SYNOPSICS
Pray for Death (1985) is a English movie. Gordon Hessler has directed this movie. Shô Kosugi,James Booth,Donna Kei Benz,Norman Burton are the starring of this movie. It was released in 1985. Pray for Death (1985) is considered one of the best Action,Crime,Drama,Thriller movie in India and around the world.
Akira Saito, a Japanese businessman lives in Tokyo with his Japanese-American wife Aiko and their children, Takeshi and Tomoya. When the family has a chance to move to the United States so that Aiko can teach the children about their American heritage, they pack up and head for Houston, Texas and run a restaurant. This is where the trouble begins. A band of crooked cops store stolen goods in the back room of the restaurant and unknown to the Saitos family, a priceless necklace (the Van Atta necklace), is wanted by a local syndicate. When one of the dirty cops decide to take the necklace for himself, the syndicate goes after the previous owner of the restaurant, then after the Saitos'. When one of the boys is kidnapped by top thug Limehouse, Akira quietly rescues him. However, when Aiko and Tomoya are run down by Limehouse in an effort to get the necklace, Akira has had enough. For years, Akira has kept a dark secret. Akira finally decides to unleash his dark side.
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Pray for Death (1985) Reviews
One of the best 1980s Martial Arts Films
It seems easy to forget that in the early days of Home Video, Sho Kosugi was very much a celebrity, making Ninja-themed movies like this. The plot is a revenge story, but the idea of Kosugi as a ninja who has hidden away his identity as such brings the film to a super-hero level as we have this man who is, along with his family harassed here in the Good Old U.S.A. because they bought a shop in an old building where some theives had hidden their loot. The action sequences are fascinating, a few interesting ninja techniques are shown and the fighting is fast and furious. Kosugi does not have the acting range, it seems, to handle heavier dramas, but he is ideally suited to the unique 80s genre of "Ninja Flick". Highly recommended. Not recommended to those fed a steady diet of computer generated "special effects" and cannot remember a time when athletic ability was required to nake a martial arts movie.
Magnificent Ninja Stuff
I think it´s the best one out there. Horror Veteran Director Hessler and Kusogi team up for a dead-pan serious story of Kusogi, moving from Japan to the US to live the American Dream. Starting small-time with a shop, they are being blackmailed, later his wife is being raped and murdered. The story is tight, the action fast and the filming is very stylish. I would consider it a hidden gem and anyone being able to watch it should do so. Not for the squeamish, though. Lot´s of 80ies violence and some nasty sex. Obviously Hessler is the one man to bring out the best in Kusogi as seen in their other cooperations (Rage of Honor (which is inferior and has a Miami Vice Setting) and Voyage of Honor.
Prayer before dying...
Sho Kosugi stars as closet ninja who becomes Ninja once again when mobsters (Searching for a priceless necklace) kill his wife and try to kill his kids, Kosugi warns the mobsters, tries cooperating and even giving clues to get the mobsters off his back but of course it just never ceases to be and because this is a ninja movie, Kosugi tries to dispatch the mobsters one by one. Pray For Death is of course a ninja movie that was better than average for the genre, reading various comments which vary in opinion, I tend to lean with the crowd who likes the movie since I myself was never bored with the movie. It certainly had a few slow moments and an action sequence which wasn't very impressive at all (Kosugi sneaking in a boat party) but there are some good action sequences (Especially the climax) and the movie moves quick enough to not concern the audience about how unlikely it all is. Still its a ninja movie and rarely do they even approach respectability. Pray For Death at least works as a guilty pleasure. * *1/2 out of 4-(Pretty good)
Great Revenge Film
I first watched this film when i was only 5 years old with my Dad and really enjoyed it. I have just obtained a copy of this film 21 years later and think its great. I would strongly recommend it to any action fan. The main Villain in the film is Actor James Booth playing the tough evil Mafia Enforcer 'Limehouse Willie'. He really plays his Sadistic character with a lot of Conviction. He was just so Ruthless and Cruel and was quite believable as a Mafia Nut that enjoyed inflicting pain and death on other people. Not all of the action scenes are great but there is a few well staged sequences that really are enjoyable to watch, especially the raid on Mr Newman's Mansion and the Saw Mill Confrontation with "Limehouse Willie". The film is dated being made back in 1985 but to me this is no big deal and i try not to have massive expectations with films made 20-40 years ago. Its entertaining enough as a revenge story with all the usual ingredients and a standout performance by James Booth. Its a tough , Violent, serious film that isn't scared of getting its hands dirty and i like these kind of films. The Wife of Sho Kosugi in the film was an OK sexy Asian Babe and this was worth a mention too. I'm all for a DVD Release !
the second best outing from Cult Japanese pugilist, Sho Kosugi!
From the unlikeliest of kung fu scriveners', James Booth, springs forth the second best outing from Cult Japanese pugilist, Sho Kosugi. The Kosugi clan moves to the US in order to construct a shiny, prosperous new life, only to find themselves inadvertently embroiled in nefarious gangster double-dealings; due to some illicit booty that was stashed under the floorboards in their recently purchased business premises. Leaving aside the clearly pedestrian plot, what remains is a mean- spirited, (bruised) balls to the wall revenge actioner; with the impoverished narrative fortified to the point of incredulity by a series of gonzoid Ninjitsu sequences, orchestrated with brutal efficiency by nimble vengeance enthusiast, Kosugi. No doubt there remain some who poo- poo the entertainment value of a mid-eighties, Kosugi opus; but one must never be swayed by the ill-considered protestations of the sober minority. In the halcyon days of Betamax & Video 2000, Sho Kosugi reigned supreme; and it would seem that in this increasingly banal era when any Hollywood popinjay can wear the spurious crown of action hero, one could do a whole lot worse than hunker down, adjust one's beer goggles and marvel at such simple, roughhouse fare; where the fleet- fisted Kosugi makes bloody chow mien out of a legion of bovine, uncoordinated villainy.