THE NEW RONIN
United Artist's "The Magnificent Seven" was an adaptation of Kurosawa's "Seven Samurai", all ronin. As in "Seven Samurai", the magnificent seven were fighters for hire on a freelance basis. They had also previously served as violent protectors of their respective land barons' interests.
SYNOPSIS
Ishida Kuwahara is an old Shinto priest who had served as a supply officer during World War II on a tiny island six hundred miles off the Japanese mainland. The island, Supply Base Three, was hollowed out and used to store hundreds of thousands of tons of war material intended for ships which had been sunk before they could pick them up.
Near the end of the war, Kuwahara had left the tunnels to observe the damage during an American attack and sustained a head wound in a barrage. Returned home after the war, he was shattered and confused for years.
He imagined that his seven comrades who had died on the island would return to help him fight the crime czar, Namoto. Namoto ran a karate school which was a cover for the training of ninja and other criminal operatives in his drive to control Japan.
During a confrontation with two of the karate school hoodlums, seven young college students on motorcycles come to his aid. He recognizes them as his comrades, reborn and ready to resume their careers as warriors.
Kuwahara takes them to the island where they see the war material in a state of perfect preservation. They also see the seven mummified bodies of Kuwahara's comrades and note the resemblances to themselves.
Kuwahara has each take the diary, helmet and sword of the mummy most like him. With the help of Isoroku Jones, half Japanese, half American, two of the young men redesign and rebuild their motorcycles. They are silent at cruising speeds and can reach speeds of two hundred and fifty miles per hour with their mufflers disengaged. They are also equipped with gyro-stabilizers so they will self-correct if turned too sharply.
Kuwahara outfits the seven with Kevlar bullet-proof motorcycle uniforms and gives them their Army helmets painted black. He tells them that five hundred years ago they were ronin. They were black-armored mercenaries under the tutelage of himself as a black robed warrior-priest. The group was known as the priest of death and his seven ronin from Hell.
At that time they had prevented Namoto from becoming Japan's emperor. In this life they were again to keep the power-mad Namoto from taking over Japan.
While wearing the helmets, they are able to see one second into the future so they can dodge any blow and go through traffic on their motorcycles with incredible speed and maneuverability. Moreover, the helmets cause their features to alternate from motorcyclists to black-armored samurai of hundreds of years ago. In one second they are themselves and during the next few seconds they appear as black-armored warriors on charging war horses and bathed in a reddish glow.
As a test of their powers, they attack the karate school, beat up its students and take away the records of all Namoto's associates and connections. They intend to use these against Namoto. With the wealth from the island sold through Max Morrell, an American gun runner, they pose as playboys. Their real function is as seven Japanese James Bonds with an anti-crime organization rivaling Namoto's and unsanctioned by their country's police.
While Isoroku Jones is in the U.S. promoting the new motorcycle, "The Ronin", the seven go to the aid of Kuwahara as Namoto attacks his home. Namoto blows up the karate school and sets the town on fire as a diversion to keep the police away while he and his underlings search the house for the records.
Kuwahara kills four of the karate students with his sword before being disarmed by Namoto. As the seven are speeding to his rescue, Kuwahara is beaten to death. Before he dies he defiantly tells Namoto that upon his death the seven will become the new ronin. A few moments later, the seven burst into the house and cut down all the attackers but Namoto.
During the slaughter, Namoto escapes out the back door into a wooded area. He reaches a clearing and believes himself safe. Then, before his terrified eyes, there floats a reddish, glowing ball of light. From the light comes the voice of the old priest, "They will find you. They will destroy you. They are the new ronin."
The Characters
(In the English version the given names are first and the family names are last).
The Ronin
Saburo Kurita: Senior of the seven. Intellectual. Journalist.
Yasuo Sugiama: Poet. Actor. Artist.
Tadashi Yoritomo: Political genius. Hopes to become prime minister.
Yoshi Orita: Computer Expert. Has the ability to tap into any computer system in Japan.
Hideki Nishima: Detective. Arthur Conan Doyle's greatest fan. Wants to be another Sherlock Holmes.
Minoru Watanabe: Brilliant financier. Business manager of the group.
Takeo Sato: Unemotional. Robotic. Mechanical wizard. Chief
designer of the ronin motorcycle.
The Men
Henry Wolff: Ex-American Army Ranger. Illegal martial arts teacher. Trainer of the seven. Kills ninja for relaxation.
Max Morrell: Gun runner and main marketer of the weapons from Supply Base Three.
Billy (Pig Iron) Jones: Brother of Max and father of Isoroku Jones. American gun show promoter and main mover of weapons from Supply Base Three.
Isoroku (Rocky) Jones: Martial arts expert. Gunsmith. Gun runner. Totally American when in the U. S.; completely Japanese when in Japan. Closest friend of the ronin.
Yataka Okano: Ex-Imperial Marine. Head of the Okano import-export empire. Best friend of Max and grandfather of Isoroku.
Hirada: Ex-sumo wrestler. Namoto's friend and bodyguard.
The Women
Kemiko: Intelligent. Quiet. Girlfriend of Takeo.
Hatsuyo: Ex-wife of Billy Jones. Mother of Isoroku. Volatile. Stubborn. Imperious.
Suzuko: Daughter of Japan's greatest kendo expert. Actress. Receptionist at Saburo's and Yasuo's publishing office.
Mrs. Okano: Matriarch of the Okano clan. Mother of Yutaka,
grandmother of Hatsuyo and great-grandmother of Isoroku.
Chapter One: KUWAHARA
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