Isaac Florentine (; born 28 July 1958) is an Israeli film director. He is best known for his martial arts and action genre films, namely '' Undisputed II: Last Man Standing'' (2006), '' Undisputed III: Redemption'' (2010), ''

Ninja A , or was a spy and infiltrator in pre-modern Japan. The functions of a ninja included siege and infiltration, ambush, reconnaissance, espionage, deception, and later bodyguarding.Kawakami, pp. 21–22 Antecedents may have existed as ear ...

'' (2009), '' Ninja: Shadow of a Tear'' (2013) and '' Close Range'' (2015) and for launching the career of British actor

Scott Adkins Scott Edward Adkins (born 17 June 1976) is an English actor and martial artist. He gained prominence with his portrayal of the Russian prison fighter Yuri Boyka in the American martial arts film '' Undisputed II: Last Man Standing'' (2006), a ro ...

. Florentine completed his degree in Film & Television from

Tel Aviv University Tel Aviv University (TAU) is a Public university, public research university in Tel Aviv, Israel. With over 30,000 students, it is the largest university in the country. Located in northwest Tel Aviv, the university is the center of teaching and ...

Early life

Florentine regularly visited local cinemas throughout his childhood in

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

, citing

Sergio Leone Sergio Leone ( ; ; 3 January 1929 – 30 April 1989) was an Italian filmmaker, credited as the pioneer of the spaghetti Western genre. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest directors in the history of cinema. Leone's film-making style ...

and

Bruce Lee Bruce Lee (born Lee Jun-fan; November 27, 1940 – July 20, 1973) was an American-born Hong Kong martial artist, actor, filmmaker, and philosopher. He was the founder of Jeet Kune Do, a hybrid martial arts philosophy which was formed from ...

as his biggest idols and subsequent film influences. As a young man he completed mandatory service in the Israeli Army for three years before studying Film & Television at Tel Aviv University. He also trained in martial arts since his childhood, learning

judo is an unarmed gendai budō, modern Japanese martial art, combat sport, Olympic sport (since 1964), and the most prominent form of jacket wrestling competed internationally.『日本大百科全書』電子版【柔道】(CD-ROM version of Encyc ...

and

karate (; ; Okinawan language, Okinawan pronunciation: ), also , is a martial arts, martial art developed in the Ryukyu Kingdom. It developed from the Okinawan martial arts, indigenous Ryukyuan martial arts (called , "hand"; ''tī'' in Okinawan) un ...

from the styles

Kyokushin is a style of karate originating in Japan. It is a full-contact style of stand-up fighting and is rooted in a philosophy of self-improvement, discipline, and hard training. Kyokushin Kaikan is the martial arts organization founded in 1964 ...

, Shito-ryu and Goju-Kai, and started teaching karate in 1978 before opening his own school in 1979, where he also trains regularly to this day. While studying at University he completed his first short film, ''Farewell Terminator'' (1987), which notably won seven awards at Mograbee Film Festival.

Career

In 1988 he moved to America with his family to pursue a career in film. His first break came from meeting producers Ronnie Hadar and Jonathan Tzachor who invited him to join the production team behind TV series '' Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers'' as a stunt coordinator and second unit director. After seeing his first short film,

Cannon Films The Cannon Group, Inc. was an American group of companies, including Cannon Films, which produced films from 1967 to 1994. The extensive group also owned, amongst others, a large international cinema chain and a video film company that investe ...

Menahem Golan Menahem Golan (; May 31, 1929 – August 8, 2014, originally Menachem Globus) was an Israelis, Israeli film producer, screenwriter, and director. He co-owned The Cannon Group with his cousin Yoram Globus. Cannon specialized in producing low-to-mid ...

also offered Florentine the chance to direct his first feature film, ''Desert Kickboxer'' (1992). Florentine is positive of his time on ''Power Rangers'' where he honed many skills and filmmaking techniques. However, he would not embrace his now recognised directing style, shooting with minimal, clean edits in the mould of his other idols

Buster Keaton Joseph Frank "Buster" Keaton (October 4, 1895 – February 1, 1966) was an American actor, comedian and filmmaker. He is best known for his silent films during the 1920s, in which he performed physical comedy and inventive stunts. He frequently ...

and

Charlie Chaplin Sir Charles Spencer Chaplin (16 April 188925 December 1977) was an English comic actor, filmmaker, and composer who rose to fame in the era of silent film. He became a worldwide icon through his screen persona, the Tramp, and is considered o ...

, until his third feature film,

High Voltage High voltage electricity refers to electrical potential large enough to cause injury or damage. In certain industries, ''high voltage'' refers to voltage above a certain threshold. Equipment and conductors that carry high voltage warrant sp ...

(1997). As a next major step in his work, he cast young British actor

in a supporting role for ''

Special Forces Special forces or special operations forces (SOF) are military units trained to conduct special operations. NATO has defined special operations as "military activities conducted by specially designated, organized, selected, trained and equip ...

'' (2003), having received his demo tape, and it would mark the first of many collaborations, including producing, directing and even second unit directing, launching Adkins' career. Florentine also directed the documentary ''The Life and Legend of Bob Wall'' (2003) and second unit directed ''

The Legend of Hercules ''The Legend of Hercules'' is a 2014 American 3D action fantasy film directed by Renny Harlin, written by Daniel Giat and Sean Hood, and starring Kellan Lutz, Gaia Weiss, Scott Adkins, Roxanne McKee, and Liam Garrigan. It was distributed by Li ...

'' (2014).

Filmography

Acting

* ''Farewell, Terminator'' * '' Marilyn Hotchkiss' Ballroom Dancing and Charm School'' * ''

Acts of Vengeance "Acts of Vengeance" is a comic book crossover storyline running through several titles published by Marvel Comics from December 1989 to February 1990. Publication history This company-wide fall crossover was centered on the Avengers and Fanta ...

Directing

* ''Farewell, Terminator'' (short-1987) * ''Desert Kickboxer'' (1992) * ''

Savate Savate (), also known as French Boxing (French language, French: ''Boxe Française'') or French Foot Fighting, is a French hybrid martial art and full-contact combat sport that combines principles of boxing, western boxing with a wide variety ...

(1995)'' * ''Power Rangers Zeo: Zeo Quest'' (1996) * ''

(1997)'' * '' Bridge of Dragons (1999)'' * ''Cold Harvest (1999)'' * ''Power Rangers Time Force - Quantum Ranger: Clash for Control'' (2001) * '' U.S. Seals II: The Ultimate Force'' (2001) * ''

(2003)'' * ''The Life and Legend of Bob Wall (2003)'' * '' Max Havoc: Curse of the Dragon (2004)-(final scenes)'' * '' Undisputed II: Last Man Standing (2006)'' * '' The Shepherd: Border Patrol (2008)'' * ''

(2009)'' * '' Undisputed III: Redemption (2010)'' * '' Assassin's Bullet (2012)'' * '' Ninja: Shadow of a Tear (2014)'' * '' Close Range (2015)'' * '' Boyka: Undisputed'' (2016-uncredited) * ''

'' (2017) * '' Seized'' (2020) * '' Hounds of War'' (2024) * '' Hellfire'' (TBA) * ''Claw (TBA)''

Other

*''

Power Rangers Megaforce ''Power Rangers Megaforce'' is the twentieth season of the long-running television series ''Power Rangers''. The show is produced by Saban Brands and began airing on Nickelodeon on February 2, 2013. The show was part of the ''Power Rangers'' 20t ...

'' - (2013-2014) - Consultant *''

'' - (2014) - Second Unit Director *'' Boyka: Undisputed'' (2017) - Producer *''

211 Year 211 ( CCXI) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Julian calendar. At the time, in the Roman Empire it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Terentius and Bassus (or, less frequently, year 964 ''Ab urbe condita''). The denomin ...

'' (2018) - Producer

Awards

References

External links

Isaac Florentine - Official WebsiteIsaac Florentine Interview on Undisputed II
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Florentine, Isaac Israeli film directors Action film directors Living people Tel Aviv University alumni 1958 births