Death Shadow

Jittemai

Japan

1986

115 Min

Color

1.85:1

Japanese

Currently 3.1/5 Stars.
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PROD Yoshio Tokuda, Yoshinobu Nishioka, Takeshi Endo, Kinen Masumoto, Hideji Miyajima

CAST Mariko Ishihara, Masanori Sera, Mari Natsuki, Takuzo Kawatani, Takeo Chii, Tsunehiko Watase, Naoto Takenaka, Eitarô Ozawa

SOUND Iwao Otani, Ichirô Hoshi

Synopsis

Three men sentenced to death are spared and changed into “shadows executioners”, a group of ruthless ninja working for mysterious high ranking officials. During their investigation on some illegal business, one of them, called “Yazuke the Viper”, finds his abandoned daughter, Ocho, who has now become a mistress of Denzo, a smuggler. After Yazuke’s death, Ocho is also recruited as a “shadows executioner”, with the task of completing her father’s mission. —karagarga

Director

Hideo Gosha

Hideo Gosha was born on February 26, 1929, in Tokyo. After graduating with a business degree from Meiji University, Gosha worked for several years as a reporter for Nippon Television. By 30, he moved to Fuji TV where he became Chief Producer and Director. One popular show he produced, Sanbiki no Samurai (Three Outlaw Samurai), caught the eye of Shochiku Studios and he was soon offered a contract.

His first film, also called Three Outlaw Samurai (an adaptation of the television series), premiered in 1964. A brilliant debut, the film not only marks the beginning of Gosha’s distinct style, but also features the first of twelve collaborations with the actor, Tetsuro Tamba (who also appears in The Geisha). Its success opened the door for other television shows that eventually made the transition to the big screen, most notably the Zatoichi series. Throughout the decade, Gosha directed several more critical and commercially viable films, including three films, Gohiki no shinshi (Cash… read more