Ninja in the Claws of the CIA | Blu-ray (Vinegar Syndrome)
Available soon from Vinegar Syndrome is the Blu-ray for Ninja in the Claws of the CIA (read our review), a 1981 martial arts film directed by and starring super kicker John Liu (New York Ninja, Dragon Blood), along with Casanova Wong (Warriors Two), Danny Lee (Run and Kill) and John Ladalski (The Chinese Stuntman).
Official details:
John Liu is a world renowned martial arts expert who is recruited by the C.I.A. after his twin brother James Liu is injured. John’s mission is to turn a ragtag bunch of soldiers into fierce fighters by teaching them the ways of martial arts. Unhappy by John’s presence, a rogue military officer uses an emotionally unstable soldier named Wong to challenge John’s physical abilities (as well as a sexy female soldier to challenge his mental focus!). Unbeknownst to John, the C.I.A. is conducting secret experiments on the soldiers by using hypnosis as a form of mind control. With the help of a data analyst named Caroline, John soon uncovers the truth behind the secret experiments, and together he and his new love interest flee with classified documents. Now on the run, John and Caroline are hunted throughout the world as danger lurks around every corner and no one can be trusted. Their only hope to survive is for John to use his martial arts skills as well as his cunning in order to stay one step ahead of their dangerous pursuers.
Written, directed, and starring martial artist John Liu (New York Ninja, Secret Rivals) in one of his many vanity projects, Ninja in the Claws of the CIA (aka Made in China) is a truly mind bending experience that defies logic as well as categorization. Shot primarily in Spain, Ninja in the Claws of the CIA is an unusual martial arts film, not only due to its outrageous plot, but due to the fact that it feels more like a Eurocentric cult film thanks in part to its many filming locations as well as numerous international genre actors. Featuring “The Human Tornado” himself, Ho Wang (Warriors Two), as well as Mirta Miller (Santo vs. Doctor Death), Roger Paschy (Dragon Blood), Chrisitan Anders (Roots of Evil), Raquel Evans (Emmanuelle y Carol), and Spanish character actor Victor Israel (Horror Express). Vinegar Syndrome Archive is proud to present this one of a kind martial arts film for the first time on Blu ray, newly restored from original film elements, and featuring additional scenes only present in the Spanish release, including an extended version of the now infamous training sequence where John Liu has to fight while trying to avoid being seduced!
Features:
- Region A Blu-ray
- Newly scanned & restored in 4K from its 35mm internegative
- Brand new commentary track with film historian Chris Poggiali
- Introduction by filmmaker Kurtis Spieler (re-director of New York Ninja)
- “The Wonder of Vanity Action Films” (11 min) – a video essay by Justin Decloux
- Original trailer
- Promotional still gallery
- Alternate ‘Made in China’ title card
- Reversible sleeve artwork
- English SDH subtitles
This is definitely unexpected (in a good way)! I’m curious to see the “extended” (there’s a pun in there somewhere) version of the seduction scene, it’s already crazy enough in its currently available form!
Kinda weird seeing Casanova Wong billed as “Ho Wang” in the official release material, and as much as I dig the artwork, it seems like the artist was given an image of Don Wong Tao to work with rather than John Liu?