The Karate Kid (1984)

Director:

John G. Avildsen

Writer:

Robert Mark Kamen (written by)

Release Date:

22 June 1984 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

Only the 'Old One' could teach him the secrets of the masters.

Plot:

A handyman/martial arts master agrees to teach a bullied boy karate and shows him that there is more to the martial art than fighting.

Plot Keywords:

Karate | Bully | Fight | Apartment | Master

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 2 wins & 2 nominations

US TV Schedule:

Sat. Jan. 16	8:00 PM	VH1
Sun. Jan. 17	1:30 PM	VH1

Cast

Ralph Macchio	...	Daniel Larusso
Pat Morita	...	Mr. Kesuke Miyagi (as Noriyuki 'Pat' Morita)
Elisabeth Shue	...	Ali Mills
Martin Kove	...	John Kreese
Randee Heller	...	Lucille Larusso
William Zabka	...	Johnny Lawrence
Ron Thomas	...	Bobby Brown
Rob Garrison	...	Tommy
Chad McQueen	...	Dutch
Tony O'Dell	...	Jimmy
Israel Juarbe	...	Freddy Fernandez
William Bassett	...	Mr. Mills
Larry B. Scott	...	Jerry
Juli Fields	...	Susan
Dana Andersen	...	Barbara
Frank Burt Avalon	...	Chucky
Jeff Fishman	...	Billy
Ken Daly	...	Chris
Tom Fridley	...	Alan
Pat E. Johnson	...	Referee
Bruce Malmuth	...	Ring Announcer
Darryl Vidal	...	Vidal - Johnny's Semi-final Opponent
Frances Bay	...	Lady with Dog
Christopher Kriesa	...	Tournament Official
Bernie Kuby	...	Mr. Harris, History Teacher (as Bernard Kuby)
Joan Lemmo	...	Restaurant Manager
Helen Siff	...	Cashier (as Helen J. Siff)
Larry Drake	...	Yahoo #1 at Beach
David Abbott	...	Yahoo #2 at Beach
Molly Basler	...	Cheerleading Coach
Brian Davis	...	Boy in Bathroom
David De Lange	...	Waiter
Erik Felix	...	Karate Student
Peter Jason	...	Soccer Coach
Todd Lookinland	...	Chicken Boy
Clarence McGee Jr.	...	Referee #2
William Norren	...	Doctor
Sam Scarber	...	Referee #3
Scott Strader	...	Eddie, Ali's Friend in the Corvette
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Chris Casamassa	...	Tournament Guest (uncredited)
Tom Levy	...	Cheering Kid (uncredited)
Andrew Shue	...	Member of Cobra Kai (uncredited)

Directed by
John G. Avildsen

Writing credits
Robert Mark Kamen		(written by)

Produced by
R.J. Louis	....	executive producer
Bud S. Smith	....	associate producer
Jerry Weintraub	....	producer

Original Music by
Bill Conti

Cinematography by
James Crabe		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
John G. Avildsen
Walt Mulconery
Bud S. Smith		(as Bud Smith)

Casting by
Pennie DuPont
Caro Jones
Bonnie Timmermann

Production Design by
William J. Cassidy

Set Decoration by
John H. Anderson

Costume Design by
Richard Bruno
Aida Swenson

Makeup Department
E. Thomas Case	....	makeup artist
Cheri Ruff	....	hair stylist

Production Management
Howard Pine	....	unit production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Peter Choi	....	trainee assistant director
Clifford C. Coleman	....	first assistant director
Hope R. Goodwin	....	second assistant director

Art Department
Craig B. Ayers Sr.	....	greensman
Sam Gordon	....	property master
William F. Matthews	....	set designer
Michael Muscarella	....	construction coordinator

Sound Department
Norval D. Crutcher	....	sound effects editor
Samuel C. Crutcher	....	sound effects editor
Thomas Cunliffe	....	boom operator
Don Digirolamo	....	sound re-recording mixer
Robert J. Glass	....	sound re-recording mixer
Dean Hodges	....	sound mixer
J. Paul Huntsman	....	post-production dialogue
Robert Knudson	....	sound re-recording mixer (as Robert Knudsen)
Clive Taylor	....	sound recordist
Glenn T. Morgan	....	assistant sound editor (uncredited)

Special Effects by
Frank Toro	....	special effects

Stunts
Johnny Atkinson	....	stunts (as John Atkinson)
Clarke Coleman	....	stunts
David Crockett	....	stunts
Fumio Demura	....	stunts
Pat Green	....	stunts
Gary Hillenbeck	....	stunts
Douglas Ivan	....	stunts
Buck McDancer	....	stunts
Bob Nichimura	....	stunts
Alan Oliney	....	stunt coordinator
Pat Romano	....	stunts (as Patrick Romano)
Ronnie Rondell Jr.	....	stunts (as Ronnie Rondell)
Spike Silver	....	stunts
Lance Turner	....	stunts
Scott Wilder	....	stunts
Luke LaFontaine	....	stunts (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Peter J. Breen	....	dolly grip
Malcolm Bryce	....	electrician
Allen D. Easton	....	first assistant camera
Brad Edmiston	....	first assistant camera
Joel Kirschner	....	second assistant camera
John London	....	key grip
Ross A. Maehl	....	gaffer
Ralph Nelson	....	still photographer (as Ralph Nelson Jr.)
Patrick G. Ralston	....	best boy (as Pat Ralston)
Stephen St. John	....	Steadicam operator
Jonathan West	....	camera operator
Don Zobel	....	best boy

Editorial Department
Richard Alderete	....	associate editor
Seth Flaum	....	associate editor
M. Scott Smith	....	associate editor

Music Department
Brooks Arthur	....	music supervisor
Stephen A. Hope	....	music editor
Dan Wallin	....	score mixer
Gheorghe Zamfir	....	musician: pan flute
Angela Morley	....	orchestrator (uncredited)
Celia Weiner	....	music editor (uncredited)

Transportation Department
Alan Falco	....	transportation coordinator

Other crew
Richard Davis Jr.	....	location manager (as Richard Davis)
Pete Emmet	....	unit publicist
Alvin Greenman	....	script supervisor
Jeannie Jeha	....	production coordinator
Pat E. Johnson	....	martial arts choreographer
Pat Romano	....	instructor: bicycle riding (as Patrick Romano)

Production Companies

• Delphi Films
• Columbia Pictures Corporation

Distributors

• Columbia Pictures (1984) (USA) (theatrical)
• National Broadcasting Company (NBC) (1987) (USA) (TV) (broadcast premiere)
• LK-TEL Vídeo (Brazil) (VHS)
• LK-TEL (Argentina) (video)

Other Companies

• Varèse Sarabande  score album released by (limited edition)

Runtime:

126 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Japanese

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Canada:A (Nova Scotia) | Canada:G (Quebec) | Canada:PG (Manitoba/Ontario) | Iceland:L | Portugal:M/12 | South Korea:12 | Argentina:13 | Chile:TE | Finland:K-12 | France:U | Norway:12 | Singapore:PG | Sweden:11 | UK:15 | USA:PG | West Germany:12 | Australia:PG | UK:12 (re-rating) (2005)

Filming Locations:

19223 Saticoy Street, Reseda, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Delphi Films

Trivia:

Elisabeth Shue interrupted her studies at Harvard to be in this movie.

Goofs:

Audio/visual unsynchronized: At the Country Club Dinner Dance, the band is playing the "Fascination Waltz", but the conductor's baton is clearly at a faster tempo.

Quotes:

Daniel: Hey - you ever get into fights when you were a kid?
Miyagi: Huh - plenty.
Daniel: Yeah, but it wasn't like the problem I have, right?
Miyagi: Why? Fighting fighting. Same same.
Daniel: Yeah, but you knew karate.
Miyagi: Someone always know more.
Daniel: You mean there were times when you were scared to fight?
Miyagi: Always scare. Miyagi hate fighting.
Daniel: Yeah, but you like karate.
Miyagi: So?
[...]

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Britney: For the Record (2008) (TV)

Soundtrack:

CRUEL SUMMER

Certainly one of the top movies of the '80s, if not all-time.

"The Karate Kid" is the tale of Daniel Laruso (Ralph Macchio), a young man who, on the heels of his mother's finding a new job, is uprooted from Newark, New Jersey, to the sunny shores of California. Daniel's mother has visions of a new start, a new life with the sky as the limit. Daniel, however, quickly finds that, for him, the West Coast holds nothing but hard times.

With the comforts of his rough, middle-class neighborhood thousands of miles away, Daniel tries to make friends and blend with the well-to-do, upper-class kids in his new home. At first, Daniel seems to do alright but, before long, he crosses paths with Johnny (William Zabka), the tough, rich leader of a group of karate students who attends Daniel's new school. To make matters worse, Johnny is the ex-boyfriend of Ali (Elisabeth Shue), a girl Daniel is pursuing.

Enter Miyagi (Noriyuki "Pat" Morita), an aging handy-man who works at Daniel's apartment building. Struggling for friends and failing to fit in, Daniel finds support in Miyagi. After enduring several beatings at the hands of Johnny and his gang, Daniel comes to learn that Miyagi, in fact, knows karate. Following a vain attempt to speak with Johnny's karate teacher (Martin Kove) about being left alone, Daniel is suddenly entered into the All-Valley Karate Tournament, where he will attempt to win the respect that Johnny and his gang have taken.

As he trains for the karate tournament with Miyagi, Daniel learns invaluable lessons about life and love. And brought to the foreground of this karate story is Daniel's pursuit of Ali, who truly is the single person who gave the new kid a chance.

On many levels, "The Karate Kid" is an uplifting movie. It illustrates how a lonely, out-of-place kid triumphs against the odds, and the movie doesn't need computer-animation or special effects to get its story across. But, for me and anyone who loves '80s movies, the "The Karate Kid" has to be appreciated for its nostalgia trip back to "better times." For that reason alone, this movie is a classic.

I've enjoyed few movies, if any, more than "The Karate Kid." I highly recommend this flick to anyone who loves a touching, uplifting story, or to anyone who simply can't get out of the '80s!!!