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Sam Firstenberg

Sam Firstenberg

Director and writer · Born March 13, 1950 (76) · Poland

Sam Firstenberg (born March 13, 1950, Poland) is an American film director. Born in Poland, Sam Firstenberg grew up in Jerusalem and obtained his higher education in Los Angeles, California. He is best known for working on the American Ninja series and Ninja Trilogy for Cannon Films. Sam Firstenberg has directed films ranging from comedy to action, musical to drama, science fiction, thrillers and horror.

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Biography from TMDB.

Born
March 13, 1950 (76)
From
Poland
Works as
Director and writer
Titles
14 on MovieCove · 26 credits in all
Links
IMDb (opens in a new tab)TMDB (opens in a new tab)Official site (opens in a new tab)Wikidata (opens in a new tab)

Known for

TMDB popularity, last 37 days to Oct 26Down 16% in 30 days

What are Sam Firstenberg's films like?

Across their 13 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Morality and Bonds.

Themes

share of theme weight
Morality
31%
Bonds
26%
Survival
23%
Self
9%
Power
5%
Society
5%
Ideas
1%
Survival6 titles, browse their movies with this themeFamily bonds4 titles, browse their movies with this themeJustice3 titles, browse their movies with this themeLoyalty4 titles, browse their movies with this themeBetrayal3 titles, browse their movies with this themeViolence2 titles, browse their movies with this theme

What they feel like to watch

their average across 13 films
ToneFeelDemandtheir average · filled zone: the category
Serious: How heavy the subject matter and outlook get. Browse their serious movies.
Tone · Weight
lightdark

A split, not a type: Light 6 · Serious 5 · Dark 2

Stylized: How far its world departs from everyday reality. Browse their stylized movies.
Tone · Style
naturalisticheightened

A split, not a type: Grounded 5 · Stylized 3 · Heightened 5

Intense: How hard the emotional peaks hit while you watch. Browse their intense movies.
Feel · Intensity
gentleintense

Gentle 1 · Charged 4 · Intense 8

Shifting: How much it swings between very different feelings. Browse their shifting movies.
Feel · Swings
steadyswings

Steady 6 · Shifting 6 · Whiplash 1

Straight-faced: How much of the runtime is played for laughs. Browse their straight-faced movies.
Feel · Humor
noneconstant

Straight-faced 9 · Some laughs 4 · Funny 0

Even-paced: How fast it moves from scene to scene. Browse their even-paced movies.
Demand · Pace
slowrelentless

A split, not a type: Slow burn 1 · Even-paced 5 · Relentless 7

Casual: How much focus it asks of you — look away and lose the thread? Browse their casual movies.
Demand · Attention
casualfull focus

Casual 10 · Engaged 3 · Full focus 0

Resolved: How much is left for you to interpret. Browse their resolved movies.
Demand · Resolution
resolvedambiguous

Resolved 13 · Open-ended 0 · Ambiguous 0

Moods and endings

endings are an aggregate; no title is named

Dominant moods · mentions across their titles

Tense
12
Thrilling
13
Dread
3
Absurd
1
Joyful
1
Other
1

How their films linger

Fun13 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteRousing6 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteFeel-good3 titles, browse their movies with this aftertaste

How their films end

  • Happy12
  • Ambiguous1

AI-generated from each title's plot synopsis and cast list, with extra plot summaries, reviews and Parents Guide notes for titles the model may not know, and the model's own knowledge of the ones it recognizes. Only analyzed titles count, so this covers part of the filmography; the feel axes count films only for now.

Where can I watch Sam Firstenberg's films?

As of October 24, 2026, 12 of their 14 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service, most on Tubi (11).

Also on these channels

Subscription and free streaming for Sam Firstenberg's titles on MovieCove; rent and buy are not counted. Titles are listed by Midcredits score, highest first, at most 12 per service; a dashed chip is a producer credit or a minor one, such as a thanks. A service opens the browse page, which counts movies only, so its number can differ.

Filmography

26 credits, 14 with a MovieCove page; 4 appearances as themselves are hidden until asked for.

  • Groove Street (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2018)

    Producer

  • The Interplanetary Surplus Male and Amazon Women of Outer Space (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2003)

    Director

  • Quicksand (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2002)

    Director

  • Spiders II: Breeding Ground(2001)

    Director

    Midcredits score: 3rd percentile of all films

  • Criss Cross (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2001)

    Director

  • The Alternate(2000)

    Director

    Midcredits score: 2nd percentile of all films

  • McCinsey's Island (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1998)

    Director

  • Motel Blue (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1997)

    Director

  • Operation Delta Force(1997)

    Director

    Midcredits score: 5th percentile of all films

  • Cyborg Cop II(1994)

    Director · Story

    Midcredits score: 4th percentile of all films

  • Blood Warriors (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1993)

    Director

  • Cyborg Cop(1993)

    Director

    Midcredits score: 8th percentile of all films

  • American Samurai(1992)

    Director

    Midcredits score: 20th percentile of all films

  • Delta Force 3: The Killing Game(1991)

    Director

    Midcredits score: 3rd percentile of all films

  • The Day We Met (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1990)

    Director

  • Riverbend (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1989)

    Director

  • American Ninja 2: The Confrontation(1987)

    Director

    Midcredits score: 20th percentile of all films

  • Avenging Force(1986)

    Director

    Midcredits score: 40th percentile of all films

  • American Ninja(1985)

    Director

    Midcredits score: 29th percentile of all films

  • Breakin' 2: Electric Boogaloo(1984)

    Director

    Midcredits score: 32nd percentile of all films

  • Ninja III: The Domination(1984)

    Director

    Midcredits score: 31st percentile of all films

  • Revenge of the Ninja(1983)

    Director

    Midcredits score: 46th percentile of all films

  • One More Chance (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1983)

    Director · Writer

  • For the Sake of the Dog (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1979)

    Director · Writer

  • Mansion of the Doomed(1976)

    Grip

    Midcredits score: 27th percentile of all films

  • The Amorous Adventures of Don Quixote and Sancho Panza (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1976)

    Grip

Career shape

A full career of 26 titles from 1976 to 2018.

Biggest box office

Breakin' 2: Electric Boogaloo (1984)

$15M worldwide

Highest rated

Revenge of the Ninja (1983)

Midcredits 46th

Most popular right now

American Ninja 2: The Confrontation (1987)

By role

only this rolewith another role
Directing23 of 26: 20 only directing, 3 with another role · typical Midcredits score20thWriting3 of 26: 0 only writing, 3 with another roleProducing1 of 26: 1 only producing, 0 with another roleOther crew2 of 26: 2 only other crew, 0 with another role

26 titles, 3 with more than one role — directing and writing overlap on 3 of them.

By decade

1970s3 · crew1980s8 · crew1990s9 · crew2000s5 · crew2010s1 · crew

Counts from TMDB across their full career, self appearances out; a title counts in every role they held on it. The ring is the typical Midcredits score (the median percentile) of the role's titles that are on MovieCove, shown from 5 scored.

How do Sam Firstenberg's films land?

Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 20th percentile, the median of all 14; across their 13 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 25th percentile for acclaim.

Acclaim · how much people like their films

25thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 13

Approval · how many liked their films

17thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 13

Reach · how many have seen their films

64thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 13

Midcredits score across 14 titles, by percentile

  • 25th to 49th6
  • Below 25th8

Shape of the crowd

10 of their 14 titles are Mixed.

  • Universally Panned1
  • Cult Classic1
  • Crowd Pleaser1
  • Broadly Agreed1
  • Mixed10

Most divisive · director

Breakin' 2: Electric Boogaloo (1984)

76th percentile spread · 34% rated it 4 or lower

Most loved · director

Revenge of the Ninja (1983)

Midcredits 46th · 46% liked

Reviewers score the atmosphere 48/100 and the pacing 44/100 in their films, across 13 reviewed titles. The element that speaks to their work as a director.

Percentiles are each film's standing among all films on MovieCove; the typical film is the median, so one outlier cannot drag it. Percentiles and reviewer scores count the films IMDb credits them on, for now; the Midcredits score bands, the shape of the crowd and the two cards count their MovieCove titles, shows included (a show ranked among shows), appearances as themselves left out. A descriptor is the shape of a title's IMDb rating distribution against the catalog; "most divisive" needs a spread wider than half of all titles, and a card names only a principal credit: a craft role, and on a show a crew role or a run of episodes, never a courtesy credit or a one-off guest spot.

Who does Sam Firstenberg work with?

People who share at least 2 of Sam Firstenberg's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Avi Lerner shares the most, 6.

Writers

Actors

Composers, cinematographers and editors

Producers