THE REVIEWS ARE IN—GET YOUR COPY
“Two thumbs up... a must read for all fans of 80's action films!”
ABOUT THE BOOK
In early 2020, Stories from the Trenches finally made its way into print, a 755-page, career-spanning journey through the life and films of director Sam Firstenberg that I helped produce and contributed material to. The book traces his path from film student and crew member to one of Cannon Films’ defining in-house directors, behind cult favorites including Revenge of the Ninja, Ninja III: The Domination, Breakin’ 2: Electric Boogaloo, and American Ninja.
Built from extensive interviews, rare on-set photographs, personal memories, and stories from three decades in the trenches, the book captures a vanished era of Hollywood filmmaking. Ninjas, breakdancers, exotic locations, movie stars, practical stunts, the home-video explosion, and the spectacular rise and fall of Cannon Films all become part of the story. More than two years went into bringing the book to life.
Then the story took an unexpected turn. At the 2021 Jerusalem Film Festival, Quentin Tarantino spoke about Cannon Films and revealed that Firstenberg had been one of his favorite directors when Tarantino was trying to break into filmmaking in the 1980s. Festival organizers presented him with a copy of Stories from the Trenches. After helping create a book devoted to preserving this corner of film history, seeing it land in the hands of a filmmaker influenced by Firstenberg’s work made the journey feel complete.
