Cannon Films is legendary as far as eighties action flicks go. An independent company headed by Israeli cousins Menahem Golan and Yoram Globus, the two became famous (or infamous) for a run of schlocky eighties B-movies. Their action movies, while cheesy, are a ton of fun, with them making icons out of Chuck Norris (with the MISSING IN ACTION series), Michael Dudikoff (AMERICAN NINJA) while also doing a whole slew of movies with an aging Charles Bronson (DEATH WISH 2, 3 4 and beyond).
One of their greatest early successes was with ENTER THE NINJA, a movie that starred Franco Nero as a white-ninja pitted. While big, nobody remembered it for Nero, and the choice was made to center the quasi-sequel, REVENGE OF THE NINJA, around the actor who played the villain, Japanese martial artist Sho Kosugi. The result was a movie that quickly became a staple of eighties birthday parties, and one of the better American martial arts films of the era.