Only the Strong (1993)

Director:

Sheldon Lettich

Writers (WGA):

Sheldon Lettich (written by) &
Luis Esteban (written by)

Release Date:

27 August 1993 (USA)

Genre:

Action

Tagline:

The ultimate martial art.

Plot:

Ex-Special Forces soldier Louis Stevens returns to Miami to find his former high school overrun by drugs and violence...

Plot Keywords:

Martial Arts | Capoeira | High School | Drug Lord | Teacher Student Relationship

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

Mark Dacascos	...	Louis Stevens
Stacey Travis	...	Dianna
Geoffrey Lewis	...	Kerrigan
Paco Christian Prieto	...	Silverio
Todd Susman	...	Cochran
Jeffrey Anderson-Gunter	...	Philippe
Richard Coca	...	Orlando Aliveres
Roman Cardwell	...	Shay
Ryan Bollman	...	Donovan
Christian Klemash	...	Eddie
John Fionte	...	Hector Cervantes
Joselito 'Amen' Santo	...	Javier
John Gregory Kasper	...	Coach Kasper
Phyllis Sukoff	...	Mrs. Esposito
Antoni Corone	...	Green Beret Sergeant

Also Known As:

Street Fighters

Runtime:

99 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Certification:

Iceland:16 | South Korea:15 | Spain:18 | UK:15 (cut) | USA:PG-13 | Singapore:PG | Germany:16

Filming Locations:

Miami, Florida, USA

Company:

Davis-Films

Trivia:

Stunt coordinator and fight choreographer for this movie was Frank Dux - the full-contact martial artist whose life was portrayed by Jean-Claude Van Damme in the movie Bloodsport (1988). Moreover, Dux has a cameo appearance as one of the men fighting Louis Stevens in the car workshop.

Goofs:

Audio/visual unsynchronized: In the first lesson, the Capoeira music starts while you can still hear Kerrigan putting the tape in the ghetto blaster.

Quotes:

Silverio: Hey look at this, the childrens are back from the playGROUUUUUUUND.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Beerfest (2006)

Soundtrack:

Enter the Dojo

Unique Brazilian martial arts exhibited in a mediocre movie

The real star of "Only the Strong" is the capoeira style of Brazilian martial arts (which is the pre-cursor of many break dancing moves) exhibited throughout the film. There are many movies that concentrate on wushu, taekwondo, karate, aikido, and many others styles from different parts of the world, but capoeira movies are far and few between, which makes "Only the Strong" that much more unique.

The story is nothing short of rehashed and predictable; a well meaning soldier (Mark Dacascos) with martial arts background from his previous station in Brazil, comes back to the U.S. and attempts to take charge of the rebellious, rival students in a troubled neighbourhood. He attempts to give them a focus in life with the art of capoeira, which combines martial arts, music and dancing, as well as stressing teamwork between the players/fighters. The troublesome students take a while to be won over by Decascos efforts, but eventually play along.

Things get complicated when it turns out that one of the students is the son of a Portuguese gangster, a capoeira maestre himself, that is the terror of the town, leading to some battles and a showdown between the ruthless criminal and his followers and the well meaning teacher.

The acting and the story is sub-par as mentioned previously, but this is , at the time of this writing, the only movie focusing on capoeira as a whole, and as such deserves a closer look by martial arts fans everywhere who are ready for something truly different.