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IMDbPro

American Samurai

  • 19921992
  • RR
  • 1h 34m
IMDb RATING
4.8/10
2K
YOUR RATING
Mark Dacascos and David Bradley in American Samurai (1992)
  • Action
An American reporter teams up with a martial arts expert, whose half-brother is a "yakuza" - Japanese mafia - drug dealer to battle swordsmen from around the world in a Turkish arena.An American reporter teams up with a martial arts expert, whose half-brother is a "yakuza" - Japanese mafia - drug dealer to battle swordsmen from around the world in a Turkish arena.An American reporter teams up with a martial arts expert, whose half-brother is a "yakuza" - Japanese mafia - drug dealer to battle swordsmen from around the world in a Turkish arena.
IMDb RATING
4.8/10
2K
YOUR RATING
  • Director
    • Sam Firstenberg
  • Writer
    • John Corcoran
  • Stars
    • David Bradley
    • Mark Dacascos
    • Valarie Trapp
Top credits
  • Director
    • Sam Firstenberg
  • Writer
    • John Corcoran
  • Stars
    • David Bradley
    • Mark Dacascos
    • Valarie Trapp
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 24User reviews
    • 15Critic reviews
  • See production, box office & company info
  • See more at IMDbPro
  • Photos15

    Mark Dacascos and David Bradley in American Samurai (1992)
    Mark Dacascos and David Bradley in American Samurai (1992)
    Mark Dacascos and David Bradley in American Samurai (1992)
    Mark Dacascos and David Bradley in American Samurai (1992)
    Mark Dacascos and David Bradley in American Samurai (1992)
    Mark Dacascos and David Bradley in American Samurai (1992)
    Mark Dacascos in American Samurai (1992)
    David Bradley and Valarie Trapp in American Samurai (1992)
    Mark Dacascos and David Bradley in American Samurai (1992)
    Mark Dacascos and David Bradley in American Samurai (1992)
    Mark Dacascos and David Bradley in American Samurai (1992)
    Mark Dacascos and David Bradley in American Samurai (1992)

    Top cast

    Edit
    David Bradley
    David Bradley
    • Andrew 'Drew' Collinsas Andrew 'Drew' Collins
    Mark Dacascos
    Mark Dacascos
    • Kenjiro Sangaas Kenjiro Sanga
    Valarie Trapp
    Valarie Trapp
    • Janet Wardas Janet Ward
    Rex Ryon
    Rex Ryon
    • Ed Harrisonas Ed Harrison
    Melissa Hellman
    • Samanthaas Samantha
    John Fujioka
    John Fujioka
    • Tatsuya Sangaas Tatsuya Sanga
    Douvi Cohen
    • Stephaneas Stephane
    • (as Douvey Cohen)
    Mark Warren
    • Turk in Discoas Turk in Disco…
    Koby Azarly
    Koby Azarly
    • Turk in Discoas Turk in Disco
    Shalom Avitan
    • Turk in Discoas Turk in Disco
    Baruch Berkin
    • Hotel Clerkas Hotel Clerk
    Aryeh Moskona
    Aryeh Moskona
    • Announceras Announcer
    • (as Arie Muskuna)
    Michael Morim
    • Police Chiefas Police Chief
    Misha Gal
    • Body Guardas Body Guard
    • (as Moshe Gal)
    John Slater
    • Body Guardas Body Guard
    Moshe Maman
    • Body Guardas Body Guard
    Euthymios Logothetis
    • Drew as a Babyas Drew as a Baby
    Mariano Edelman
    • Drew as a Teenageras Drew as a Teenager
    • Director
      • Sam Firstenberg
    • Writer
      • John Corcoran
    • All cast & crew
    • See more cast details at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      His sensei is played by the same man that played Joe's mentor in American ninja, that Bradley also appeared in, in part 3 and 4 (also part five - but that was renamed and is a different character, do not American ninja canon.
    • Goofs
      Despite being killed in an earlier fight, the Wu-Shu stylist can clearly be seen practicing in the training area.
    • Alternate versions
      German version is heavily edited for violence/gore to secure a "Not under 18" rating.
      • UK version is cut by 1 sec. to qualify for a 18 rating.
      • US version is edited to secure a R rating.
    • Connections
      Referenced in Best of the Worst: Our DVD and Blu-ray Collection (2019)

    User reviews24

    Review
    Top review
    5/10
    So-So Samurai movie, fast forward to the last 45 minutes.
    I have seen MUCH worse Fu/ninja flicks then this but this one isn't very good either.

    Kind of a ripoff of American Ninja, white guy learns Japanese style blah blah blah. Unlike the characters in that series of movies, some of the people in this actually do seem to know martial arts. Kind of a cross between a genuine fu flick like a Jet Li movie and typical American crap.

    The rest of the plot is......ah who cares, its a samurai movie, doesn't matter. :P

    Unlike American Ninja this movie doesn't have 2 guys taking on dozens of "ninja masters" that can be knocked out with one punch, this has more of a realistic one on one style and it is a challenge for the combatants. Much like Blood Sport.

    What it does have going for it it the interesting fighters in the last 45 minutes of the movie, the first half of the movie is just filler to make an excuse for all of the fighting at the end so skip it.

    The fighters at the end look like they were pulled straight from an early 90's 2D arcade fighting game. That is the high point of this flick.

    The low point, and I mean VERY low point is the last fight scene. Both of the "samurai" are wearing the same black and white outfit, no other colors. If you look close during the last fight though you can clearly see red streamers coming from out of the frame, they reused footage from one of the earlier fight scenes to add length to the last fight and it looks SOOOOOOOO cheesy. Also the actors don't know a damn thing about sword fighting, they just clang them together for 5 minutes, that coupled with the reused footage makes it a non-climax.

    Since 45 minutes of this movie is solid fighting with fighters that actually do know how to use their weapons, the very last scene isn't as important.

    You can do worse then this, any American Ninja above 2 for example.

    Not really good or really terrible.

    5/10 when compared to other Fu/ninja movies, would score higher if the last fight scene was done well.
    helpful•4
    5
    • Svperstar
    • Nov 5, 2001

    FAQ1

    • How many different versions are available of this movie?

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • March 3, 1993 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Ninja: American Samurai
    • Filming locations
      • Turkey
    • Production companies
      • Cannon Pictures
      • Global Pictures
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 34 minutes
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • Ultra Stereo
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.85 : 1

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