The Octagon (1980)

Director:

Eric Karson

Writers:

Paul Aaron (story)
Leigh Chapman (screenplay)

Release Date:

14 August 1980 (USA)

Genre:

Action

Tagline:

Chuck Norris is Scott James, who must face the Ninja, the unholy masters of terror in . . .

Plot:

A martial artist must defeat a plan by ninjas to create a worldwide training camp for terrorists.

Plot Keywords:

Terrorism | Death | Karate | Martial Arts | Kung Fu

US TV Schedule:

Fri. Aug. 1

11:00 PM

AMC

Cast

Chuck Norris	...	Scott James
Karen Carlson	...	Justine
Lee Van Cleef	...	McCarn
Art Hindle	...	A. J.
Carol Bagdasarian	...	Aura
Tadashi Yamashita	...	Seikura
Kim Lankford	...	Nancy
Larry D. Mann	...	Tibor
Kurt Grayson	...	Doggo
Richard Norton	...	Kyo - Seikura´s Enforcer / Long Legs
Yuki Shimoda	...	Katsumo - Seikura's Aide
Redmond Gleeson	...	Duffy
Alan Chappuis	...	Pierre
Brian Libby	...	Deadwyler
Ken Gibbel	...	Meat

Also Known As:

The Man Without Mercy (Philippines: English title)

Runtime:

103 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Finland:K-18 (1984) (cut) | Finland:K-16 (1995) (uncut) | Finland:(Banned) (1980) (uncut) | Iceland:16 | Germany:16 (DVD rating) | West Germany:16 (nf) | Sweden:15 | France:-12 | Norway:18 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

American Cinema Productions

Trivia:

Fighting Stars Magazine ranked the climactic fight between Chuck Norris and Richard Norton as #13 on their list of the 25 greatest fight scenes of all time.

Goofs:

Crew or equipment visible: After the terrorist trainee falls through the trapdoor, a crew person's hand is visible as it closes back up.

Quotes:

McCarn: If you saw ninjas, you're seeing ghosts.

Movie Connections:

Featured in How American Cinema Changed Hollywood Forever (2003) (V)

ROUSING CLIMAX SAVES A SLOW AND LABORED MOVIE.

This early Chuck Norris potboiler was one of several that helped turn him into a key player within the action genre throughout the 80s.THE OCTAGON is well filmed but sluggish and does not spring to life until the last 20 minutes when Chuck invades the octagon(a terrorist compound never referred to by that title once in the entire film)and lays waste to scores of ninjas.Another good reason to watch this movie is to witness perhaps the most inept and lifeless performance by an actress in the history of cinema.Her name is Karen Carlson,I predicted at the time that we would be hearing less of her.I was right.