Ninja in the Dragon’s Den (1982)

A Chinese student defends his Japanese master from a rogue ninja out to kill him as revenge for the death of his own father.

East meets East in this immensely entertaining ninja vs. kung fu classic that features outstanding martial arts choreography and direction from Corey Yuen (The Transporter), with top performances from Japanese superstar Hiroyuki Sanada and newcomer Conan Lee.

The story follows the tradition of previous Japanese and Chinese crossover films such as Lau Kar Leung’s classic, Heroes of the East (1978) by having a Japanese martial arts master travel to China to end up in a struggle with an equally talented Chinese opponent. One of the things that separate this film from the rest is that the combatants truly are equal. This leads to a stalemate and their team-up against a spiritual kung fu expert played by Hwang Jang Lee. Another unique quality of the film is their choice for a Chinese lead. Where Hiroyuki Sanada was already well known in Japan as a star, thanks in part to being a student of Sonny Chiba, Conan Lee was an unknown from the United States. But in this film, he proved to be another impressive discovery for producer Ng See Yuen who is credited with the discovery of Jackie Chan and Hwang Jang Lee.

In a way, Conan is cast as a Jackie clone and does bare a mild resemblance to the Drunken Master star, although Conan had next to no martial arts training before this production. You would hardly be able to tell though as he performs seemingly difficult and definitely memorable fights with apparent ease. It’s a shame that his Hong Kong film career fizzled right after this film as he appeared to have the sort of uncanny adaptability that made a star out of Leung Kar Yan.

In the film Conan plays Ah Ching, a smug martial artist who comes to his master’s defense after the old man, named Uncle Foo is attacked by a ninja. The ninja is Jen Moo (Hiroyuki Sanada), a rogue assassin who has traveled to China with his wife to kill Foo who turns out to be a retired ninja master. Other members of the same ninja clan follow Jen to China and vainly attempt to kill him. Ashamed of his own cowardice in escaping to China years before, Foo poisons himself and makes peace with Jen which leads to a misunderstanding between Ah Ching and Jen. The two battle each other to the top of a pagoda and finally settle their differences just in time to face a spiritual boxer played by Hwang Jang Lee.

Probably the greatest distinction that this film bares is its notoriety as Corey Yuen’s directorial debut. Corey was originally a student of the same opera school that produced Sammo Hung, Jackie Chan, and Yuen Biao. Up to 1982, he had already amassed an impressive filmography acting in and/or choreographing films such as Invincible Armor (1977) and Dance of the Drunken Mantis (1979). Add to that the savvy of producer Ng See Yuen whose skill at casting and storytelling was matched by Corey’s masterful action direction.

It is action that defines this film as a masterpiece. Corey’s direction of the fight scenes is simply incredible. From editing shots together and camera placement to use of props and creative set design, nearly every action scene is impeccably constructed for maximum effect. Several scenes stand out such as a duel on stilts involving Conan Lee, Sanada’s battle with a scarred ninja master within the interior of a large boat, and most of the main event which is the fight between Conan and Sanada in the pagoda. Sanada brought his own stunt team for use in the film and the marriage of Hong Kong and Japanese martial arts choreography looks terrific on screen.

There are some camp qualities to the film that favor humor and unrealistic combat, but its somewhat successfully integrated into the more serious plot. The most noticeable shift in the film’s tone comes at the end when Jang Lee shows up. Our two heroes have reconciled their differences, the main plot is over since all the remaining Japanese ninjas are dead and now a common foe must be fought. Jang Lee plays the clown as a pompous priest who uses spirit summoning as his kung fu style. He’s out to avenge the defeat of one of his students by Conan earlier in the film. He first sends a couple of lackeys to fight and then jumps in himself before meeting with an explosive end.

Ninja in the Dragon’s Den is a top-notch martial arts film that deserves to be seen repeatedly. Now I must qualify this statement. The film’s humor may grate some hardcore martial arts film fans while casual viewers could be disappointed that there are not more wild ninja high jinks. But for the rest who can recognize the mark of creative genius at its best, this film is an unequivocal pleasure to watch.