The Last Dragon (1985)

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 ... See full summary »

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:

The last of his kind. The best of the best.

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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

Billy Blanks was originally considered for the role of Leroy. Taimak won the role because the director and writer felt that he projected an innocence that was right for the character.

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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

Leroy Green: Hey my man, what it look like?

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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 Sealab 2021: Murphy Murph & the Feng Shui Bunch (2001)

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Soundtracks

First Time On a Ferris Wheel
Performed by Smokey Robinson & Syreeta
Written by Harriet Schock, Misha Segal
Produced by Misha Segal

User Reviews

The absolute best martial arts flick ever!

Alright, I acknowledge that there are cheezy scenes. I also realize that the "bad" singer is a Cindy Lauper clone, and that Vanity was a protege of Prince. All that aside, I think the filming was great. The scenes were well shot, the music did a terrific job of matching the scenes and setting the mood, and even the comedy helped to keep the show from being too much of a fight flick - in other words it was more real than most shows. The script was easy to follow (alright, predictable) but it's necessary to reach a broad audience. The fight coreography was well done, and Leroy's struggle to believe what everyone is trying to tell him about himself is the real jem of the show - who among us doesn't struggle with such problems at times?