Ninja. They were mainly spies – assassination was only a sideline. And they did not work in black jumpsuits, they dressed as a peasant or a merchant or whatever would help them blend in. (The black jumpsuit of fictional ninja was inspired by the costume of kabuki-theater stagehands, which they used to signify, “Yes, you can see me, but I’m not really here, not part of the action.”) But popular culture – Japanese popular culture, to start with – has romanticized and distorted them beyond all recognition. Has any historically accurate move about the ninja ever been made, I wonder? Could such a film be made?
Yojimbo?
Yes, but nobody could see it!
( I crack myself up sometimes.)
I don’t remember any ninjas in the movie Yojimbo.
Exactly.
I don’t know about a movie but there is an annual Ninja parade.
http://www.theonion.com/video/ninja-parade-slips-through-town-unnoticed-once-aga,14181/
Has?
I don’t know. I’d love to see it, if so.
Could? Certainly!
It couldn’t be wholly accurate for the same reason the James Bond movies aren’t accurate depictions of modern spies, but the mysticism could be stripped away, and the action put into a more realistic context.
Keep the disguise aspect, bring the fighting to standard action movie levels, not insane ninjas, and you could have an exciting, but relatively ‘realistic’ ninja movie.
Here, in Durango Colorado is purported to be a real ninja school. It’s next door to us. It provides endless amusement when guys come in asking for directions because they can’t find it. 
So little is known, so no.
But, if you’ve seen Skyfall, it appears they are working on that, kindasorta.
Q: “What were you expecting, an exploding pen? We don’t go in for that any more.”
Not a movie, but I read a couple of novels by Isabel Allende (Daughter of Fortune, and it’s sequel, Portrait in Sepia)… and being that it was a novel set in Val Paraiso, Chile and 1849 San Francisco, it was quite a shock when the ending involved…
Ninjas! Killing off one of the main characters for a completely believable reason. `
There was a movie called “Sword of The Ninja” starring Scott Glenn,the beautiful Donna K. Benz, and Toshihiro Miufine (in I believe his last role)…the origonal name was “The Challenge”…I think they changed the name to hype it for American Audiences…it had to do with 2 clans dueling over a precious sword and so forth. Had little to do with the Black Robe/Garb Ninja and more to do with Samurai and honor/betrayel. However what was "ninja"ish about it were usage of stealth and secrecy…
In fact I need to look for it…never saw the uneditied/full gore version before,only the “sword of the ninja” TV version,which was hacked to peices in the editing room…
But I think that’s as close as it can ever get. Without the fancy flips and tricks and black hoods, Ninjas are pretty boring to kids/western audiences. They are pretty much just spies/hitmen.
When I lived in Japan,I did get to visit Iga Castle…that was a real treat…
James Bond follows the true art of the ninja in You Only Live Twice