The Karate Kid (1984)

Directed by

John G. Avildsen

Genre

drama film, action film, martial arts film, romance film, teen film, coming-of-age film

Country

United States

Runtime

2h 06m

Rated

PG

Rating

7.2 of 10 from 4,759 voters

Elsewhere

IMDb

How it feels

A teenager moves to a new city and gets bullied by a group of karate students. A wise handyman teaches him karate to defend himself and compete in a tournament.

underdogupliftingmentor-drivenearnestsentimentalfeel-goodtensehopeful

What happens

The Karate Kid is a 1984 American martial arts drama film directed by John G. Avildsen and written by Robert Mark Kamen. It is the first film in The Karate Kid franchise. The film stars Ralph Macchio, Pat Morita, Elisabeth Shue and William Zabka. The story follows Daniel LaRusso (Macchio), an Italian-American teenager from New Jersey who moves with his widowed mother to the Reseda neighborhood of Los Angeles. There, LaRusso encounters harassment from bullies, one of whom is Johnny Lawrence (Zabka), the ex-boyfriend of LaRusso's love interest, Ali Mills (Shue). LaRusso is taught karate by handyman and war veteran Mr. Miyagi (Morita) to help LaRusso defend himself and compete in a karate tournament against his bullies. Kamen was approached by Columbia Pictures to compose a film similar to Avildsen's previous success Rocky (1976), after Columbia signed the director. Kamen drew inspiration from the real-life events of an eight-year-old Tum Pai student's story in Hawaii when writing the film. As a result, he maintained strong opinions regarding cast, and petitioned heavily for Morita's inclusion. Preparations for the film began immediately after the final edit of the script was complete, and casting took place between April and June 1983. Principal photography began on October 31, 1983, in Los Angeles and was completed by December 16. The film was Macchio's second major film role, following The Outsiders (1983). The Karate Kid was theatrically released in the United States on June 22, 1984. It received positive reviews from critics, many of whom praised the action sequences, writing, themes, performances, and music. The film was also a commercial success, grossing over $130 million worldwide, making it one of the highest-grossing films of 1984 and Hollywood's biggest sleeper hit of the year. The Karate Kid revitalized the acting career of Morita, who was previously known mostly for comedic roles, and it earned him a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. The film subsequently launched a media franchise and is credited for popularizing karate in the United States. In 2025, the film was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically or aesthetically significant." (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

Trailer

More like this

• Footloose (1984)
• Revenge of the Nerds (1984)
• Old Enough (1984)
• Making the Grade (1984)
• Alley Cat (1984)
• Ninja III: The Domination (1984)
• Sloane (1984)
• The Wild Life (1984)