Enter the Ninja

Enter the Ninja is a 1981 ninja action film directed by Menahem Golan and starring Franco Nero, Susan George, Christopher George, and Sho Kosugi. It is often credited with starting the Ninja Movie craze of the 1980s. It was the first in an unofficial trilogy, followed by Revenge of the Ninja and Ninja III The Domination, though the three films share nothing in common beyond the theme of ninjas and featuring actor Sho Kosugi in a leading role.

Production was started in the Philippines with Emmett Alston directing, but when Charles Bronson refused to allow Menahem Golan to direct Death Wish II, Golan, a coprincipal of Cannon Group which was producing both movies, took over directing duties of Ninja, replacing Alston. According to interviews in Electric Boogaloo The Wild, Untold Story of Cannon Films, Chuck Norris turned down the lead because he didnt want to appear facially covered in the film.The film was initially conceptualized by martial artist and stuntman Mike Stone. Stone wrote the initial screenplay, which shared similarities to the popular novel The Ninja by Eric Van Lustbader, which at the time was being developed into a film by John Carpenter. The final screenplay was written by Stone, Dick Desmond, and an uncredited Menahem Golan. Originally, the role of Cole was intended to be played by Stone himself, but he was let go due to a lack of acting experience. Franco Nero, who had no prior knowledge of martial arts but was discovered by the producers attending a film festival in Manila, was cast instead, while Stone doubled for the more elaborate fight scenes. The film was shot primarily in the Philippines, with some additional footage shot in Japan. This was Sho Kosugis first major Englishlanguage film role. ........

Source: Wikipedia