#sam firstenberg

[theactioneer]

Revenge of the Ninja (Sam Firstenberg, 1983)

[omercifulheaves]

Avenging Force (1986)

Originally written as a sequel to Invasion U.S.A. until Norris dropped out but then they just cast Michael Dudikoff, cut out any explicit references to the prior movie and then kept the main character's name the same. Golan-Globus!

[brokehorrorfan]

Revenge of the Ninja will be released on Blu-ray on May 28 via Kino Lorber. The 1983 martial arts action film is the second installment in the in-name-only Ninja trilogy, between 1981's Enter the Ninja and 1984 Ninja III: The Domination.

Sam Firstenberg (American Ninja, Ninja III: The Domination) directs from a script by James R. Silke (Ninja III: The Domination). Sho Kosugi, Keith Vitali, Virgil Frye, Kane Kosugi, and Professor Toru Tanaka star. Cannon Films produces.

Special features are listed below.

Special features:

Audio commentary by action film historians Mike Leeder and Arne Venema (new)

Audio commentary by director Sam Firstenberg and stunt coordinator Steven Lambert

Introduction by director Sam Firstenberg

Behind-the-scenes photo gallery

Theatrical trailer

When a band of Ninja assassins slaughters the family of Cho Osaki (Shô Kosugi), he flees to America in the hope of building a new life. A former Ninja himself, Osaki tries to escape his deadly past but soon discovers he has become the pawn of a ruthless drug trafficker—an American Ninja intent on killing anyone who crosses his path…including Osaki!

Pre-order Revenge of the Ninja.

[astralbondpro]

Ninja III: The Domination (1984) // Dir. Sam Firstenberg

[schlock-luster-video]

On May 11, 1984, Ninja III: The Domination was screened at the Cannes Film Market.

Here's some new James Hong art!

[lefilmdujour]

Revenge of the Ninja / Sam Firstenberg / USA / 1983

[twenty-words-or-less]

The Alternate (Agent of Death)

Summary: A staged kidnapping of the US President becomes real when one of the gang members realises that he could make money out of it.

Boring action film in which everyone's phoning it in; 95 minutes of Bryan Genesse sucking his own dick.

Rating: 1/5

Photo credit: Amazon

[lamazmorradelandroide]

“Escucha lo que te digo. Con tus habilidades, podríamos ganar mucho dinero.” “Jackson, no quiero pelear, odio las multitudes y no necesito el dinero.” - Joe & Jackson, El guerrero americano (1985)

[watching-pictures-move]

Movie Review | Avenging Force (Firstenberg, 1986)

Possibly the only Cannon movie with good politics, in which Michael Dudikoff takes on the Louisiana Republican Party, sorry, I mean the “Pentangle”. Given the subject matter, Steve James probably should have been the main character, but I guess this is about the importance of being a good ally. Also, Dudikoff is quite a bit more charismatic here than he is in the American Ninja movies, and certainly more so than Chuck Norris in Invasion USA, to which this is ostensibly a sequel.

Some of the more exploitative elements don’t quite land, but I’d like to think of this as the Cannon equivalent of a southern-fried exploitation movie, replete with a Most Dangerous Game style hunt in the swamp. Also features John P. Ryan as a very different kind of right wing psycho than the one he played in Delta Force 2 and somehow looking convincing in the final fight sequence despite some obvious stunt doubling.

[alexhorrorfilms]

Avenging Force (Карающая сила)

Колишній оперативник військової розвідки проти таємничої організації "Пентакль", що влаштовує полювання на людей у болотах Луїзіани.

Сем Ферстенберг у середині 80-х зняв на��кращі бойовики з Майклом Дудікофом і Стівом Джеймсом - "Американський ніндзя" і "Караюча сила".

Це типовий продукт Сема Фкрстенберга і продюсерів Йорама - Глобуса.

Простий, навіть примітивний, але дуже ефектний бойовик.

З фільмом у мене пов'язана особиста ностальгія.

[cinemaquiles]

Copia mas não faz igual: Cyborg Cop (1993) mistura de Terminator com Robocop

[theactioneer]

Operation Delta Force (Sam Firstenberg, 1997) 

[omercifulheaves]

No, not the Charles Band / Tim Thomerson joint but the Italian poster for Ninja III: The Domination. (1984)

[brokehorrorfan]

American Ninja and American Ninja 2: The Confrontation will be released on Blu-ray on October 31 via Kino Lorber. Produced by Cannon Films, the martial arts films star Michael Dudikoff.

1985's American Ninja is directed by Sam Firstenberg (Ninja III: The Domination) and written by Paul De Mielche. Guich Knock, Judie Aronson, Steve James, John Fujioka, and Tadashi Yamashita co-star.

1987's American Ninja 2: The Confrontation is directed by Sam Firstenberg and written by Gary Conway (Over the Top) and James Booth. Steve James, Jeff Weston, Gary Conway, Michelle Botes, and Larry Poindexter co-star.

Special features for both titles are listed below.

American Ninja special features:

Audio commentary by director Sam Firstenberg and stunt coordinator Steven Lambert

Audio commentary by director Sam Firstenberg, moderated by filmmaker Elijah Drenner

A Rumble in the Jungle: The Making of American Ninja

Theatrical trailer

Stationed in the Philippines, 18-year-old U.S. Army private Joe Armstrong (Michael Dudikoff) is escorting a supply convoy when it is ambushed by rebels—one of whom he recognizes as a Black Ninja warrior. Instinctively, Joe defends himself using the esoteric martial art of Ninjitsu—an ability that puts him under suspicion by his commander and fellow soldiers. Alone in his fight against corruption, the boy finally discovers the secret of his mysterious past—a secret that pits him against the evil Black Star Ninja (Tadashi Yamashita) in the ultimate martial arts battle.

Pre-order American Ninja.

American Ninja 2 special features:

Audio commentary by director Sam Firstenberg and stunt coordinator BJ Davies

Audio commentary by director Sam Firstenberg, moderated by filmmaker Elijah Drenner

An American Ninja in Cape Town: The Making of American Ninja 2

Theatrical trailer

When U.S. Army Rangers Joe Armstrong (Michael Dudikoff) and Curtis Jackson (Steve James) go on a Caribbean mission for missing Marines, they find themselves matching their deadly Ninjitsu skills against the elite Ninja forces of The Lion (Gary Conway)—a psychotic drug lord who genetically alters his fighters into superhuman martial arts killers! Learning that four kidnapped Marines are about to undergo The Lion’s inhuman transformation, the Rangers infiltrate his island fortress—and launch into an explosive battle against a horde of mutant Ninja warrior-clones!

Pre-order American Ninja 2: The Confrontation.

[adamwatchesmovies]

Cyborg Cop (1993)

Nevermind Sharknado and its cynical brethren. The bad movies you want to see are like Cyborg Cop: shameless knockoffs of better films made with only a fraction of a fraction of the budget and none of the talent required to make the pictures it’s desperately trying to imitate. Assembled with complete earnesty - which means it’s full of unintentional laughs - I won't call it a must-see, but on a Friday night with some friends, it’s a blast.

Following a shoot-out gone wrong, DEA officer Jack Ryan (David Bradley) quits his job. When his brother (also a DEA agent) disappears while on a mission in the Caribbean, Jack goes to investigate. He has no idea the maniacal Professor Joachim Kessel (John Rhys-Davies, sporting a weird accent) has transformer Phillip (Todd Jensen) into a cyborg; a member of his growing army of death machines.

Don’t let the title fool you. In terms of visuals, this steals primarily from The Terminator, which is even funnier when you realize this violent, cliché-ridden action flick was made in 1993 - two years after Terminator 2: Judgment Day. After Kessel captures Phillip, he instructs his surgeons to lose the arm and replace it with a familiar-looking mechanical limb. It's almost like they want you to think it's the severed appendage from the end of The Terminator. Strange then, that when the cyborgs get their skins blown off (got to rip off that iconic mirror scene with Schwarzenegger somehow) the actors are obviously wearing a sleeve with lines, rivets and wires painted on.

What limited budget this film did have wasn’t spent on special effects and makeup; it was awarded to the pyrotechnics department. Once Phillip and his DEA crew storm Kessel’s base, every barrel is filled with dynamite, every warehouse packed with gasoline. Stuff blows up way too easily, which means the sound editor had to resort to every single stock gunshot, explosion and scream sound effect. It even uses, my favourite stock scream, that “Ehh Eyaaaah!!!” one - way better than the Wilhelm.

John Rhys-Davis is hamming it up like his life depends on it. Everyone else is either mediocre enough for their performance to be forgettable or so awful you’ll wonder if the film is pranking you. The worst offenders are Alonna Shaw and young Steven Leader. At least she plays a reporter who has a semblance of a role to play in this story. You know, the “I hate you until I love you” romantic interest and future hostage. Leader is just a little kid introduced at the beginning of the film and then brought back at the end to… make us sympathize with our hero?

Between the mechanical menaces busting out Freddy Krueger-like claws to lob off limbs, editing so bad it’ll make you confused, absurd twists, WWE-like fight choreography, villains with no peripheral vision or sense of self-preservation, dialogue that sounds as though a robot wrote it, a robot vs. Motorcycle fight and general incompetence, Cyborg Cop has plenty to offer. It’s as bad a movie as it sounds and I had a great time watching. (February 29, 2020)

[schlock-luster-video]

On April 15, 2003, Breakin' 2: Electric Boogaloo was released on DVD by MGM Home Entertainment.