Best Ninja Films > The Octagon
The Octagon is a 1980 action film with Chuck Norris in the leading role. It was directed by Eric Karson and written by Paul Aaron and Leigh Chapman. It was filmed in Los Angeles, California and released on August 14, 1980. It is notable for its inventive use of ‘voice over’ effects to portray the inner life of Chuck Norris’s character, Scott James. This was actor Richard Norton’s film debut
Scott’s life is plagued by two kinds of flashbacks. First are the childhood memories of the rigorous training he and a friend endured under a martial arts master. The second is of a mission Scott went on that ended with him watching his friend get murdered. Scott later becomes drawn closer to a vicious crime ring known as The Octagon. As he gets closer to the truth, Scott learns that these may be the men that murdered his friend so long ago.
The Octagon is considered to be a cult favorite for martial arts films’ fans of the 1980s. A large number of ninja films soon followed, most notably, the Sho Kosugi films.

