The Karate Kid

The Karate Kid is a 1984 John G. Avildsen film starring Ralph Macchio and Pat Morita. It is a youth-oriented karate movie and an "underdog" story much in the model of a previous Avildsen smash, the 1976 boxing picture Rocky. It was a massive commercial hit and retains a popular following to this day. It also garnered a favorable critical reception, even earning Pat Morita an Academy Award Best Supporting Actor nomination.

Plot summary

The Karate Kid is about teenage Daniel LaRusso (Macchio), who moves with his mother from Newark, New Jersey to Reseda, California, in L.A.'s San Fernando Valley. The handyman of their apartment building is a kindly and humble Okinawan immigrant named Mr. Kesuke Miyagi (Morita).

The last night of summer, Daniel and his new friends are at the beach, and Daniel has his eye on Ali Mills (Elisabeth Shue). Her ex-boyfriend Johnny Lawrence (William Zabka) and his friends pull up on motorbikes, Johnny and Ali begin arguing, and Ali blasts a radio. Angered, Johnny throws the radio to the ground. Daniel moves to pick it up, and ignores Johnny's warning not to get involved. Daniel and Johnny fight and Daniel loses. Unwittingly, Daniel has made an enemy of one of Cobra Kai karate dojo's best students. The dojo teaches a sadistic, macho form of martial arts.

Johnny and his cronies torment Daniel at every opportunity. When Daniel retaliates with a prank at a Halloween dance (where Johnny is seen rolling and lighting a marijuana cigarette), he is pursued by Johnny and his friends, who proceed to beat him until he can barely stand. Mr. Miyagi rescues Daniel in a surprising display of karate (stunt work by Fumio Demura). Impressed, Daniel persuades Mr. Miyagi to be his teacher (sensei).

Miyagi and Daniel go to confront the sensei of the Cobra Kai dojo to stop their harassment of Daniel. However, the sensei, John Kreese (Martin Kove), is a vicious fighter (later revealed in the sequels to be a Vietnam veteran) who regularly sneers at the concepts of mercy and restraint. To settle the matter, Miyagi announces Daniel will enter a Valley-wide tournament where Cobra Kai students can fight Daniel on equal terms (much to Daniel's surprise and chagrin). Miyagi also requests that the bullying stop while the boy trains. Kreese orders his students to leave Daniel alone, but threatens that if he does not show up at the tournament, the harassment will resume and Miyagi himself will be targeted as well.

Mr. Miyagi becomes Daniel's surrogate father, but Daniel is impatient and sometimes puzzled by the unorthodox teaching methods and behavior. For instance, Miyagi initially has Daniel spend the day performing laborious chores (most famously waxing his car) which he insists must be done with specific hand and arm movements ("Wax on, wax off."). Eventually, Daniel becomes fed up and confronts Miyagi. Miyagi shows him that in doing those chores with those movements, Daniel has in fact been unknowingly learning defensive blocks, the vital first step in karate training. As the training continues, Miyagi instructs Daniel in such techniques such as the famous arms-spread-like-wings one legged kick to the chin called the Crane Kick. As the story and the training move on, Daniel learns not only karate, but also about life, and the role of such values as balance. This reflects the belief that martial arts training is about training of the spirit as much as the body.

At the tournament, Daniel is still an underdog, but his fighting skill is so much improved that he makes it to the semifinals. Kreese, taking no chances, instructs another of his students, Daniel's opponent in the semifinal round, to perform an illegal attack that injures Daniel, seemingly to the point of making him unable to continue. Although Miyagi assures Daniel he has already proved himself, Daniel persuades his sensei to use a special pain suppression technique to allow him to challenge Johnny in the final bout.

Just as Johnny was about to be declared the winner by default, Ali informs the announcer that Daniel will fight after all. The resulting match is brutal with Daniel and Johnny each earning points while Kreese orders his student fight without mercy or scruples. In the final scene, each contestant needs one point to win and Johnny is ordered to strike his opponent down. Daniel, barely able to stand, goes into the Crane Technique stance with Miyagi's approval and strikes Johnny perfectly with one kick to the face. At the end of the movie, Johnny acknowledges the triumphant Daniel respectfully while Miyagi looks on proudly.

Impact

The Karate Kid spawned an entire franchise of related items and memorabilia, such as action figures, head bands, posters, T-shirts, a video game, etc. A short-lived animated spin-off series aired on NBC in 1989. It also had three sequels, and it launched the career of Macchio, who would turn into a teen idol featured on the covers of magazines such as Tiger Beat. It vitalized the acting career of Morita, who was nominated for a Best Supporting Actor Academy Award nomination for his performance as Mr. Miyagi; he had previously been best known from his role on Happy Days as Arnold, the owner of the local hamburger hangout. ESPN's Bill Simmons once called his nomination "the 1984 equivalent of Mr. Belding from Saved By The Bell being nominated for an Oscar in 2005" (1) Morita made several other movies including the three sequels; additionally, it launched the career of Elisabeth Shue. It has also been credited with renewing youth interest in martial arts, with an emphasis on personal discipline rather than the often gratuitous and cinematic violence that martial arts films are known for. The characters of Daniel and his mother are also noteworthy as positive media portrayals of Italian Americans.

Quotes

"Always look eye" (Miyagi)

"Must be take a worm for a walk week!" (Tommy)

"Danielsan all wet behind ear" (Miyagi)

"Get him a body bag! Yeah!" (Tommy)

"Pain does not exist in this dojo, does it?" (Kreese)

"Wax on, wax off" (Miyagi)

"Show me, paint the fence" (Miyagi)

"Show me, sand the floor" (Miyagi)

"Mercy is for the weak!" (Kreese)

"You stay focus!" (Miyagi)

"Man who catch fly with chopstick accomplish anything" (Miyagi)

"Put him in a body bag, Johnny!"

Music

The soundtracks to the Karate Kid series enjoy somewhat of a cult following, where original recordings on CD can cost $40-$120.00. They were written by Bill Conti and orchestrated by Jack Eskew.

Sequels

The Karate Kid, Part II (1986)
The Karate Kid, Part III (1989)
The Next Karate Kid (1994) - launched the career of actress Hilary Swank, who played Mr. Miyagi's new female student, Julie Pierce.

Trivia

Since the film was to be called The Karate Kid, Columbia Pictures had to get permission from DC Comics for usage of the name of the Legion of Superheroes comic book characer Karate Kid. Although the film version did not resemble the original comics creation, DC did get acknowledgement during the end credits.

Because of his boyish looks, Ralph Macchio was able to convincingly play a high school student although he was actually 21 years old during the filming of The Karate Kid. However, at 28, Macchio is less convincing playing a teen by #III that is only supposed to be one year older than in the original.

The Karate Kid III is the only Macchio-led Karate Kid edition in which Daniel fails to keep his love interest through the movie's end. At the onset of Karate Kid II and III, Daniel must explain the conspicuous absence of his girlfriend from the previous movie. Ali (Elisabeth Shue) wrecks Daniel's car at the prom and professes her love of a UCLA football player. Kumiko, whose cultural differences make her an even less likely longterm match for Larusso than Ali, more predictably finds a career opportunity in dance.

The role of Sensei Kreese was originally written for Chuck Norris. Rumors emerged that Norris turned down the part since he would not consider having his name associated with a villainous character and did not like the idea of a karate dojo being depicted as villains. However, when asked about the story on The Adam Carolla Show on February 9, 2006, Norris insisted that he didn't turn down the role - he wasn't actually offered the role. Norris noted that he was already playing leading roles by the time the movie was in production.

In Japan, The Karate Kid was retitled Best Kid (ベスト・キッド/Besuto kiddo). Part II and Part III were renamed Best Kid 2 and Best Kid 3, respectively, and The Next Karate Kid was renamed Best Kid 4.

According to the special edition DVD commentary, the studio originally wanted the role of Mr. Miyagi to be played by Toshiro Mifune. But writer Robert Mark Kamen was opposed to that casting choice.

David Schwimmer, famous for his role in Friends, makes a quick walk-on appearance as a student.

Chad McQueen, son of Steve McQueen, plays the role of Dutch, one of Daniel's opponents.

External links