The Karate Kid (1984)

A boy and his mother move to California for a new job. He struggles to fit in, as a group of karate students starts to bully him for dating a rich girl from their clique. It's up to the Japanese landlord, Miyagi, to teach him karate.

Director:

John G. Avildsen

Writer:

Robert Mark Kamen

Stars:

Ralph Macchio, Pat Morita, Elisabeth Shue

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 2 wins & 2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Ralph Macchio	...	Daniel
Pat Morita	...	Miyagi (as Noriyuki 'Pat' Morita)
Elisabeth Shue	...	Ali
Martin Kove	...	Kreese
Randee Heller	...	Lucille
William Zabka	...	Johnny
Ron Thomas	...	Bobby
Rob Garrison	...	Tommy
Chad McQueen	...	Dutch
Tony O'Dell	...	Jimmy
Israel Juarbe	...	Freddy
William Bassett	...	Mr. Mills
Larry B. Scott	...	Jerry
Juli Fields	...	Susan
Dana Andersen	...	Barbara

Storyline

Daniel and his mother move from New Jersey to California. She has a wonderful new job, but Daniel quickly discovers that a dark haired Italian boy with a Jersey accent doesn't fit into the blond surfer crowd. Daniel manages to talk his way out of some fights, but he is finally cornered by several who belong to the same karate school. As Daniel is passing out from the beating he sees Miyagi, the elderly gardener leaps into the fray and save him by outfighting half a dozen teenagers. Miyagi and Daniel soon find out the real motivator behind the boys' violent attitude in the form of their karate teacher. Miyagi promises to teach Daniel karate and arranges a fight at the all-valley tournament some months off. When his training begins, Daniel doesn't understand what he is being shown. Miyagi seems more interested in having Daniel paint fences and wax cars than teaching him Karate.

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Plot Keywords:

karate | teenager | fight | paint | training | 

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Taglines:

He taught him the secret to Karate lies in the mind and heart. Not in the hands.

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Genres:

Action | Drama | Family | Sport

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Japanese

Release Date:

22 June 1984 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Karate Kid

Filming Locations:

5225 Lankershim Boulevard, North Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$8,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$5,031,753, 24 June 1984

Gross USA:

$91,077,276

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$91,077,276

Company Credits

Production Co:

Columbia Pictures, Delphi II Productions, Jerry Weintraub Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

126 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Stereo

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Miyagi's yard was empty and full of weeds before shooting started. Production designers did the rest.

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Goofs

When Miyagi breaks the bottles left on the truck by the two men on the beach, a few of them wiggle instead of falling over, indicating the bottles have somehow been attached to the fender.

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Quotes

Daniel: Hey, what kind of belt do you have?
Miyagi: Canvas. JC Penney, $3.98. You like?
Daniel: [laughs] No, I meant...
Miyagi: In Okinawa, belt mean no need rope to hold up pants.
[laughs; then, seriously]
Miyagi: Daniel-san...
[taps his head]
Miyagi: Karate here.
[taps his heart]
Miyagi: Karate here.
[...]

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Alternate Versions

The edited-for-TV versions are heavily edited for drugs and violence. The scene where Johnny is rolling a joint in a cubicle is snipped, and we just see Daniel feeding the hose through the top of the door. Many of the fight scenes are clipped, cutting away most of the action and actual punches are not shown. The final move by Daniel is shown, but the immediate reaction of Johnny (and his rolling on the floor in pain) is not

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Connections

Referenced in Detention (2011)

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Soundtracks

Feel the Night
Music by Bill Conti
Lyrics by Baxter Robertson
Produced by Bill Conti and Baxter Robertson
Performed by Baxter Robertson
Courtesy of RCA Records

User Reviews

Terrific 80s's underdog story!!!

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.