The Last Dragon (1985)

In New York City, a young man searches for a Master to obtain the final level of martial arts mastery known as the Glow.

Director:

Michael Schultz

Writer:

Louis Venosta

Stars:

Taimak, Vanity, Christopher Murney

Nominated for 1 Golden Globe. Another 2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Taimak	...	Leroy Green
Vanity	...	Laura Charles
Christopher Murney	...	Eddie Arkadian (as Chris Murney)
Julius Carry	...	Sho'nuff / The Shogun of Harlem (as Julius J. Carry III)
Faith Prince	...	Angela Viracco
Leo O'Brien	...	Richie Green
Mike Starr	...	Rock
Jim Moody	...	Daddy Green
Glen Eaton	...	Johnny Yu
Ernie Reyes Jr.	...	Tai
Roger Campbell	...	Announcer
Esther Marrow	...	Mama Green
Keshia Knight Pulliam	...	Sophia (as Keshia Knight)
Jamal Mason	...	Roy
B.J. Barie	...	Jackie

Storyline

In New York City, a young man searches for the "master" to obtain the final level of martial arts mastery known as the glow. Along the way, he must fight a martial arts expert corrupted with power, and rescue a beautiful singer from an obsessed music promoter.

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Plot Keywords:

new york city | movie theater | title spoken by character | adult lives at home | martial arts | 

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Taglines:

He's a martial arts master who refuses to fight. He's a Bruce Lee fan who's so sure he's Oriental that he eats popcorn with chopsticks. His friends think he's too serious. His family thinks he's crazy. His enemies think he's no challenge. But she knows he's The Last Dragon.

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Genres:

Action | Comedy | Drama | Music

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Certificate:

PG-13

Details

Official Sites:

Sony Movie Channel [United States]

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

22 March 1985 (USA)

Also Known As:

Berry Gordy's The Last Dragon

Filming Locations:

Alphabet City, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$10,000,000 (estimated)

Gross USA:

$25,754,284

Company Credits

Production Co:

Delphi III Productions, Motown Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

109 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Chazz Palminteri's second feature film. He'd played a truck hijacker in Home Free All (1983) the previous year.

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Goofs

A hand-painted sign in Daddy Green's restaurant says "a slice a day keeps the docter away".

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Quotes

[a enraged and frustrated Sho'nuff lifts Leroy up from a barrel of water as he was drowning him to force Leroy to acknowledge him as "The Master"]
Sho'nuff: All right, Leroy. Who's the one-and-only Master?
Leroy Green: [rejuvenated] I am.
Sho'nuff: [screaming] AAAH!
[Sho'nuff, furious at Leroy for the "wrong answer", attempts to give him a fatal blow, but the punch is blocked by Leroy, who now has "The Glow" of power for the good; Sho'nuff groans in pain]
Leroy Green: [glowing in gold] I am.
Sho'nuff: [...]

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Alternate Versions

UK cinema and video versions were cut by just under 2 minutes by the BBFC to remove all footage of nunchakus.

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Connections

Referenced in Undercover Brother (2002)

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Soundtracks

Give Me Your Love
Performed by Alfie Silas (as Alfie)
Written by Alfie Silas, Michael Durio
Produced by Gregg Crockett

User Reviews

A classic, hands down.

This movie is like a guilty pleasure- nobody really talks about it, but every time it comes up in a crowd, within seconds people are using classic lines like "Who's the master?" and "Hey my man, what it look like?" and laughing like maniacs.

This was my favorite movie as a teenager and I've probably seen it 100 times. From the hilarious over-the-top performances to the hybrid karate/comedy/musical genre, it's a movie that kept me laughing the whole way through.

If you like classic movies, then don't waste your time- you'd be better off watching "The Sound of Music" for the 800th time. But if you didn't like this movie, odds are you tried not to.