The Karate Kid

The best films are the ones that continue to entertain you and make you feel over multiple years. All the while adding more layers of depth and meaning to when you originally saw it. The Karate Kid is one of those films for me. There are so many good things about this film itself that I could go on for quite awhile. I'll try to be succinct though.

My brother, Lance, and I grew up watching this film. In fact, it probably defined our childhood in terms of films. Sure, we watched the Star Wars movies and The Princess Bride a lot, too, but The Karate Kid topped them all. We would act out a few scenes from the movie, especially the one where Mr. Miyagi shows Daniel that he is actually learning karate from all the work he is making him do. Each of us always wanted to be Mr. Miyagi so we could slap the other guy for lowering his eyes when he bowed.

There are so many factors in this movie. It's a coming of age/unlikely friendship/martial arts film. There are issues regarding moving and starting in a new school, dating across social classes, the right and wrong way of teaching martial arts, being a single parent with a teenager, and overcoming odds to earn respect and find balance (in multiple areas of life).

The acting and filmmaking is also quality. Not that I know everything now, but there are a few things I've noticed since I first saw the film. There is one scene they did in one shot! No cuts at all. This is when Daniel wakes up under the care of Mr. Miyagi after the Cobra Kais give him quite a beating. The dialogue is quite lengthy yet still, there are no cuts or other angles. Also, the shot when Daniel first enters the tournament floor with Mr. Miyagi and Ali is quite remarkable. It starts with them entering, follows them as the Cobra Kai pass them, and then sweeps up along the bleachers to give you a panoramic view of the tournament. Quite a shot since it follows the leads, shows you a few karate matches, and has hundreds of extras either as audience members or tournament workers in the shot.

That first scene I mentioned with the dialogue was successful only because of the chemistry onscreen with Ralph Macchio and Pat Morita. Pat Morita was a stand-up comic. His voice is not really like that. He completely created that persona with the voice. Ralph Macchio related to his Daniel character, not being very muscular. Although in his words, he "wasn't as defiant" and his onscreen character. Martin Kove, who plays Kreese, also did a great job of being the menacing teacher who instilled the wrong values of martial arts into his students.

Which brings us into that dichotomy of teaching martial arts. The philosophy of martial arts in the film is authentic. The writer, Robert Mark Kamen, studied and practiced the martial arts for a long time. Kreese and Mr. Miyagi were the exact opposites. Kreese was all about the physical sport. You know- "strike first! strike hard! no mercy sir!" Mr. Miyagi was all about the mental toughness. Karate was used only to defend yourself as a last resort. Because the best martial artist is actually the best peacemaker. Even if someone is looking to start a fight with you, the better martial artist will resolve the encounter peacefully without throwing his/her fists.

Well, so much for being succinct! There's even more I could write about but I will stop here. Perhaps I will expand on some issues and add more another time.

blessings

Chinese martial artists in Hollywood

Yes, I understand that very few people would be interested in this, but why not blog about something you know about and love. I love martial arts movies. This isn't nearly complete but I think I know more than the average person.


Of course it started with Bruce Lee. That's when Hollywood really started to take notice. His last complete movie, Enter the Dragon, went on to break records in the Hong Kong film industry and make Bruce an international movie star/actor. All the fights were clearly his own design and displayed his strength and agility. In fact, a young Jackie Chan was there taking Bruce's blows in a couple of scenes.

Hollywood now knows Jackie Chan through the Rush Hour and Shanghai Noon/Knights films. But before movies like Rumble in the Bronx, Supercop, and Operation Condor were re-released in U.S. theaters, before he was misunderstood and changed into something he was not by Hollywood filmmakers in movies like The Protector, Battle Creek Brawl, and Cannonball Run, he did stunts. In Enter the Dragon, Bruce is fighting off a number of Han's men after discovering the opium factory. Jackie takes the hits a couple times, first when he grabs Bruce from behind then Bruce takes him down. And second, the last guy Bruce fights with the bo is Jackie; first hitting him in the stomach and then slashing down on his face. (Which actually made contact by the way! When you see Jackie's head turn in pain, he wasn't acting!)

So everyone knows Jackie does his own stunts. Many of his movies show outtakes at the end, which include stunts that go wrong. In Rumble in the Bronx, Jackie broke his foot. A sock was painted to look like the shoe he was wearing in the end of the film. In Supercop, Jackie jumped onto a pole from the moving train that was supposed to swing. However, the pole didn't swing, and Jackie was helpless in getting hit by the helicopter temporarily connected to the train.

Sammo Hung was also in Enter the Dragon, sparring with Bruce in the opening scene. Although he is not as well known in the U.S. as Jackie, he did a short-lived TV series called Marshall Law. He also directed Jackie in Mr. Nice Guy, which released in U.S. theaters, and has a long friendship and working relationship with Jackie beginning as kids in Peking Opera School.

Donnie Yen may not be as well-known neither, but has tremendous influence on films around the world. We finally see him in a fight scene with Jackie in Shanghai Knights. He was fight choreographer and also had a small role in Blade 2 with Wesley Snipes. He is also known in the U.S. through his role as Wong Kei Ying in Iron Monkey (thanks to Quentin Tarantino).

That's all for now. I could almost write a book on this stuff with all the movies I've watched (including documentaries), and book and articles I've read. Maybe another part will come later.

ugggghhh

Not really feeling too well. And I've got youth group tonight too. Praying for the Lord to make me feel better. We're continuing our study of Ephesians. But before that, we're playing sardines! Can't believe I haven't done that yet with them.

I finally saw The Protector- Tony Jaa's 2nd film release in the U.S. The story treatment is pretty good, building a story on a specific group of people in Thai history. The actual plot though is a bit weak. It had incredible action in it, but the movie was too much based on that. Still, Jaa accomplished one of his main goals in raising the bar with action/martial arts. He has a fight scene against a capoeira guy, followed by a wushu guy. In his fight scene with the x-gamers he does a back handspring onto a ledge, walks along it on his hands, then flips off it. And then there's the 4-minute shot fight scene in the casino. Amazing.