Written, edited and directed by Wes Craven, The Last House on the Left is the story of two teenage girls who come home from a concert where they get lost in the woods and are tortured by a gang of thugs who would later meet with one of the girls’ parents. Inspired by Ingmar Bergman’s The Virgin Spring, the film is an exploration of two girls taking a wrong turn and the reaction of one of the girls’ parents when they find out what happened. Starring Sandra Peabody, Lucy Grantham, David A. Hess, Fred Lincoln, Jeramie Rain, and Marc Sheffler. The Last House on the Left is a gritty yet intense film from Wes Craven.
The film follows a young woman celebrating her 17th birthday with a friend as they’re about to go to a concert where they encounter some fugitives in the city and later be taken to the woods in an act of torture. It’s a film that is about what happens when two young ladies meet some very bad people who would beat and torture them only to later meet one of the girl’s parents where they find themselves in some serious trouble. Wes Craven’s screenplay starts off innocently as it follows Mari Collingwood (Sandra Peabody) who had turn 17 as she and friend Phyllis Stone (Lucy Grantham) go to New York City for a concert as they want to score some weed after the show. They meet a young man named Junior (Marc Sheffler) who says he can get them some weed as he’s really part of a gang of fugitives. By driving back to Mari’s home, they go nearby to the woods and create a whole lot of trouble and torment with Junior being the most reluctant to be involved.
Craven’s direction is engaging for its simple approach as much of it is due to its low-budget look and feel. Shot on location in New York City with bits of it on Long Island and many of the rural locations in Westport, Connecticut, the film does play into something that starts off very calmly as it is set in this small town where everyone knows each other. While Craven would use a few wide shots, much of his compositions emphasize more on close-ups and medium shots to play into the terror as well as some of the film’s offbeat humor as it relates to a sheriff (Marshall Anker) and a deputy (Martin Kove) trying to get a ride as they learn about the fugitives. Still, Craven is focused on the terror that is happening during the course of the film as much of the shocking content in violence comes during its second act.
Also serving as editor, Craven would put in bits of style in jump-cuts to play into the suspense which would increase during the third act when the fugitives arrive at Mari’s home where Junior would learn whose house he’s in and who the people at her home are. What would happen becomes intense as well as scary showing what happens when the bad guys would come into the wrong house. Overall, Craven creates a thrilling and intoxicating film about a group of fugitives who enter the home of one of the victims they torment and put themselves into trouble.
Cinematographer Victor Hurwitz does excellent work with the film’s grainy and grimy cinematography which plays to its low-budget look in all of its glory while displaying that grittiness for the scenes at night as it is one of the film’s highlights. Costume designer Susan E. Cunningham does nice work with the costumes as it stylish for what many of the characters wore during the early 70s. The sound work of Jim Hubbard is superb for the natural approach to sound in the way some of the objects sound as well as the way gunshots and such are presented. The film’s music by David Alexander Hess is fantastic for its mixture of rock, folk, and country to play into the different tones of the film as the soundtrack also play into those genres.
The film’s wonderful cast include some notable small roles from Ada Washington as a chicken truck driver, Steve Miner as a taunting hippie, Ray Edwards as a postman, Marshall Anker as the town’s sheriff, and Martin Kove as the somewhat-dim deputy. Cynthia Carr and Gaylor St. James are terrific in their respective roles as Mari’s parents in Estelle and Dr. John Collingwood who become concerned when their daughter doesn’t come home until they realize the visitors they invited into their home. Marc Sheffler is superb as Junior as a junkie who would lure Mari and Phyllis later to his own regret as he doesn’t approve of what the gang is doing as he later feels guilty. Jeramie Rain is fantastic as Sadie as the lone woman of the gang who likes to terrorize the ladies as she also has lesbian tendencies toward them.
Lucy Grantham is excellent as Phyllis as Mari’s best friend who takes her to the city for a concert as she is forced to strip and humiliate herself in front of the fugitives who torment her. Sandra Peabody is brilliant as Mari Collingwood as a 17-year old woman hoping to have a fun birthday only to have the worst time of her life upon encountering the dangerous fugitives as she tries to survive the torment she endures. Fred Lincoln is amazing as Fred “Weasel” Podowski as one of the two fugitives who has escaped from prison as someone who is sleazy as well as having no qualms in killing someone. Finally, there’s David A. Hess (who is also the film’s music composer) in a remarkable role as Krug Stillo as Sadie’s boyfriend who is also a fugitive that has a love for killing people as he would also be the most brutish of all of the fugitives.
The Last House on the Left is an extraordinary film from Wes Craven. Featuring a superb cast, a grimy look, offbeat tones, and an eerie story of torment and invasion, it’s a film that is definitely quite intense in terms of the violence as well as what people would do to make someone’s life a living hell. In the end, The Last House on the Left is a marvelous film from Wes Craven.
Related: The Virgin Spring
Wes Craven Films: (The Hills Have Eyes) – (Stranger in Our House) – (Deadly Blessing) – (Swamp Thing) – (Invitation to Hell) – (Nightmare on Elm Street) – (Chiller) – (The Hills Have Eyes Part II) – (Deadly Friend) – (The Serpent and the Rainbow) – (Shocker) – (Night Visions) – (The People Under the Stairs) – (Wes Craven’s New Nightmare) – (Vampire in Brooklyn) – (Scream) – (Scream 2) – (Music of the Heart) – (Scream 3) – (Cursed) – (Red Eye) – (My Soul to Take) – (Scream 4)
© thevoid99 2017
Directed by John G. Avildsen and written by Robert Mark Kamen, The Karate Kid Part III is the third film of the series where both Daniel LaRusso and Mr. Miyagi become victims in a revenge scheme by an old foe, his friend, and a young contender where the two find themselves diverging into different paths. The film is a revenge tales of sort but from the antagonists point of view where it’s the good guys that get attacked forcing them to fight back as both Ralph Macchio and Noriyuki “Pat” Morita respectively reprise their roles as Daniel LaRusso and Keisuke Miyagi. Also starring Thomas Ian Griffith, Robyn Lively, Sean Kanan, and Martin Kove as Kreese. The Karate Kid Part III is a silly and idiotic film from John G. Avildsen.
The film is a revenge tale of sorts as it relates to character of John Kreese where the film picks up months after the events in the second film where he loses his student and his dojo is going bankrupt where he gets help from his old Vietnam comrade in Terry Silver (Thomas Ian Griffith) who is a billionaire that actually founded the dojo. Silver decides to give Kreese a vacation to Tahiti while he would be the ones to find LaRusso and Miyagi and make their lives hell with the help of a vicious karate fighter who wants LaRusso’s title where Silver promises a cut of dojo’s profits if he beats LaRusso. It’s a film that is very strange in the way it handles the concept of revenge as it’s told from the side of its antagonists where it is an interesting idea but there’s a lot of problems with the way it’s handled.
Robert Mark Kamen’s script (which was largely re-written by another writer) doesn’t just portray many of the revenge aspects of the film to be very silly but it’s also in the motivations. While Kreese has legit reasons for wanting revenge on Miyagi and LaRusso, the character of Mike Barnes (Sean Kanan) is only involved because of money while Silver is just there for kicks. For LaRusso and Miyagi, the script has them returning from Okinawa where Miyagi loses his job until LaRusso has an idea to create a bonsai tree shop for Miyagi that he could run. At the same time, LaRusso is asked to return to defend his title but doesn’t want to at first until he is threatened and blackmailed by Barnes which only causes a schism in his relationship with Miyagi where he unknowingly turns to Silver for help unaware of Silver’s true intentions. The development in LaRusso is very startling in how bad his character would regress from confronting someone who is able to kill him to now being whiny and doing stupid things around guys who are just as idiotic.
Another aspect of the script that doesn’t work is another love interest for LaRusso in a pottery shop clerk named Jessica (Robyn Lively) who is really an uninteresting character that is put in bad situations whenever LaRusso finds himself in trouble with Barnes and his goons. It adds so much to LaRusso’s regressive development where he would become scared of these guys forcing Miyagi to finally step in and set his student back on the right path.
John G. Avildsen’s direction doesn’t really do anything new at all in terms of compositions and such but that isn’t really the problem with the film at all. Avildsen does manage to keep things lively and engaging at times despite the many problems with the script but it’s really a lot of things that is wrong. The film is set months or days after the event of the second film as it had been three years since the release of that second film and five years since the release of the first. There is something wrong with the way it is set as LaRusso looks older as well as the fact that a lot of things had changed in the past five years from the music and the culture itself. It is among the many things in the film that feels very wrong not just tonally but also in some of the visual aspects of the film. It’s also a bit more violent as it also adds to the awkwardness of what Avildsen wants. Even as the climax where LaRusso would face Barnes comes off as idiotic and pointless. Overall, Avildsen creates a very messy and nonsensical film about a man and his student being victims in a silly revenge scheme.
Cinematographer Steve Yaconelli does some nice work with the cinematography as it does have some amazing lighting in the sequence where Miyagi confronts Kreese, Silver, and Barnes along with some of the daytime exteriors as it‘s shot largely in Southern California. Editors John G. Avildsen and John Carter do OK work with the editing as it relates to some of the suspense and action though not enough work is put into trimming a few things that went on for too long. Production designer William F. Matthews, with set decorator Catherine Mann and art director Christopher Burian-Mohr, does terrific work with the sets from the look of Miyagi‘s home to the bonsai tree shop he and Daniel would hope to run.
Sound editor Scott Hecker does nice work with some of the sound in the way action is presented along with some of the intense moments in the Californian forests. The film’s music by Bill Conti is superb though it‘s just really just re-hashes of previous scores from the other films though they‘re still effective while music supervisor Brooks Arthur provides a terrible music soundtrack of pop and rock music of the late 80s that just sound very dated and slick.
The casting by Caro Jones is alright for the cast that is assembled as it features appearances from Frances Bay as the old lady that lived in Daniel’s old apartment complex, Randee Heller as Daniel’s mother, Gabe Jarret as a guy that was harassing Jessica at a club that Daniel would brutally beat up, fight choreographer Pat E. Johnson as the tournament referee, and Jonathan Avildsen as one of Barnes’ friends and goons in Snake who is just very annoying. Sean Kanan is alright as Mike Barnes as a skilled and vicious karate fighter who agrees to antagonize and scare LaRusso into taking part of the tournament for Silver with a cut of whatever Silver plans to do for the resurrection of the Cobra Kai dojo. Martin Kove is terrific as John Kreese as the former Corba Kai sensei who feels humiliated by Miyagi as he turns to Silver for help where gladly takes part in Silver’s plan for vengeance.
Robyn Lively is terrible as Jessica as this young woman who works at a pottery shop that finds herself in trouble whenever she’s around Daniel as it involves Mike Barnes as she and Macchio have no chemistry at all. Thomas Ian Griffith is fantastic as Terry Silver where he just exudes the idea of a slimy billionaire that wants to help his friend Kreese and just bring hell to Miyagi and LaRusso where he is just fun to watch. Noriyuki “Pat” Morita is excellent as Miyagi as the karate master who is concerned with LaRusso’s behavior as well as becoming disappointed with LaRusso’s decisions where he try to stay out of the way until he realizes what is really going on. Finally, there’s Ralph Macchio in a horrible performance as Daniel LaRusso where he spends a lot of the film either being whiny or being angry where Macchio would overdo things as he just makes LaRusso even more pathetic than he was in the first film.
The Karate Kid Part III is a horrible film from John G. Avildsen. Despite a few top-notch performances from Noriyuki “Pat” Morita and Thomas Ian Griffith, the film isn’t just a re-hash of sorts of the original but it lacks heart and characters to care for. In the end, The Karate Kid Part III is a film that just plainly fucking sucks.
John G. Avildsen Films: (Turn on to Love) - (Guess What We Learned in School Today?) - (Joe) - (Cry Uncle!) - (Okay Bill) - (Save the Tiger) - (The Stoolie) - (Fore Play) - (W.W. and the Dixie Dancekings) - Rocky - (Slow Dancing in the Big City) - (The Formula) - (Neighbors) - (Traveling Hopefully) - (A Night in Heaven) - The Karate Kid - The Karate Kid Part II - (Happy New Year) - (For Keeps) - (Lean on Me) - (Rocky V) - (The Power of One) - (8 Seconds) - (Inferno)
© thevoid99 2016
Directed and co-edited by John G. Avildsen and written by Robert Mark Kamen, The Karate Kid Part II is the sequel to the 1984 film as Mr. Miyagi returns home to Okinawa to see his ailing father while being accompanied by his student Daniel LaRusso where they deal with an old enemy and his brutish nephew. The film is a continuation of a father-son bond of sorts between Miyagi and LaRusso as they’re once again respectively played by Noriyuki “Pat” Morita and Ralph Macchio. Also starring Nobu McCarthy, Tamlyn Tomita, Danny Komekona, Yuji Okumoto, and Martin Kove as John Kreese. The Karate Kid Part II is a heartfelt and thrilling film from John G. Avildsen.
Set six months after the events in the first film, Kensuke Miyagi receives news from his home island of Okinawa in Japan that his father is dying as he decides to return home. With his student/friend Daniel LaRusso wanting to accompany him as an act of gratitude, the two deal with Miyagi’s own past actions as they’re confronted by an old friend of Miyagi who has a legitimate grudge towards him over a woman Miyagi wanted to marry. Adding that troubling turmoil is the man’s nephew who targets LaRusso where LaRusso realizes the concepts of honor is very different in Japan than in America where he tries to maintain the idea of what is right. Robert Mark Kamen’s screenplay doesn’t just explore the concept of honor but also cowardice as the latter is something Miyagi is accused of from his former friend Sato (Danny Komekona) who was also a student of Miyagi’s father.
Miyagi tries to settle matters with Sato without violence but things don’t work out so well easily where Miyagi’s home village and its villagers are also being targeted for Miyagi’s refusal to fight. Adding to the complications is Sato’s nephew Chozen (Yuji Okumoto) who is quite corrupt and has a very distorted view of honor. While LaRusso does admit that he finds Chozen intimidating, he doesn’t back down knowing that Chozen is driven by profit and intimidation where LaRusso finds a way to get the upper hand and fight another day. The script doesn’t just explore the dire situations both Miyagi and LaRusso are in but also their own relationship as LaRusso helps his mentor cope with loss while getting to know Okinawa. It’s a world LaRusso would embrace despite his encounters with Chozen as it is among the highlights though the elements of romance that involve LaRusso falling for a young woman named Kumiko (Tamlyn Tomita) isn’t entirely successful as it feels like an attempt to give LaRusso something else to do.
John G. Avildsen’s direction is quite straightforward for the way he portrays these two different worlds of Southern California and Okinawa as the latter was actually shot on Oahu, Hawaii with a cast of Okinawan-born actors or those of Okinawan descent to give the film an authentic feel. While the film opens with a sequence that picks up where the last film left off as it involves an antagonist from that film in John Kreese. It does open the film with a bang as it gives audience that confrontation between Miyagi and Kreese but in a way that is unexpected. The film then shifts to six months after that moment where the main narrative takes place as Avildsen’s compositions for the scenes in Southern California are straightforward while many of the scenes set in Okinawa are quite rich and entrancing. There are also these moments that are very intimate in some of the romantic elements between LaRusso and Yukie but it feels very underdeveloped. The moments where LaRusso is confronted by Chozen are very engaging with the usage of low camera angles where the latter is often dominant but LaRusso does find a way to fight back as it does lead to this very intense climax where the two fight as it is about honor and what is right. Overall, Avildsen creates an exciting though flawed film about a man and his student dealing with sins as well as loss and the idea of honor.
Cinematographer James Crabe does brilliant work with the film‘s cinematography in the way Okinawa looks in day and night in its exteriors along with the usage of shadows for some of the scenes set at night including the rainstorm sequence. Editors John G. Avildsen, David Garfield, and Jane Kurson does nice work with the editing as it is largely straightforward with some rhythmic cuts for some of the film‘s action and fight scenes. Production designer William J. Cassidy, set decorator Lee Poll and art director William F. Matthews, does amazing work with the look of homes set in Okinawa as well as some of the places in its towns.
Costume designer Mary Malin does terrific work with the costumes as it‘s mostly casual along with the look of the Japanese robes that many of the local Okinawans wear. Sound editor Tom C. McCarthy does superb work with the sound in capturing the intensity of the storm in the rainstorm sequence along with some raucous moments in a dance club scene as well as sparse moments in the fights. The film’s music by Bill Conti is excellent for its mixture of orchestral-based music with some traditional Japanese-based string instruments and woodwinds to play into some of the romantic and traditional Japanese elements while music supervisor Brooks Arthur creates a soundtrack filled with pop and rock pieces from New Edition, the Moody Blues, Dennis DeYoung of Styx, Carly Simon, Paul Rodgers, Southside Johnny, and the film’s love theme The Glory of Love by Peter Cetera.
The casting by Caro Jones is great as it features some appearances and small roles from Clarence Gilyard as an army soldier at an Okinawan bar, Ron Thomas and Rob Garrison respectively reprising their roles as former Cobra Kai students Bobby and Tommy, William Zabka as the top Cobra Kai student Johnny who is being choked to death by Kreese, Charlie Tanimoto as Miyagi’s ailing father, Joey Miyashima and Marc Hayashi as Chozen’s goons, and Martin Kove in a superb performance as John Kreese who gets himself into a disastrous confrontation against Miyagi. Danny Kamekona is excellent as Miyagi’s old friend Sato who has a grudge towards Miyagi and wants to fight him really bad where also controls the village that Miyagi lived in. Nobu McCarthy is fantastic as Miyagi’s old flame Yukie who was the source of Sato’s falling out with Miyagi as she had been taking care of Miyagi’s father while catching up with Miyagi on old times.
Yuji Okumoto is excellent as Sato’s nephew Chozen as a man who does his uncle’s bidding but also is very corrupt in the way he cheats villagers where he would antagonize Daniel over his distorted view of honor. Tamlyn Tomita is wonderful Yukie’s niece Kumiko who introduces Daniel to the world of Okinawan culture as she would later fall for him though the way some of the romance is handled is very clunky and cheesy. Noriyuki “Pat” Morita is amazing as Miyagi as a man who returns to his home island to see his dying father as he copes with accusations of cowardice by his old friend Sato as well as trying to protect his village from Sato and his nephew. Finally, there’s Ralph Macchio in a brilliant performance as Daniel LaRusso who accompanies Miyagi to Okinawa as an outsider as he deals with Chozen’s antagonistic attitude where he knows he’s being out-skilled and out-matched but wouldn’t back down.
The Karate Kid, Part II is a stellar yet flawed film from John G. Avildsen. While it does feature an amazing cast, compelling themes on the idea of honor, and some fine music. It’s a film that starts off great yet has some bumps along with the way in its narrative but ends on a satisfying note. In the end, The Karate Kid, Part II is a wonderful film from John G. Avildsen.
John G. Avildsen Films: (Turn on to Love) - (Guess What We Learned in School Today?) - (Joe) - (Cry Uncle!) - (Okay Bill) - (Save the Tiger) - (The Stoolie) - (Fore Play) - (W.W. and the Dixie Dancekings) - Rocky - (Slow Dancing in the Big City) - (The Formula) - (Neighbors) - (Traveling Hopefully) - (A Night in Heaven) - The Karate Kid - (Happy New Year) - (For Keeps) - (Lean on Me) - The Karate Kid Part III - (Rocky V) - (The Power of One) - (8 Seconds) - (Inferno)
© thevoid99 2016
Directed by John G. Avildsen and written by Robert Mark Kamen, The Karate Kid tells the story of a young New Jersey teenager who moves to California with his mother where he would encounter bullies who are taught a vicious form of karate. Following repeated encounters with the bullies, the young man is suddenly saved by an Okinawan handyman who would later teach him karate in order to defend himself from the bullies leading to a confrontation at a tournament. A blend of coming-of-age story and the underdog story, the film is an exploration into a young man not just standing up for himself but also find some balance in his young life with the help of an old man. Starring Ralph Macchio, Noriyuki “Pat” Morita, Elisabeth Shue, Randee Heller, William Zabka, and Martin Kove. The Karate Kid is a majestic film from John G. Avildsen.
The film is a simple story of a young teenager from New Jersey who arrives to California with his mother for a new life where he meets a girl only to be bullied by that young woman’s ex-boyfriend and his friends through a vicious form of karate. After a series of encounters where Daniel LaRusso (Ralph Macchio) tries to get revenge only to be getting a worse beating, he is saved by an Okinawan handyman named Mr. Miyagi (Noriyuki “Pat” Morita) who would teach Daniel karate and later have him confront the bullies in a karate tournament. It’s a film that has a simple premise but has so much more where there is this unique bond between Daniel and Mr. Miyagi as the former had just lost a father while the latter is a loner who likes to keep to himself yet is a master at karate. In teaching Daniel through unconventional means, he would show Daniel that there’s more to karate than just punching and kicking but also a way to find balance in the boy’s life.
Robert Mark Kamen’s screenplay plays up to that sense of the underdog in Daniel LaRusso as he’s this kid from New Jersey that just arrived to California where it’s a world full of beaches and palm trees. Upon meeting the rich girl Ali (Elisabeth Shue), it seems like the best decision to move from working-class Jersey to California until he meets her ex-boyfriend in Johnny (William Zabka) who is upset that she’s met someone else as he beats up Daniel with this brutal form of karate. Though Daniel only knows a few moves, he learns that Johnny and his friends go to school where their master is a former Special Forces Vietnam veteran in John Kreese (Martin Kove). One of the intriguing aspects of the script isn’t the fact that Johnny and his friends are really bad kids but misguided one as their teacher is the real villain. Kreese is a man who doesn’t believe in the idea of mercy or restraint as he’s all about destroying and ending the enemy.
It’s an ideal that is the opposite of what Mr. Miyagi would teach to Daniel who becomes frustrated with his encounters as he plead to his mother (Randee Heller) about wanting to go home. Yet, one last beat down from Johnny and his Cobra Kai gang would have Daniel find a true ally in Miyagi. Miyagi would meet with Kreese at the latter’s dojo as Miyagi would ask Kreese to have his boys leave Daniel alone until the tournament where it would be an uneasy decision for both Miyagi and Daniel to make. Still, Miyagi would prepare Daniel for inevitable through unconventional means in muscle memory It’s not just this relationship between the two that builds where Daniel learns more about Miyagi but his relationship with Ali would also grow as she would become his supporter where she would help both of them during the climatic tournament in the film’s third act.
John G. Avildsen’s direction is pretty simple in the way he presents the film as this coming-of-age story about a kid who learns karate in order stand up for himself. Yet, Avildsen does create moments that is very accessible in terms of its compositions and drama while injecting some moments of humor. Some of the best moments of Avildsen include some wide and medium shots of the locations that includes this gorgeous shot of Mr. Miyagi practicing the crane kick in the beach. Much of it displays that sense of peace and balance that is in Mr. Miyagi and what Daniel needed in his life as he is still dealing with the loss of his father. Especially in the third act where he learns about Miyagi’s background as it would strengthen their relationship.
While much of the film’s karate moves, that is choreographed by Pat E. Johnson who plays the tournament referee, might not be impressive in comparison to other martial arts films. They do serve a purpose to the film where it would lead to this climatic tournament where it’s not about how much one person knows. It’s more about what one knows and how it can help them without the need to do something crazy. The film’s climax is definitely memorable in the way Avildsen position his camera and captures the action where it’s very engaging as there is that sense to root for Daniel to succeed as it plays to that underdog story. Overall, Avildsen crafts a very powerful and captivating film about a young man learning the balance in life through karate.
Cinematographer James Crabe does excellent work with the film‘s cinematography from the sunny look of some of the exteriors in the film‘s locations in California to some of the usage of light in some of its nighttime exterior scenes as well as the lights for the climatic tournament. Editors John G. Avildsen, Walt Mulconery, and Bud S. Smith do amazing work with the editing in its stylistic usage of dissolves as well as rhythmic cuts to play into the film‘s action. Production designer William J. Cassidy and set decorator John H. Anderson do wonderful work with the look of the tournament arena as well as the Cobra Kai dojo that Kreese runs and the home that Mr. Miyagi lives when he‘s not working as a handyman.
Costume designers Richard Bruno and Aida Swinson do nice work with the costumes as it‘s mostly casual along with the design of the Halloween costumes at the school dance as well as the karate robes for the tournament. Sound mixer Dean Hodges does terrific work with the sound from the way some of the punches and kicks sound to other moments in the film‘s locations. The film’s music by Bill Conti is just fantastic for its score that is this mixture of orchestral music that features some lush string arrangements as well as a serene pan flute performed by Gheorge Zamfir. Music supervisors Brooks Arthur and Russ Regan create a fun soundtrack that features music by Bananarama, Gang of Four, Survivor, Shandi, Paul Davis, and Joe Esposito.
The casting by Pennie DuPont, Caro Jones, and Bonnie Timmermann is brilliant for the ensemble that is created as it features some notable small performances from Frances Bay as an old lady with a dog, William Bassett as Ali‘s father, and Randee Heller in a terrific performance as Daniel‘s mother. In the roles of Johnny’s fellow Cobra Kai gang, there’s Chad McQueen as the cocky Dutch, Rob Garrison as the mocking Tommy, and Rob Thomas as the more compassionate Bobby. Martin Kove is amazing as the very chilling and antagonistic Kreese as a man who mocks the idea of mercy as there’s also a dark sense of humor in him. William Zabka is excellent as the arrogant Johnny as this rich kid who doesn’t like the idea of his ex-girlfriend hanging around with a working-class kid like Daniel.
Elisabeth Shue is wonderful as Ali as this young woman who wants something new as she finds Daniel refreshing while dealing with the advances of her ex-boyfriend as she proves to be no pushover. Ralph Macchio is great as Daniel LaRusso as this young kid dealing with his new surroundings as well as the bullies as he finds a new surrogate father figure in Mr. Miyagi who would help find the balance in life that he needed. Finally, there’s Noriyuki “Pat” Morita in a phenomenal performance as Mr. Miyagi as this very eccentric yet humble man who is also a master in karate as he maintains a great sense of restraint as a man with some demons inside him as he helps out this young man find balance in life.
The Karate Kid is a remarkable film from John G. Avildsen. It’s a film that features an amazing cast and Bill Conti’s soaring score as it’s truly a film that doesn’t just hold up since its release thirty years ago. It still has something to offer in not just the art of karate but what it really means as all of its imitators can wither away. In the end, The Karate Kid is a sensational film from John G. Avildsen.
The Karate Kid Films: Part II - Part III - (The Next Karate Kid)
© thevoid99 2014
