Shot on Super 8 and edited on videotape in the mid-1980s, Treasure of the Ninja was initially released on VHS by its own creator, William Lee, who was unable to find a distributor. Fast forward a couple of decades, and Lee finds a copy of his film commanding a three-figure sum on eBay, which resulted in a DVD release and now, another decade or so later, a jam-packed Blu-ray that boasts a brand new transfer from the original 3/4” master tape along with a bonus film and several shorts, all taken from director William Lee’s own library.
Inspired by Lee’s fondness for kung fu movies, Treasure of the Ninja is an ultra low-budget tale that follows a kung fu expert (Lee) and his teenage genius sidekick who are sent to the country of Ranga (apparently in the South China Seas) to protect Dr. Stewart, a bold and sassy archaeologist who is attempting to retrieve a priceless artifact from. However, standing in her way are Dr. Stewwart’s former colleague, the nefarious Steven Chase, as well as his lieutenant, El Kazi, and their ninja army. Oh, and there’s a super powerful zombie ninja that comes to life whenever the treasure’s safety is under threat, too…
If you like your films to be glossy and perfect, TotN isn’t going to be for you – the production values and general aptitude for filmmaking on display are about as far from “accomplished” as it’s possible to get. A squash court doubles as an elite training facility and a local park takes the place of an African jungle, the overdubbed dialogue for an absurdly large amount of characters (who, along with plot points, have a habit of appearing and disappearing with little explanation) is provided by a very small cast who make little effort to disguise their voices, over the top (and often hilariously inappropriate) martial arts sound effects are used liberally… Even with the best will in the world, it’s difficult to keep track of what’s actually happening – if you make it past the 30 minute mark without getting lost, you’re doing pretty well! It’s one of those wild and completely nonsensical yet utterly charming films that you really need to be in the right frame of mind for but, if you’re in that sort of mood, you’ll have an absolute blast with it. The cast all appear to be having a great time, the script is full of tremendous quips and one-liners, the fight scenes are amazing to witness and the film as a whole is an excellent example of what can be achieved with little more than huge amounts of passion, dedication and determination.
Over in the extra features, Dragon vs Ninja, Lee’s debut film, is an enthusiastic 65 minutes of martial arts mayhem in much the same vein as the main feature, although the audio track unfortunately doesn’t seem to have fared too well over the years as a fair bit of dialogue is muffled to the point of almost being inaudible. The New Chinese Connection suffers in a similar way, again full of kung fu fury but with much to be desired on the audio side of things. The four-part saga of Willie Jack is a highlight – coming from Lee’s early days, it stars a bunch of kids doing their best at kicking each others’ faces off, amusingly voiced by adults in some instances. None of the Willie Jack shorts clock in at much longer than 3 minutes, but they’re all super sweet and enjoyable to watch.
If you’ve been keeping an eye on the recent 101 Films / AGFA releases then you most likely know what sort of thing to expect by now. In terms of how this disc measures up to others that have appeared over the last few months, Treasure of the Ninja is absolutely up there with best so far. Fans of outsider cinema should absolutely look at adding this to their collection as soon as possible!
