(Credit: www.buy.com)
Director:
John G. Avildsen
Cast:
Ralph Macchio……….Daniel LaRusso
Noriyuki ‘Pat’ Morita……….Mr. Miyagi
Elisabeth Shue……….Ali Mills
William Zabka……….Johnny Lawrence
Martin Kove……….John Kreese
Randee Heller……….Lucille LaRusso
Columbia Pictures presents a Jerry Weintraub production. Written by Robert Mark Kamen. Running time: 126 minutes. Rated PG.
The movie:
High school is a time for algebra, first loves, and bad cafeteria food. It is also a time for sportos, motorheads, geeks, sluts, bloods, waistoids, and dweebies. Oh, my mistake. It’s easy to reference the 80’s classic Ferris Bueller’s Day Off when writing about high school.
Bullies are another part of growing up. They hang out everywhere at school. Under the bleachers, smoking cigarettes in the bathroom, or skipping class whenever they see fit. Besides these accolades, bullies find it necessary to pick on the meek for self-gratification. That is apparent when Johnny (William Zabka) decides to teach the new kid, Daniel LaRusso, a lesson in pain.
The Karate Kid was released in a decade where there was much social unrest; a perfect time to make a film about school bullies. Ralph Macchio stars as Daniel, a teenager who moves from the Garden State with his mother to sunny California. Right from the start, you know Daniel can’t compete with the likes of Johnny. He rides a bicycle while Johnny drives a dirt bike. Ah, but then something magical happens. Daniel meets Ali (Elisabeth Shue), a curly-haired vixen who happens to be romantically involved with Johnny.
All three are thrown together the night of a beach party. The water is cool and there is a slight breeze. Generic 80’s music on the boom box. Johnny is aggravated when he sees Daniel talking to his “woman.” The two scuffle and Johnny whips out some karate maneuvers and subdues Daniel. Bring forth the typical movie cliché: Ali consoles Daniel-san while her ex rides away. Yes! Daniel is in like Flint. Thatta boy.
But the pounding did not end that night. Johnny and his ragtag bunch of Cobra Ki fighters would beat up Daniel on a regular basis. Enter the solution: an old crow named Miyagi (Pat Morita), the Japanese janitor in LaRusso’s apartment complex. Little does Daniel know that Mr. Miyagi is as good with his hands and feet as he is at fixing a leaky faucet. Growing up in Okinawa, Japan, he was taught the martial arts by his father. He is a master of karate who knows how to fight. Not only that, Miyagi is an expert on the philosophy of martial arts.
After Daniel’s constant nagging for Miyagi to teach him the art of karate, the janitor finally agrees.
So begins the start of a beautiful, albeit weird friendship. The New Jersey kid and the old man have a rocky start. Miyagi has his own style of training. There are no dojos. There are no uniforms or colored belts. He puts Daniel to work by shining cars – the old “wax on, wax off” technique – painting fences, and sanding his porch. Doing this for a few weeks, Daniel becomes unhappy. He complains that he isn’t learning karate skills, acting as slave labor, instead.
Like a young padawan learning the ways of the force, Daniel was immature, not realizing the instruction he was given. The “wax on, wax off” technique gave him a blocking strategy. He is able to block the attacks of another, and deliver his own counter.
John G. Avildsen, the man who made Rocky, directed this heart-warming story of two friends. Unlike the typical buddy pictures, these two friends don’t belittle each other for laughs. They treat each other the way we treat our closest friends. There is a scene where Mr. Miyagi is in a drunken stoop talking about his wedding anniversary. Daniel is interested, learning something new about his friend. Seeing that Miyagi is too drunk, he comes to the old man’s aid and puts him to bed. Upon tucking him in, Daniel grabs a telegraph from Miyagi’s hand. The information is personal. To explain its contents would do the film a disservice.
That’s the great thing about The Karate Kid. The title is a misnomer. The heart of the film is in the relationships, not the fight sequences. In addition to the friendship Daniel shares with Mr. Miyagi, there is his romantic liaison with the sweet-tempered Ali. The roles they play are typical for romances. Ali is a nice girl who has wealthy, snobbish parents; Daniel is a regular guy who looks like he lives “across the tracks”.
Today, we like to revel in everything that is pop culture. Music, clothes, TV shows, and movies. This film is no exception. The “wax on, wax off” line is as prevalent today as it was in 1984. Even actor William Zabka is reminded by movie fans for his role as Johnny. He was the typical lunchroom bully of the eighties. Besides his role in this film, Zabka played bullies in Just One of the Guys and Back to School. In a scene in Kid, he approaches Daniel at school, gives him an application for the All-Valley Karate Tournament, and he tells him, “You’ll need to fill this out and send it in, okay? Just so they’ll know where to claim the body.” Brutal, just brutal. Looks like somebody didn’t get enough love as a child.
Despite Zabka’s bully performance, it is Ralph Macchio and Pat Morita who carry the film. Macchio plays Daniel with a fiery intensity. Unfortunately, he was so convincing as Danny LaRusso that he was ignored by Hollywood. After the success of three Karate Kid films, though, Macchio’s most noteworthy film has been My Cousin Vinny.
Probably the most interesting casting choice was Arnold from Happy Days in the role of Mr. Miyagi. Pat Morita chews the scenery with aplomb. He is reserved and delivers his lines with clarity, giving weight to each word.
The Karate Kid is a film that both kids and adults can enjoy. It is both an inspirational film and an educational tool. A character like Daniel, people can relate to him. Kids today face the same problems – bullies and acceptance, for example. But for a film that is twenty-years removed from its premiere in Hollywood, it’s interesting to note the evolution of schoolyard bullies and the recourse the victims seek. Bullets and “hit lists” have replaced the days of fistfights and bloody noses.
Score: 7.5/10
The DVD:
VIDEO: How does it look?
The video quality for this special edition release is horrendous. Well, maybe horrendous is too harsh a word. But the video is lackluster. There are problems with grain and occasional dirt. It’s not a huge problem, basically noticeable during the nighttime scenes. Also, when solid colors are shown there is grain. Though, the color is clear and correct. Granted the video could look much better, but for a twenty-year-old film without a high-def transfer, you could do worse. The film’s theatrical aspect ratio of 1.85:1 is presented in anamorphic widescreen.
Score: 5/10
AUDIO: How does it sound?
The Dolby Surround 2.0 track on the DVD is a bit average. The film’s music pulsates loudly with each cue. The dialogue is okay – I’ve never seen the pan & scan version, so I can’t judge between the two. Though a 2.0 track is passable, you have to wonder what a 5.1 surround mix would have done for this DVD. Just imagine Bananarama with 5.1. The disc also includes a French 2.0 track and subtitles in English, French, Spanish, Chinese and Thai.
Score: 5.5/10
SPECIAL FEATURES: Daniel and Miyagi on the mike, featurettes, and trailers!!!
The big supplement on this disc is an audio commentary with Avildsen, writer Robert Mark Kamen, Macchio, and Morita. It’s been twenty years and these guys still share in the magic of The Karate Kid. The four are great at sharing their experiences about the film’s production. Avildsen points out that he shoots long scenes with one camera, not quite mastering the art of cutting between characters. One scene between Daniel and Miyagi uses one camera and goes on for four or five minutes. Pat Morita is the resident jokester cracking the funniest stories. Like admitting he had to pee during a long, continuous shot scene – no, not the scene previously mentioned. And Macchio was confused about the clothes Daniel wore at school. Honestly, who wears a plaid shirt with camouflage pants? Love those eighties.
The commentary is a wealth of information, but the fun doesn’t stop there. Five featurettes explore four topics in the film, and are presented in anamorphic widescreen. Thankfully, a “play all” option is available so you watch all 76 minutes. The Way of the Karate Kid parts one and two focus on the making of the film. Clocking in at around 45 minutes, the two featurettes intercut on-set footage and film clips with new interviews with the main characters (which includes Macchio, Morita, Zabka and Kove) and the writer and director. Much information and great “did you knows” are revealed in the two features. Columbia Pictures wanted Toshiro Mifune to play Mr. Miyagi. The studio also wanted to cut a scene that would help Morita earn an Oscar nomination. To this day, Ralph Macchio still has the 1947 canary yellow Ford coupe that his character picked out in the film.
Beyond the Form is a 13-minute featurette spotlighting Pat E. Johnson, a martial artist instructor and fight choreographer. He’s the guy who taught Macchio, Morita and Zabka different karate techniques. Johnson was first introduced to karate in film while working with Bruce Lee in Enter the Dragon. Since then, he has worked with Chuck Norris, Jackie Chan and Bruce’s son Brandon. Even though he worked with those martial artists, Johnson feels The Karate Kid is the best film he has ever been a part of. He observes the differences between Miyagi and Kreese’s fighting technique. Miyagi has a more defensive style while Kreese is offensive-minded. Just an interesting supplement for those who want to know more about stunt work and martial arts.
Next to the audio commentary, the most enjoyable extra is the Life of Bonsai. This personal reflection has Ben Oki, a master bonsai artist, walking through his garden talking about his work. He has some trees that are 300, 400, even 500 years old. Oki imparts his philosophy when it comes to learning the way of bonsai. “Art and relax…if you know the rules you can make any type of tree.”
The last featurette is East Meets West: A Composer’s Notebook, which focuses on Bill Conti’s musical score. Basically, Conti explains the different music themes of the film, source music and production music. Compared to the other extras, this was the least impressive. Still, you can’t help but tear up when Daniel trains on the boat. Great Asian-inspired music.
Three trailers are also included: The Karate Kid, The Karate Kid II and 3 Ninjas: High Noon at Mega Mountain. Not really sure why the last trailer was included. The Karate Kid III would have been a better substitute.
Score: 7/10
