By Ben Johnson, on 14-03-2008 17:33

The Karate Kid Distributor: Sony Pictures Format: 4-Disc Box Set, Region 2 (PAL) Length: 126 min. Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 Audio: English, French, Spanish, German, Italian Subtitles: English for the hard of hearing, Arabic, Bulgarian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Hebrew, Hindi, Hungarian, Icelandic, Italian, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Spanish, Swedish, Turkish Extras: Director, Writer and Cast Commentary; Beyond the Form Featurette; Life of Bonsai Featurette; East Meets West, A Composer's Notebook; The Way of the Karate Kid Documentary; Original Theatrical Trailer Sound: Dolby Digital

Year of Release: 1984; Origin: United States; Studio: Columbia Pictures, Delphi Films

Director: John G. Avildsen; Producer: Jerry Weintraub; Script: Robert Mark Kamen; Action Director: Pat Johnson; Cast: Ralph Macchio, Pat Morita, Elisabeth Shue, Martin Kove, Randee Heller, William Zabka

Alternative Titles: N/A

This film, more than any other, would prove to be the fabled inspiration for a new generation of young martial arts enthusiasts and for many their first observation of martial arts filmmaking, which possibly explains why such a wafer thin concept has now been elevated to an almost iconic status and why many of its characters and sequences have embedded themselves on the public consciousness: the wise Mr. Miyagi, the ‘wax on’ scene and that famous crane kick at the end, all of which seem to transcend traditional story telling and exist exponentially like all good cult movies should.

This is strange considering that Avildsen specified that his film should target a much younger audience who weren’t old enough for Rocky, and one which follows such well worn codes of underdog sports dramas to almost note perfection.

But it is a combination of factors which has predetermined this film’s longevity. Macchio plays the American every boy with a great charm, as Newark born Daniel who settles with his mother in California and immediately makes enemies in the form of spineless school bullies and their ex-army Karate teacher, John Kreese (Kove).

Mr. Miyagi (Morita), the boy’s philosophising plant-loving Oriental neighbour, steps up to teach the kid some Karate through the medium of DIY, creating one of modern fight cinema’s most memorable sages. Daniel-san is soon ready to face his tormentors head-on in the ring once all known clichés are exhausted (training montage, tender girlfriend subplot, debilitating injury and his eventual comeback), but despite its rudimentary flaws, this great movie also has a lot of heart (particularly in the tender relationship between teacher and disciple), and paints its morality in broad enough brushstrokes which are visible even for the most jaded of audiences to understand.

It’s really good fun, too.