IMDb > The Karate Kid (1984)
The Karate Kid
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The Karate Kid (1984) More at IMDbPro »

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The Karate Kid -- 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.

Overview

User Rating:
7.1/10   76,135 votes »
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Up 16% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.
Director:
John G. Avildsen
Writer:
Robert Mark Kamen (written by)
Contact:
View company contact information for The Karate Kid on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
22 June 1984 (USA) See more »
Genre:
Action | Drama | Family | Sport See more »
Tagline:
Only the 'Old One' could teach him the secrets of the masters. See more »
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. Full summary » | Full synopsis »
Plot Keywords:
See more »
Awards:
Nominated for Oscar. Another 3 wins & 2 nominations See more »
NewsDesk:
(1170 articles)
10 Most Mismatched Enemies In Movie History
 (From Obsessed with Film. 18 June 2013, 9:47 AM, PDT)
Jon Snow Gets The '80s Training Montage He Deserves
 (From Huffington Post. 16 June 2013, 7:05 AM, PDT)
Exclusive Axe Giant: The Wrath of Paul Bunyan Clips Start Swinging
 (From Dread Central. 13 June 2013, 7:15 AM, PDT)
User Reviews:
Terrific 80s's underdog story!!! See more (202 total) »

Cast

  (in credits order) (verified as complete)

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)
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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 Swinson 
 
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 Glass .... sound re-recording mixer (as Robert J. Glass)
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
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)
Alan Oliney .... stunt coordinator (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
Tom D. May .... best boy grip
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
Russ Regan .... music supervisor
Dan Wallin .... score mixer
Gheorghe Zamfir .... musician: pan flute
Angela Morley .... orchestrator (uncredited)
James Thatcher .... musician: French horn solos (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)
 

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Additional Details

Also Known As:
See more »
Parents Guide:
View content advisory for parents
Runtime:
126 min
Country:
USA
Language:
English | Japanese
Color:
Color (Metrocolor)
Aspect Ratio:
1.85 : 1 See more »
Sound Mix:
Dolby
Certification:
Argentina:Atp | Chile:TE | Finland:K-12 | France:U | Norway:12 | Singapore:PG | Sweden:11 | USA:PG | West Germany:12 | Australia:PG | Canada:A (Nova Scotia) | Canada:G (Quebec) | Canada:PG (Manitoba/Ontario) | Iceland:L | Portugal:M/12 | South Korea:12 | Peru:PT | UK:15 (1986) (video release) | UK:PG (cut) (1984) | Netherlands:6
Filming Locations:
5410 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles, California, USASee more »
Company:
Columbia Pictures CorporationSee more »

Did You Know?

Trivia:
Mr. Miyagi is named for Chogun Miyagi, who became the forerunner of karate-jutsu in Okinawa, Japan. 'Sensei Miyagi' as he was called, created his own style of karate-jutsu, which he dubbed 'Goju Ryu', which means 'hard and soft style'.See more »
Goofs:
Factual errors: The station wagon needs to be push started on occasion, something that you can only do with a manual transmission. But, when Daniels mom takes him to Ali's house, she clearly put the station wagon into 'park' revealing an automatic transmission.See more »
Quotes:
Miyagi:Oh, Daniel-san! You all wet behind ear!See more »
Movie Connections:
Referenced in There's Something About Mary (1998)See more »
Soundtrack:
YOU'RE THE BESTSee more »

FAQ

When Daniel was teaching Ali how to knee-juggle the soccer ball, why did Ally suddenly kick the ball away?
Is "The Karate Kid" based on a book?
How much sex, violence, and profanity are in this movie?
See more »

User Reviews

   (Review this title)
37 out of 43 people found the following review useful.
Terrific 80s's underdog story!!!, 30 December 2004
Author: flicklover from United States

I being a child of the 80's have a soft spot for this movie. Yes it is predictable,but what makes it a great movie is the performances by the 2 main characters. Ralph Macchio is great as a teenager that is bullied at his new school. But the movie belongs to Pat Morita as Mr. Myagi. He plays an old apartment maintenance man that befriends Macchio. He becomes his karate teacher, but they develop a great friendship that makes the movie all the more enjoyable. The great thing is that the movie shows that the old man comes to need the kid as much as the kid needs him, it is a touching relationship. All the rest is standard Rocky film stuff, but what Rocky and this film have in common is that the characters are people we care for, so all the climactic scene stuff works.

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Message Boards

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Is it actually possible... agus_stone
How Did Daniel Get Home From the Beach? RobTateMil-1
Daniel does Detroit DoubleRD77
is it possible that epatters-3
30 years later everybody makes movies about Kai teens benosheabutter
How would Daniel react epatters-3
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