Those of you who love martial arts movies and follow our JoBlo Original, Reel Action, on YouTube may have seen the recent spotlight we did on the Mark Dacascos 1993 capoeira movie, Only the Strong. While Only the Strong should have skyrocketed Dacascos to martial arts stardom, he would actually have an earlier credit with a smaller role in a film called American Samurai, which starred David Bradley of the American Ninja sequels. American Samurai would come from the director of many Ninja-related movies, Sam Firstenberg, for the infamous once-upon-a-movie studio, Cannon Films. Sam Firstenberg was a director who the studio often collaborated with, but American Samurai would be the first movie that Cannon took their famous scissors to and alter the film against the director’s vision.
A group on Facebook called The Official Restoration of American Samurai has been established with some news for fans of the film and genre. The director himself posted a message detailing the intentions of the project. The post reads, “Hello everyone! Welcome to The Official Restoration of American Samurai Group. Thirty-two years ago, director Sam Firstenberg completed a film that would become the only film in his career to receive the rotten treatment it did not deserve. Due to producers’ interference, the distributed version of the film was far from what the director envisioned. New scenes were added, and sequences were placed out of order, altering the story.”
The message from Firstenberg continues, “Now, thirty-two years later, Sam Firstenberg’s film, American Samurai, is being re-edited to include all the authentic graphic violence in the fights, removal of scenes that were not part of the initial production, scenes are being placed in their proper order, and sequences are straightened out to not only fix major continuity issues but also to fix the flow of crucial fight sequences and dramatic moments. Using two different versions of the film, editor Lyle Goodwin is working closely with Sam Firstenberg to finally realize, for viewers and fans, the initial vision that was realized so long ago of this martial arts cult classic, American Samurai. Buckle up and enjoy the original ride you were supposed to take.”