This movie is based on the true life story of a Korean fighter named Choi Bae-dal (who later changed his name to Masutatsu Oyama), the founder of Kyokushin Karate in Japan.
"American Gods" producer Neil Gaiman, a wild imagination, and some impressive CGI help Ricky Whittle bring Shadow Moon to life.
User Lists
Related lists from IMDb users
Share this Rating
Title: Karate baka ichidai (1977)
Want to share IMDb's rating on your own site? Use the HTML below.
Learn more
More Like This
Action
|
Adventure
|
Biography
Director:
Kazuhiko Yamaguchi
Stars:
Shin'ichi Chiba,
Jun Fujimaki,
Eiji Gô
Karate Bullfighter
(1977)
Action
|
Biography
|
Drama
Director:
Kazuhiko Yamaguchi
Stars:
Jirô Yabuki,
Shin'ichi Chiba,
Kenji Imai
Doberman Cop
(1977)
Action
|
Crime
Director:
Kinji Fukasaku
Stars:
Shin'ichi Chiba,
Janet Hatta,
Eiko Matsuda
Golgo 13: Assignment Kowloon
(1977)
Action
|
Crime
|
Thriller
Director:
Yukio Noda
Stars:
Shin'ichi Chiba,
Lun Chia,
Etsuko Shiomi
Hoero tekken
(1982)
Action
|
Comedy
|
Crime
Director:
Norifumi Suzuki
Stars:
Hiroyuki Sanada,
Shin'ichi Chiba,
Etsuko Shiomi
Onna hissatsu ken
(1974)
Action
|
Crime
Director:
Kazuhiko Yamaguchi
Stars:
Etsuko Shiomi,
Shin'ichi Chiba,
Asao Uchida
Karate Kiba
(1976)
Action
|
Crime
|
Drama
Directors:
Ryuichi Takamori,
Simon Nuchtern
Stars:
Etsuko Shiomi,
Jirô Yabuki,
Aaron Banks
Action
|
Adventure
|
Drama
Director:
Norifumi Suzuki
Stars:
Hiroyuki Sanada,
Shin'ichi Chiba,
Etsuko Shiomi
Satsujin ken 2
(1974)
Action
|
Crime
|
Drama
Director:
Shigehiro Ozawa
Stars:
Shin'ichi Chiba,
Claude Gagnon,
Masafumi Suzuki
Yagyu Clan Conspiracy
(1978)
Action
|
Adventure
|
Drama
Director:
Kinji Fukasaku
Stars:
Kinnosuke Nakamura,
Shin'ichi Chiba,
Hiroki Matsukata
Sword of the Beast
(1965)
Action
|
Drama
Director:
Hideo Gosha
Stars:
Mikijirô Hira,
Gô Katô,
Shima Iwashita
Action
Director:
Yu Kohira
Stars:
Etsuko Shiomi,
Shin'ichi Chiba,
Yasuaki Kurata
Edit
Cast
| Credited cast: | |||
| Shin'ichi Chiba | ... | Sensei Masutatsu Oyama (as Sonny Chiba) | |
 |
Kôjirô Hongô | ||
|
|
Hideo Murota | ||
|
|
Masaru Shiga | ||
| Rest of cast listed alphabetically: | |||
|
|
Mr. Chin | ... | Wrestler |
|
|
Masashi Ishibashi | ||
|
|
Yôko Natsuki | ||
|
|
Hiroshi Nawa | ||
|
|
Asao Uchida | ||
Edit
Plot Summary
|
Add Synopsis
Storyline
This movie is based on the true life story of a Korean fighter named Choi Bae-dal (who later changed his name to Masutatsu Oyama), the founder of Kyokushin Karate in Japan.
Parents Guide:
Add content advisory for parents »
Edit
See full technical specs »
Details
Country:
JapanLanguage:
JapaneseRelease Date:
14 May 1977 (Japan) See more »Also Known As:
Karate for Life See more »Filming Locations:
Okinawa, JapanCompany Credits
Show more on
IMDbPro »
Technical Specs
Sound Mix:
MonoColor:
ColorAspect Ratio:
2.35 : 1
Edit
Did You Know?
Trivia
This movie is based on the true life story of Choi Bae-dal (who later changed his name to Masutatsu Oyama), the founder of Kyokushin Karate. See more »Frequently Asked Questions
This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.
Watch Hollywood hits and TV favorites for free with IMDb Freedive. Start streaming on IMDb and Fire TV devices today!
Explore popular action and adventure titles available to stream with Prime Video.
This is an extremely violent and well made martial arts movie--the final in the trilogy based on the life of Masutatsu Oyama--actor Sonny Chiba's instructor in Kyokushinkai Karate. I enjoyed the first two films and at first thought they were totally fictional (after all, who would stage a fight with a bear or a bull), but was shocked to find that for the most part the details of the story were more or less true. However, in this final movie, there is so much killing and extraordinary action that I again wonder what is true and what is exaggerated in the movie. Web sites about Oyama's life weren't all that helpful and I enjoyed the movies enough I might just try to find a biography of this incredible man.
What made the real life Oyama amazing was that like Bruce Lee, his brand of martial arts was made up of whatever techniques worked and this style emphasized winning the fight as quickly as possible. So when you see Sonny Chiba portraying Oyama, it was realistic that he dispatched many opponents with one blow or used lethal-style attacks. However, if you add up all the people he killed in the trilogy, Oyama would have probably killed a hundred or more people and I seriously doubt that Japan would have allowed him to run free!! But, for a film, showing this style of brutal fighting is great because all the silly frills and silly crap that often accompanied SOME martial arts films is gone. Instead, it's stripped down to the bone--just raw and brutal fighting. Chiba is amazing in this film (as well as other films such as the STREET FIGHTER series) because his style is intense and forceful--it's easy to imagine him really being such a dangerous fighting machine. So, for raw fighting power, these films are very similar to the Bruce Lee films. In fact, towards the end, there's an obvious homage to ENTER THE DRAGON where Oyama fights the leader of the baddies in a mirrored room.
For fans of martial arts films, it doesn't get much better than this. While not a perfect film, it is among the very best and highest rated I have seen--earning a 9 through sheer brute strength and technique.