In honor of the release "Ninja" I decided to publish a translation of another interesting article by Mark Pollard with some comments from director Isaac Florentine. Enjoy your reading.
Thanks to several videos published online, fans finally had the opportunity to partially evaluate the latest feature film from action director Isaac Florentine: a teaser trailer and a sequence with a duel on the roof. Both clips showcase the extracted style and atmosphere found in the second half of the film, sort of like an updated version of 80's Hollywood ninja action films with a dash of superhero flicks thrown in for good measure.
These scenes depict a cityscape similar to Gotham City, with the expanse of armed ninjas with supernatural fighting skills contrasted with the hakama-clad men learning what appears to be traditional martial arts techniques in a traditional-looking courtyard at the beginning of the film. In the trailer, in particular, we see the main character played by actor-fighter Scott Adkins, who practices martial arts in Japan. These scenes are very similar to the quality karate drama “Black Belt” (2007) by Shunichi Nagasaki.
According to the 38-year-old karateka Florentine himself, an experienced director who has created 9 action films, the decision to create such a contrast was quite deliberate. “I wanted to make the episodes in Japan as believable as possible. Excellent martial arts masters helped me with this: teacher Fumio Demura and several of his students, as well as Ken Nishiki from the Japanese Karate Association, champion of the World Karate Federation Eliza Au and others.”
Some of the authenticity is also evident in Adkins' character's fights. “We changed Scott's fighting style a bit and made it more Japanese style, reminiscent of old school Bujutsu.”, explains Florentine. “Despite this, once the bad guys become ninjas, the film's style begins to resemble comic books, and the film itself becomes something more than an action film.”
According to Florentine, then "Ninja" This is a tribute to martial arts and action films from Akira Kurosawa's samurai comedy Sanjuro, Bruce Lee's classic kung fu film Fist of Fury to modern blockbusters 300 and V for Vendetta. Coincidentally, director James McTeigue is also making his own ninja movie, Ninja Assassin, due out in late 2009.
The release of Mak Teague's film, starring Hollywood newcomer Korean pop star Rain, is just around the corner, but it's hard not to compare the two films given that they'll be released almost simultaneously.
Florentine asks that you note that “Ninja” cannot be compared to the big-budget “Ninja Assassin.” And there is something to think about. “Ninja Assassin” is financed by the creators of the Matrix, the Wachowski brothers, the film is produced by the Warner Brothers studio, and the budget reaches almost 60 million dollars. Florentine's Ninja is being produced by independent companies Nu Image and Millennium Films for a fraction of that huge sum.
However, “Ninja” stars British-born actor Scott Adkins, a talented on-screen fighter who has a bright future ahead of him after recently appearing in “X-Men Origins.” Wolverine". Although he is just another “white” ninja, reminiscent of the crowd of Europeans who starred in the notorious third-rate ninja films of the 80s (starting with the action film “Enter the Ninja”, ending with “American Ninja”), however, thanks to his diverse study of martial arts and experience in Hong Kong films, Adkins is not just another Michael Dudikoff. Suffice it to recall his on-screen fights in “Undisputed 2” and “American Special Forces”, which are not inferior to the best fights in China and Thailand.
"Ninja" Comparisons with the old “white” ninja films may be detrimental, since the production company is stuck in its original intentions. “Initially, the main character was also supposed to be Japanese, but then Nu Image decided to make the ninja “white”,” - says Florentine. “I never even thought about casting anyone other than Scott in this role.”
Author: Mark Pollard
Source: kungfucinema.com
Translation: EvilDollaR
Even though I’m not Isaac, and 3 years have passed since the question was asked, I’ll still answer.
Well, if Karate can be called Old School Bujutsu, then elements of Old School Bujutsu can be traced in places in Casey’s (NOT Ryback) technique. A striking example is moving his hand back “karate style” + Isaac said that they only changed Scott’s style a LITTLE and made it LOOK LIKE traditional Japanese BI. Those. to say that Scott shows Japanese traditional BI in the film is not correct, he rather shows tricking, stylized as Japanese BI..
And this is due to poor filming conditions. The creators simply did not have time to look for Ninjutsu schools, negotiate, send Scott to study this style, etc. and so on. Therefore, Isaac simply called his friends from the Japanese karate federations and asked them for help.
EvilDollaR
Thank you very much for translating the article, it’s very interesting and informative. Now it’s at least a little clear what the director was thinking about and what he was guided by.
I would really like to ask the director - Dear Isaac, please write at what exact moment the old school of Bujutsu performed by Adkins is clearly and clearly visible, just cut a piece from the film and upload it to YouTube and sign “Old School Bujutsu” - Scott Adkins. So I would like to know why people who teach karate and not ninjutsu helped you. Did you try to negotiate with Masaaki Hatsumi to work in his dojo?
We are waiting with respect for your admirers from Russia =) L