The Octagon (1980)

Director:

Eric Karson

Writers:

Paul Aaron (story)
Leigh Chapman (screenplay)

Release Date:

14 August 1980 (USA)

Genre:

Action

Tagline:

In a world of choices, for one man there is no choice . . . he must face THE OCTAGON

Plot:

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

Plot Keywords:

Martial Arts | Ninja | Secret Base | Revenge | Karate

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

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

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

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

American Cinema Productions

Trivia:

Fighting Stars Magazine ranked the climactic fight between Chuck Norris and Tadashi Yamashita 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:

Doggo: You want the final say? You got the final say.

Movie Connections:

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

Cheap and dialogue-heavy.

Whether you can take this film or not will depend on your tolerance for B-movies. The production is very cheap (to the point that you can barely see anything during the night scenes), and the plot is pretty vague (Is Chuck Norris playing a mercenary? An anti-terrorist expert? A former karate champion? All three?), and the fact that we can often hear his thoughts in echoing voice-over doesn't make it any more lucid. But Norris is better than usual here (at least better than anyone else in the cast), and his fighting moves are as sharp as ever. (**)