Recently relocated from NJ to LA, Daniel becomes the target of a gang of Cobra Kai dojo students. When Mr. Miyagi saves him with expert Karate skills, Daniel convinces him to teach him to de... Read allRecently relocated from NJ to LA, Daniel becomes the target of a gang of Cobra Kai dojo students. When Mr. Miyagi saves him with expert Karate skills, Daniel convinces him to teach him to defend himself, and put his bullies in their place.Recently relocated from NJ to LA, Daniel becomes the target of a gang of Cobra Kai dojo students. When Mr. Miyagi saves him with expert Karate skills, Daniel convinces him to teach him to defend himself, and put his bullies in their place.
- Nominated for 1 Oscar
- 3 wins & 4 nominations total
- Mr. Miyagi
- (as Noriyuki 'Pat' Morita)
- Director
- Writer
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThe yellow classic automobile that Daniel polishes in the famous "wax-on/wax-off" training scene, then later offered by Mr. Miyagi as Daniel's birthday gift, was actually given to Ralph Macchio by the producer, and he still owns it. The car is a 1948 Ford Super De Luxe.
- GoofsContrary to previously published reports, Daniel using the Crane Kick to kick Johnny to win the tournament is NOT illegal contact. The tournament prohibits punches to the face (Johnny was warned for using one in the finals), but kicks to the face are legal. Earlier in the tournament, Dutch kicked Daniel in the face and received no penalty, proving that kicks to the face are in fact legal in this tournament.
- Quotes
Daniel: Hey, what kind of belt do you have?
Miyagi: Canvas. JC Penney, $3.98. You like?
Daniel: [laughs] No, I meant...
Miyagi: In Okinawa, belt mean no need rope to hold up pants.
[laughs; then, seriously]
Miyagi: Daniel-san...
[taps his head]
Miyagi: Karate here.
[taps his heart]
Miyagi: Karate here.
[points to his belt]
Miyagi: Karate never here. Understand?
- Alternate versionsThe UK cinema version was cut by 19 secs by the BBFC and completely removed the scene of Johnny rolling and lighting a reefer for a PG certificate. Later video releases were uncut and the certificate upgraded to 15.
- ConnectionsEdited into 5 Second Movies: Karate Kid (2008)
- SoundtracksThe Moment of Truth
Written by Bill Conti (music) and Dennis Lambert & Peter Beckett (lyrics)
Performed by Survivor
Produced by Ron Nevison
Courtesy of CBS Records/Scotti Bros. Records
This one one of my favourite films growing up, it really is a triumph over adversity story, with Daniel taking it straight to those that bullied him, and turning the tables.
If you're a fan of those feel good 80's movies, then I'm convinced that you'll enjoy this, it really is an easy going, uplifting experience. It's loaded with iconic scenes, such as wax on, wax off and the ultimate kick scene. This film is definitely worth your time.
This film helped bring a martial arts story to the masses, prior to that, you could argue that many of the martial arts themed films had something of a niche appeal,
It always saddened me that Ralph Macchio didn't have a great career after this film, you would have thought that this would have set him up, it didn't, fortunately Cobra Kai had helped to redress the balance.
The follow up films and the remake are all below average, and perhaps better off avoided, if you've not seen Cobra Kai, I would recommend it, it truly is the great follow up that this film deserved.
Worth seeing.
8/10.
- Sleepin_Dragon
- Jul 31, 2023
- Permalink
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Languages
- Also known as
- El Karate Kid
- Filming locations
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- $8,000,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $91,077,276
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $5,031,753
- Jun 24, 1984
- Gross worldwide
- $91,133,062
- Runtime2 hours 6 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 1.85 : 1