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Indie filmmaker Lyle Goodwin has been diligently reconstructing a definitive and final version of director Sam Firstenberg’s classic 90’s DTV martial arts actioner American Samurai which starred David Bradley and introduced martial arts icon Mark Dacascos to the world. Thanks to Goodwin, who has been working closely with Sam, the official director’s cut of American Samauri is set to hit on March 13th! Goodwin has been working long and hard on restoring the movie by working from two prints of the film to put it in order, remove added scenes that weren’t initially part of the production and most importantly, restore the graphic violence that was trimmed for its North American release on VHS and the subsequent DVD back in the day.
A new trailer has just been released courtesy of Goodwin and Firstenberg that will surely pump up retro action film fans everywhere and according to Firstenberg, the release on March 13th to coincide with Sam’s 75th birthday and it will be free for all so it’s almost time to take out those samurai swords, polish them up and start waking on some bamboo trees. Enjoy!
On his post on Facebook, Firstenberg stated: “AMERICAN SAMURAI – coming soon, free for all. A new stunning Coming Attraction Trailer for the upcoming release of the recently reconstructed and revitalized movie AMERICAN SAMURAI with David Bradley and Mark Dacascos in vivid HD. Created by the talented filmmaker Lyle Goodwin who initiated and was behind the entire idea of The Official Restoration of AMERICAN SAMURAI Project – Director’s Cut.”
If you’re like me, you have been following this project on Facebook courtesy of Goodwin and with each release of behind the scenes footage, images and more, it’s exciting to know that we will get to see the film the way Mr. Firstenberg intended.
I had the honor of interviewing Mr. Firstenberg twice in the past and he detailed extensively what had happened to American Samurai after the production. It truly is unfortunate that this company meddled with the film because even though this is a classic amongst fans, it clearly shows off the problems in the finished product that we got. Check out Sam’s remarks in my exclusive chat with him below!
The filming and the editing of American Samurai was all done in Israel. The reason was that the company owned a studio and editing facilities there, so it was probably financially viable. After I finished the filming and the editing of the movie all the material was sent to the company’s headquarters in Los Angeles. I stayed in Israel to direct several episodes of the television show Sweating Bullets (also known as Tropical Heat) that was produced over there. At that point of time the company was not producing or preparing any other movie and apparently, they had nothing to do but to mess around with American Samurai. Apparently, someone with a decision-making power did not like what he saw and wanted to change it so without my knowledge they hired an editor, changed the order of the story and injected few new scenes into it. In my opinion those changes and additions subtracted from the overall quality and effectiveness of the film and its impact but in the Hollywood way of filmmaking the producer is the final authority and can do with his movie whatever he or she want. Despite the fact that this experience was disappointing it did not change the way I approached directing movies I kept doing what I believe is the most effective way of telling compelling cinematic stories.
In terms of story for American Samurai, Sam added: “The way I see it a martial arts movie most have an element of mystery and suspense in it with some unknown portions which are only reveled at the end of the story. This was the way the movie was originally structured, it started with a mysterious dream and only at the end of the movie the big secrets of the hero and his nemesis are reveled. In the new edit the story was altered to be totally linear with nothing of mystery and no secret to be reveled at the end and without leaving it to the viewers to guess and add his or her interpretation to it all. It is a rather childish way of storytelling but luckily the main fights and action sequences could not be messed with and they stayed as was.” For my full interview with filmmaker Sam Firstenberg, CLICK HERE!
Goodwin is also polishing off interviews with himself and Firstenberg for the release of the Director’s Cut called Honor the Code. Check out the artwork for those below!
My biggest gripe with the movie was the climactic battle between Bradley and Dacascos and it is essentially a jumbled mess of editing and smoke and mirrors. There really is no fight as it is just a bunch of close ups and edited sequences of past scenes from the film. These two martial arts action stars were in their prime and it would be nothing short of epic to see the true vision of their altercation. I’m really hoping that we get to see a definitive endgame match between the two with this release. The teaser trailer above mentions this and states, “Brother VS. Brother- In the Showdown You were Supposed to See.”
Check back here for more updates on how the movie will be released next week. I will, of course, share my thoughts on this new version once I am able to see it so prepare for a special Action Fix Podcast to come at a later date.
American Samurai might have been released during the end of Cannon Films reign, but it still kept alive what made that company great with the retro/vintage action epics. Bradley was in his prime and Dacascos was on the verge, so this is essential action viewing for any serious, hardcore action fan. Keep up with the restoration of the Sam Firstenberg cut on Facebook by following the official social page!
