Robert Galluzo)
#English: Dolby Digital 2.0 (Isolated Score Selections and Audio Interviews with Composer Misha Segal and Production Designer Elliot Ellentuck)

Info Subtitles