Shinobi no Shu - 1970 - 7/10
AKA - Mission: Iron Castle // 忍びの衆
Quite late in the ninja cycle, and one of the best.
A small band of ninjas are told to kidnap a princess from the impregnable Iron Castle.
Not only is the castle fortified with 3000 soldiers, the princess is kept locked in a sealed iron room.
The action scenes are well choreographed, techniques mostly quiet.
Planning scenes illustrate later movements which are realistic and usually in a how-to style.
The small group are well drawn. Competitiveness, resentments, stifled longings.
Camerawork is imaginative, often from the observer’s point of view.
