In 1984, Taiwanese actor and martial artist John Liu directed and starred in his only American production, an action comedy shot on location called New York Ninja. Once filming was completed, however, the project was dropped with the footage abandoned in a film lab and many other materials missing. It seemed that the world would never see New York Ninja… But then, in 2020, home-video distributor Vinegar Syndrome acquired the footage and took on the herculean task of creating a reconstructed cut of the film. With no access to any original audio, storyboards, or scripts, they recorded and dubbed new dialogue and released the now-completed New York Ninja in November 2021, thirty-seven years after its inception. Don’t miss your chance to check out this wonderful film and its new 4K restoration on IU Cinema’s screen this Friday!
For more on the restoration, read this article from The New York Times. You can also listen to IU Cinema’s very own David Carter discuss the film on our podcast, A Place for Film, as part of his monthly Blu-ray reviews.
“It’s that kind of silly, ridiculous, campy ninjasploitation soaked in New York City ephemera that you’re bound to fall in love with.” — Felix Vasquez, Cinema Crazed
New York Ninja will be screened at IU Cinema on February 11 at 10 pm, concluding this semester’s Not-Quite Midnights series.