American Warrior (1985)

American soldier, obviously very skilled in martial arts, single-handedly takes on mercenaries in the Philippines.

Director:

Sam Firstenberg

Writers:

Paul De Mielche (screenplay), Avi Kleinberger (story)

Stars:

Michael Dudikoff, Steve James, Judie Aronson

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Michael Dudikoff	...	Pvt. Joe T. Armstrong
Steve James	...	Cpl. Curtis Jackson
Judie Aronson	...	Patricia Hickock
Guich Koock	...	Col. William T. Hickock
John Fujioka	...	Shinyuki
Don Stewart	...	Victor Ortega
John LaMotta	...	Rinaldo (as John La Motta)
Tadashi Yamashita	...	Black Star Ninja
Phillip Brock	...	Pvt. Charley Madison (as Phil Brock)
Tony Carreon	...	Older Colombian
Roi Vinzon	...	Younger Colombian
Manolet Escudero	...	Bodyguard
Greg Rocero	...	Bodyguard (as Gregg Rocero)
Berto Spoor	...	Bodyguard
Michael Hackbart	...	Bodyguard

Storyline

Joe Armstrong, an orphaned drifter will little respect for much other than martial arts, finds himself on an American Army base in The Philippines after a judge gives him a choice of enlistment or prison. On one of his first missions driving a convoy, his platoon is attacked by a group of rebels who try to steal the weapons the platoon is transporting and kidnap Patricia, the base colonel's daughter, who happens to be along for the ride. Joe rescues Patricia and gets her safely back to the base, but everyone else in the platoon is killed, leading his superiors to conclude that Joe is guilty of cowardice, collaboration or simple incompetence. At the same time, the rebel leader vows revenge against the serviceman who disrupted his plans, and sends an army of ninjas to assassinate him and bring back Patricia. If he wants to survive and save the girl, Joe's going to have to draw on every last ounce of his training.

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Plot Keywords:

ninja | murder | one man army | swordsman | action hero | 

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Taglines:

The deadliest art of the Orient is now in the hands of an American.

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Romance

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Certificate:

R

Did You Know?

Trivia

Steve James said in an interview that Michael Dudikoff was anxious about working with him, since James knew martial arts and Dudikoff didn't and he didn't want to be shown up. James even requested his final fight scenes be filmed on the other side of the compound, far away from Dudikoff, to avoid any further problems. It wasn't until halfway through filming the sequel that the two of them set their differences aside.

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Goofs

When Joe uses Jackson's bike to jump over the wall, the front mud-flap of a motocross bike is visible underneath a fake body kit that looks like the original bike.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Pvt. Charley Madison: Hey! I'm great at that game. Back home in California, I'm like deadly. Hold on, I'll teach you girls how to play.
First Soldier: Yeah. Yeah.
Pvt. Charley Madison: Hey, Buddy, come on. We need an extra guy to even up the sides. Hey, come on.

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Alternate Versions

The film was released as "American Warrior" in UK cinemas and cut by 11 secs to remove shots of throwing stars and a man's genitals being squeezed during a fight scene. The same cuts were made for the video release (now retitled "American Ninja") though these were later waived for the DVD release.

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Connections

Referenced in Video Violence 2 (1988)

User Reviews

Sure it's not Lucas or Kubrick it's b action movie take for what it is!

Amercian Ninja is a gulity pleasure if anything. The film has some decent fight scenes and some good B movie acting. Mike Dudkoff and Steve James are some smooth pimps in the movie bringing it to the man as only they can. If you like 80's karate movies then check this out.

Details

Country:

USA Philippines

Language:

English Spanish Japanese

Release Date:

30 August 1985 (USA)

Also Known As:

American Warrior

Filming Locations:

Philippines

Box Office

Budget:

$1,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$3,234,837, 2 September 1985

Gross USA:

$10,499,694

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$10,499,694

Company Credits

Production Co:

The Cannon Group, Golan-Globus Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

95 min

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color (TVC)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1