Mortal Kombat (1995)

User Rating:

5.4/10   

Director:

Paul W.S. Anderson

Writers (WGA):

Ed Boon (video games) &
John Tobias (video games) ...
(more)

Release Date:

18 August 1995 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Fantasy | Sci-Fi | Thriller

Tagline:

Choose Your Destiny...

Plot:

Three unknowing martial artists are summoned to a mysterious island to compete in a tournament whose outcome will decide the fate of the world.

Plot Keywords:

Tournament | Mortal Kombat | Sorcerer | Fighting | Martial Arts

Awards:

1 win & 1 nomination

Cast

Christopher Lambert	...	Lord Rayden
Robin Shou	...	Liu Kang
Linden Ashby	...	Johnny Cage
Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa	...	Shang Tsung
Bridgette Wilson	...	Sonya Blade
Talisa Soto	...	Princess Kitana
Trevor Goddard	...	Kano
Chris Casamassa	...	Scorpion
François Petit	...	Sub-Zero
Keith Cooke	...	Reptile (as Keith H. Cooke)
Hakim Alston	...	Fighting Monk
Kenneth Edwards	...	Art Lean
John Fujioka	...	Chief Priest
Daniel Haggard	...	Assistant Director
Sandy Helberg	...	Director
Steven Ho	...	Chan Kang
Peter Jason	...	Master Boyd
Lloyd Kino	...	Grandfather
Gregory McKinney	...	Jax Briggs
Mikal Moore	...	Singer at Techno Club
Brice Stephens	...	Singer at Techno Club
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Kevin Michael Richardson	...	Goro (voice)
Leo Anastasio	...	(uncredited)
Ed Boon	...	Scorpion (voice) (uncredited)
Richard Branden	...	Outworld warrior (uncredited)
Jaime Campos	...	Temple Monk (uncredited)
Deanna Hodges	...	Street Walker (uncredited)
T.J. Storm	...	Guest Fighter (uncredited)
Frank Welker	...	Shao Kahn / Goro (voice) (uncredited)
Tom Woodruff Jr.	...	Goro (uncredited)

Directed by
Paul W.S. Anderson		(as Paul Anderson)

Writing credits (WGA)
Ed Boon		(video games) &
John Tobias		(video games)
Kevin Droney		(written by)

Produced by
Lauri Apelian	....	producer
Robert Engelman	....	executive producer
Lawrence Kasanoff	....	producer
Alison Savitch	....	associate producer
Danny Simon	....	executive producer

Original Music by
George S. Clinton

Cinematography by
John R. Leonetti

Film Editing by
Martin Hunter

Casting by
Fern Champion
Kate Kennedy
Mark Paladini

Production Design by
Jonathan A. Carlson

Art Direction by
Jeremy Cassells		(as Jeremy A. Cassells)

Set Decoration by
Susan Degas

Costume Design by
Ha Nguyen

Makeup Department
Thomas Floutz	....	sculptor
Eileen Kastner-Delago	....	makeup artist
Moni Mansano	....	makeup artist
Michael Pachal	....	hair stylist (as Michael Ross)
Katherine Rees	....	hair stylist: Thailand
Alicia M. Tripi	....	hair stylist

Production Management
Robert Engelman	....	unit production manager
Steven Kaminsky	....	post-production supervisor
Kevin Reidy	....	production manager: Thailand
Ted Zachary	....	executive in charge of production

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Michael Greenwood	....	second second assistant director
Abhijati 'Meuk' Jusakul	....	first assistant director
Jarounari Memak	....	assistant director
Robin R. Oliver	....	assistant director
Thomas Schellenberg	....	assistant director
Jesse E. Johnson	....	third assistant director (uncredited)

Art Department
George Capetanos	....	set dresser
Bryn Court	....	sculptor
Tammy DeRuiter	....	painter
Doug Hart	....	sculptor
David Hogan	....	storyboard artist
Brian Jewell	....	set designer
Jonathan Josell	....	construction accountant
David Kann	....	second property master
Christian Klump	....	scenic artist
Fireball Tim Lawrence	....	storyboard artist (as Tim Lawrence)
Spanky Lofland	....	carpenter
Eugene McCarthy	....	property master
Galia Nitzan	....	set designer
Merry-Beth Noble	....	set dresser
Rodney Petreikis	....	set dresser
David W. Roden	....	lead prop builder
Chris Santini	....	construction foreman
Keith Short	....	head sculptor
Gregory T. Smith	....	art department coordinator
Andrew Wert	....	assistant property master
Brannon Wright	....	storyboard artist
Frederick Agnew	....	scenic artist (uncredited)
Wil Rees	....	conceptual designer (uncredited)

Sound Department
Bobbi Banks	....	adr editor
Gregg Barbanell	....	foley artist
Ricardo Broadus	....	sound effects editor
Harry Cohen	....	sound effects editor
Zachary DiPego	....	sound cable wrangler
William Dotson	....	supervising sound editor
David Farmer	....	sound designer
Marc Fishman	....	supervising sound editor
William Freesh	....	sound re-recording mixer
Eric J. Goldstein	....	boom operator
Tom Hartig	....	boom operator
Pamela Kahn	....	foley artist
Jason King	....	adr editor
Gerry Lentz	....	sound re-recording mixer
Paul Menichini	....	sound editor
Paul Menichini	....	sound effects editor
Steve Nelson	....	sound mixer
Vince Nicastro	....	foley artist
Ann Scibelli	....	sound editor
Michael Simpson	....	sound re-recording assistant
Cathie Speakman	....	supervising adr editor
Liz Sroka	....	adr recordist
Ken Teaney	....	sound re-recording mixer
Eric Thompson	....	adr mixer
Brandon Walker	....	adr recordist
Harry Woolway	....	sound effects editor

Special Effects by
Evan Brainard	....	puppeteer: ADI
Evan Brainard	....	special effects makeup
Duncan Capp	....	special effects
Joe Colwell	....	foam supervisor
Michael Dawson	....	special effects administrator
Michel Gagné	....	special effects animator
Patrick M. Gerrety	....	creature effects crew
Alec Gillis	....	goro special effects
Ian Hubbard	....	creature effects crew
Scott Kodrik	....	special effects technician
Karl Larsen	....	technical assistant: RGA/LA
Chris Nelson	....	special effects technician
Carolyn Oros	....	special effects technician
Alison Savitch	....	special effects supervisor
Andy Schoneberg	....	art department supervisor: Amalgamated Dynamics
Brandon Trost	....	special effects assistant
Ron Trost	....	special effects coordinator
Tom Woodruff Jr.	....	goro special effects
Josselin Mahot	....	creature effects crew (uncredited)

Visual Effects by
Isa Alsup	....	computer graphics supervisor
William L. Arance	....	digital effects artist
Tricia Henry Ashford	....	visual effects producer
Jim Berney	....	technical director: Metrolight
Craig Clark	....	digital animator
Bill Coffin	....	digital compositor
Carole Cowley	....	digital painter
Denise Davis	....	visual effects production supervisor: BVVE
Valerie Delahaye	....	digital artist
Stevan Del George	....	CGI animator: Kleiser-Walczak
Patrick Denver	....	model maker
Vince De Quattro	....	technical director
David Emerson	....	optical lineup
John Follmer	....	special effects supervising producer: main title sequence
Mark Franco	....	visual effects executive producer: The Post Group
Allen Gonzales	....	digital artist
Scott Harper	....	digital artist
Jongwoo Heo	....	visual effects
Ralph Horan	....	executive producer: visual effects
Cynthia Hyland	....	effects compositor
Brian Jennings	....	visual effects supervisor: Todd-AO
Arthur Jeppe	....	digital artist: RGA/LA
David Jones	....	CG supervisor: Buena Vista
Bill Kent	....	visual effects supervisor: main titles, MetroLight Studios
Laurel Klick	....	digital supervisor
Malina Koani	....	production assistant
James W. Kristoff	....	executive in charge of production: MetroLight Studios
Lee Lanier	....	digital artist
Paul Lasaine	....	matte painting supervisor
Kim Lavery	....	visual effects coordinator
Annie Mahlik	....	editorial assistant
Seth Maury	....	digital compositor
Daniel Miller	....	digital compositor
Bret Mixon	....	rotoscoping
Peter Montgomery	....	visual effects supervisor
Steve R. Moore	....	visual effects editor
Craig A. Mumma	....	digital effects producer: Robert Greenberg & Associates
Winston Quitasol	....	digital compositor
Rebecca Ramsey	....	visual effects producer: RGA/LA
Linda Renaud	....	I/O manager
Stuart Robertson	....	visual effects supervisor: RGA/LA
Greg Rostami	....	digital artist
Wally Schaab	....	special projects supervisor
Jennifer Lee Scheer	....	digital effects coordinator
Dobbie Schiff	....	visual effects executive producer: MetroLight Studios
Craig Seitz	....	digital effects compositor: Todd-AO
Samrod Shenassa	....	digital camera
Lewis Siegel	....	technical director (as Lewis N. Siegel)
Suzanne Smith	....	visual effects
Smokey Stover	....	model maker forman: Grant McCune Design
Joseph Thomas	....	matchmove photography
Vincent E. Toto	....	visual effects director of photography
Tara Handy Turner	....	executive in charge of production
John T. Van Vliet	....	visual effects supervisor (as John Van Vliet)
Christopher Walsh	....	character animator
Kelly Walsh	....	visual effects intern
Tamara Watts Kent	....	digital effects producer
Eric Withee	....	digital film technician: RGA/LA

Stunts
Paul Beahm	....	stunts
Barbara Bernhardt	....	assistant stunt coordinator (as Barbara Goldstone)
Barbara Bernhardt	....	stunts
Kurt Bryant	....	stunts
Mark Caso	....	stunts
Gary Clayton	....	stunts
Thomas Dewier	....	stunts
Mark Gannon	....	stunts
Donnie Hair	....	stunts
Brad Halstead	....	stunts
Earnest Hart Jr.	....	stunt ninja
Dana Hee	....	stunts
James Louis Hopkins	....	stunt warrior
Steven Ito	....	stunts
Pat E. Johnson	....	stunt coordinator
Dennis Keiffer	....	stunts
John Koyama	....	stunts
Leo Lee	....	stunt gunman
Sidney S. Liufau	....	stunt warrior
Danny Lopez	....	stunt ninja
Brad Martin	....	stunt double: Linden Ashby
Carl Milinac	....	stunts
Rodney Mitchell	....	stunts
Billy Morts	....	assistant stunt coordinator
Gerald Okamura	....	stunt warrior
Saong Park	....	stunts
Pat Romano	....	stunt rigger
Mike Sims	....	stunts
Dominiquie Vandenberg	....	stunt ninja
Mark Caso	....	stunt double: Sub-Zero (uncredited)
Mitchell Gaylord	....	stunt double: Scorpion acrobatics (uncredited)
Al Goto	....	stunts (uncredited)
Dana Hee	....	stunt double: Kitana (uncredited)
Master Ho Sik Pak	....	stunt ninja (uncredited)
Jeff Imada	....	fire stunt double: Scorpion (uncredited)
Andre McCoy	....	stunts (uncredited)
J.J. Perry	....	stunt double: Linden Ashby (uncredited)
Chris Torres	....	martial arts demonstration (uncredited)
Takis Triggelis	....	stunts (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Richard Aaron	....	still photographer
Hugo Cortina	....	camera operator: "b" camera
Hugo Cortina	....	gaffer
Allen D. Easton	....	camera operator
Allen D. Easton	....	director of photography: second unit
Christopher Faloona	....	director of photography: second unit
Bruce Alan Greene	....	Steadicam operator
Jimmy Harritos	....	rigging electrician
Renee Kayon	....	electrician
Evan A. Nesbitt	....	first assistant camera: VistaVision camera
Greg Patterson	....	set lighting
Mark Santoni	....	second assistant camera
Stephen J. Ullman	....	assistant camera
Mark R. Leins	....	additional assistant camera (uncredited)

Animation Department
Chow Emrich	....	animator

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Cheryl Cravedi	....	set costumer
Lisa A. Doyle	....	set costumer
Christopher J. Kristoff	....	assistant costume designer
David Le Vey	....	costume illustrator

Editorial Department
Logan Breit	....	assistant editor
Scott Conrad	....	additional editor: action sequences
Harrison Gibbs	....	assistant editor
Heather Hughes	....	assistant editor
Mato	....	color timer

Music Department
Sharon Boyle	....	music supervisor
Buckethead	....	composer: guitar score
Joanie Diener	....	music editor
Joseph R. Thygesen	....	assistant music editor
Walter Werzowa	....	composer: additional music, end fight scene
John Whynot	....	score mixer

Transportation Department
George Andrews	....	unit driver
Billy Kane	....	driver

Other crew
Natalie Allisandro	....	stand-in
Fahey Benton	....	medic
Kevin Blank	....	production assistant
Brandon Boyce	....	stand-in (as Brandon Boryce)
Jim Brockett	....	insect wrangler
Milton Canady	....	stand-in
Dea Cantu	....	script supervisor
Ken Cappozzi	....	stand-in
Bob Corff	....	voice teacher
Muyhuot Ear	....	stand-in
Patrick Ellis	....	production assistant
Steve Graham	....	stand-in
Kevin Halloran	....	location scout
Kim Hillman	....	shipping coordinator
Eric Hsu	....	martial arts production assistant: additional action sequences
Pat E. Johnson	....	fight choreographer
Fireball Tim Lawrence	....	fight choreographer (as Tim Lawrence)
Marylou Lim	....	production assistant
Danny Lopez	....	assistant fight choreographer
Lance Mancuso	....	key medic
Jules Mann-Stewart	....	script supervisor: flight sequences
Sarah Pierse	....	stand-in (as Sarah Pierce)
Mercy Santos	....	stand-in
Burton Sharp	....	adr group coordinator
Robin Shou	....	fight choreographer: additional action sequences, additional crew
J. Marc Strachan	....	location manager
Anthony Tian	....	stand-in
E.J. Wessel	....	stand-in
Marsha Zvonkin	....	production accountant
Eric Chen	....	martial arts consultant (uncredited)
Jeffrey J. Kiehlbauch	....	production assistant (uncredited)
Mike McIntosh	....	stand-in (uncredited)

Production Companies

• New Line Cinema
• Threshold Entertainment

Distributors

• New Line Cinema (1995) (USA) (theatrical)
• Fox Network (2001) (USA) (TV) (broadcast premiere)
• Metropolitan Filmexport (1995) (France) (theatrical)
• Columbia TriStar Films de España (Spain)
• Entertainment in Video (2006) (UK) (DVD) (anamorphic re-release)
• New Line Home Video (USA) (DVD)
• New Line Home Video (USA) (VHS)
• New Line Home Video (USA) (laserdisc)
• Transeuropa Video Entertainment (TVE) (Argentina) (VHS)

Special Effects

• Available Light Productions
• Buena Vista Visual Effects
• Hunter/Gratzner Industries
• MetroLight Studios
• R/Greenberg Associates (West)

Other Companies

• TVT Records  soundtrack

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for non-stop martial arts action and some violence.

Runtime:

101 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS (8 channels)

Certification:

Iceland:14 | Iceland:16 (video rating) | Japan:R-15 | Japan:PG-12 (uncut version) | Canada:14 (Nova Scotia) | Canada:AA (Ontario) | Canada:PA (Manitoba) | Argentina:Atp | Australia:M | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:14A (British Columbia) (1999) | Finland:K-16 | France:U | Germany:16 | Hong Kong:IIB | Mexico:B | Netherlands:12 (re-rated) | New Zealand:M | Norway:18 (1995) | Portugal:M/12 | Singapore:PG | South Korea:15 | Spain:13 | Sweden:15 | Taiwan:R-12 | UK:15 | USA:PG-13

Filming Locations:

Austin, Texas, USA

Company:

New Line Cinema

Trivia:

Director Anderson nicknamed Bridgette Wilson "RoboBabe".

Goofs:

Continuity: During the Liu Kang/Sub-Zero fight: while face-down, Sub-Zero's back flap is raised, then falls back down on its own.

Quotes:

Goro: Time to die.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in The Cable Guy (1996)

Soundtrack:

Lost

Best video game movie to date

And that really says a lot about how the not-so-current trend of games-to-movies are received among critics. But this one was easily the best of all of them. This is easily in a league higher than the likes of Super Mario Brothers, Double Dragon, Street Fighter, Wing Commander, the Tomb Raider movies, Resident Evils 1 and 2, House of the Dead and Alone in the Dark, not to mention that this was one of the few that actually stayed true to the game, from the costumes to the tourney fights, from the characters to the plot lines, everything was done right, and it makes for one hell of a fight-'em-to-the-finish type movie.

But heed my warning: AVOID THE SEQUEL AT ALL COST! Just stick with the original. You won't be disappointed (well, maybe you will, just maybe).