We’ve got a real treat for you today in the announcement that filmmaker Sheldon Lettich (Bloodsport, Lionheart) is releasing his first film after never been seen for 40 years. Titled Firefight, this is the short twenty minute war pic that got everything moving for the prolific filmmaker who would go on to make such classic action films as Lionheart, Double Impact and Only the Strong.
To top it off, this unseen film boasts a sensational action cast that includes Frank Dux (Bloodsport), Phillip and Simon Rhee (Best of the Best) and Brian Thompson (Terminator, Cobra, Lionheart). This is truly a hidden treasure that will make its world debut on March 2nd. Check out the official press and images below!
Witness a unique piece of history for the first time in forty years, exclusively on the Viking Samurai YouTube Channel on March 2, 2023. It just may be the greatest short film the world has never seen. A true treat for action fans. The film that got the ball rolling!
Firefight comes from the mastermind of legendary action filmmaker Sheldon Lettich (Lionheart, Double Impact) and stars Frank Dux (Bloodsport), Phillip and Simon Rhee (Best of the Best) and Brian Thompson (Terminator, Cobra, Lionheart) in a tale of soldiers fighting for survival.
In a way, it’s a prequel to Bloodsport in more ways than one. Within the film we bear witness to Frank Dux’s heroics while battling in Vietnam. Outside the film, while editing Firefight, Sheldon Lettich met Mark DiSalle and the two, along with Frank Dux, would collaborate in bringing the martial arts classic Bloodsport to life.
Sheldon Lettich’s Statement:
Back in 1983, I made a short, twenty-minute Vietnam War movie titled “Firefight.” Forty years later, it still remains a watchable movie, but more importantly it’s a crucial relic from the beginnings of an era, which had the involvement of a few key personalities who were pivotal in the creation of some of the most well-loved and well-regarded action movies of the 1980’s.”
“The story was based upon a scene I had created for my Vietnam theatrical stage piece, “Tracers.” The director rightly decided not to include it, simply because it was too grand and ambitious and unwieldy to present on a small stage. Also, a crucial character was a CH-46 helicopter. The musical, “Miss Saigon,” had managed to land a Huey helicopter on their stage, but we didn’t have nearly the budget nor the space to land an even bigger helicopter on our small stage. So the piece was jettisoned from the play. But afterwards I couldn’t get it out of my mind. The story was a good one, and deserved to be heard and seen. A few years later I reworked that short scene into screenplay form, and determined that I was going to put it on film, a medium which could accommodate both a big battle and a big helicopter.”
Firefight has just been restored in 2K high definition, and will premier exclusively on The Viking Samurai’s YouTube Channel on March 2nd, 2023. Stay tuned at The Viking Samurai for updates!
Also, check out Sheldon Lettch on Facebook
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This is a must for all serious action cinema fanatics and to see these iconic action stars in a film made over 40 years ago is a real treat. So make sure to check out the film when it debuts on March 2nd!!
ACTION-FLIX 
