The Challenge (1982)

A down-and-out American boxer becomes involved in a feud between two Japanese brothers.

Director:

John Frankenheimer

Writers:

Richard Maxwell, John Sayles

Stars:

Scott Glenn, Toshirô Mifune, Donna Kei Benz

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Scott Glenn	...	Rick Murphy
Toshirô Mifune	...	Toru Yoshida
Donna Kei Benz	...	Akiko Yoshida
Atsuo Nakamura	...	Hideo Yoshida
Calvin Jung	...	Ando
Clyde Kusatsu	...	Go
Sab Shimono	...	Toshio Yoshida
Kiyoaki Nagai	...	Kubo
Kenta Fukasaku	...	Jiro
Shôgo Shimada	...	Toru Yoshida's Father
Yoshio Inaba	...	Instructor
Seiji Miyaguchi	...	Old Man
Miiko Taka	...	Toru Yoshida's Wife
Akio Kameda	...	Boxer
Hisashi Osaka	...	Knifeman

Storyline

Rick, a down-and-out American boxer, is hired to transport a sword to Japan, unaware that the whole thing is a set up in a bitter blood-feud between two brothers, one who follows the traditional path of the samurai and the other a businessman. At the behest of the businessman, Rick undertakes samurai training from the other brother, but joins his cause. He also becomes romantically involved with the samurai's daughter.

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Plot Keywords:

samurai | japan | sword | showdown | samurai sword | 

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Taglines:

He has trained every thought, every muscle, every nerve, for the moment of truth!

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Genres:

Action | Drama

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

USA Japan

Language:

English Japanese

Release Date:

23 July 1982 (USA)

Also Known As:

Equals

Filming Locations:

Kyoto, Japan

Company Credits

Production Co:

CBS Theatrical Films, Poncher-Rosen-Beckman Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

113 min

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Toshirô Mifune portrayed a character, Toru Yoshida, who had a similar sounding first name to his own.

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Goofs

After Akiko disappears at the street festival, Rick runs into a guy with a walkie-talkie. As they're talking, people passing in the background look at the camera, duck, and run out of frame.

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Connections

Referenced in P & B (1983)

User Reviews

Sword of Cultures

Scott Glenn gives an excellent performance as a waistral, down-on-his luck, out-of-work boxer who becomes a fallguy for a heirloom (Samurai sword) smuggling plot. Scott, like others in only a handful of movies (e.g. The Yakuza (Robert Mitchum) and Black Rain (Michael Douglas)) gives a rare performance that contrasts the Japanese/American cultures of honor, discipline and duty. John Sayles and John Frankenheimer explore these values with a shoot-em-up verve that attempts to merge business, home, family, warrior and personal values. Tall order! Glenn is the Kevlar-perfect warrior who somehow survives James-Bondian onslaughts .. . and Samurai-disciplines to emerge a winner. Toshiro Mifune needs no introduction .. . and is, as always, a delight. One could only have hoped that better definitions of the term "Ninja" (fogged in myth as assassins and even as a race of women assassins) and "Samurai Sword" (through an expert such as Kenji Mishina) could have been added to the movie. A unique movie dealing with topics that fifty years after a major military and cultural conflict between two diverse cultures, go largely unexplored ...