The Karate Kid

This article is about the 1984 film. For the franchise, see The Karate Kid (franchise). For the DC Comics character, see Karate Kid (comics). For other uses, see Karate Kid (disambiguation).

The Karate Kid
The poster shows an elderly man looking at a teenager. In the background, the teenage stands on stop of a small wooden pole doing a karate stance at a beach. Below, the tagline reads "He taught him the secret to Karate lines in the mind and heart. Not in the hands". The films titles, credits, and rating is printed below the tagline.
Theatrical release poster
Directed byJohn G. Avildsen
Written byRobert Mark Kamen
Produced byJerry Weintraub
Starring
CinematographyJames Crabe
Edited by
Music byBill Conti
Production
companies
Delphi II Productions
Jerry Weintraub Productions
Distributed byColumbia Pictures
Release date
  • June 22, 1984 (1984-06-22)
Running time
127 minutes[1]
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$8 million[2]
Box office$130.8 million

The Karate Kid is a 1984 American martial arts drama film written by Robert Mark Kamen and directed by John G. Avildsen. It is the first installment in the Karate Kid franchise, and stars Ralph Macchio, Pat Morita, Elisabeth Shue, and William Zabka.[3][4] The Karate Kid follows the story of 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 his new bullies, one of whom is Johnny Lawrence (Zabka), the ex-boyfriend of LaRusso's love interest, Ali Mills (Shue). LaRusso is taught karate by a handyman and war veteran named 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.[5] As a result, he maintained strong opinions regarding cast, and petitioned heavily for Morita's inclusion.[6] 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).[7]

The Karate Kid was theatrically released in the United States on June 22, 1984. The film received mostly 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 film 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.[8] The film subsequently launched a media franchise and is credited for popularizing karate in the United States.[9][10]

  1. ^ "THE KARATE KID (PG)". British Board of Film Classification. July 2, 1984. Archived from the original on March 5, 2016. Retrieved June 8, 2015.
  2. ^ Straight to DVD: Original "Karate Kid" on Blu-ray. Archived February 5, 2018, at the Wayback Machine Salon.com. Retrieved June 14, 2013.
  3. ^ "The Karate Kid". AllMovie. Rovi Corporation. Archived from the original on December 14, 2009. Retrieved April 28, 2011.
  4. ^ Maslin, Janet (2007). "The Karate Kid (1984)". Movies & TV Dept. The New York Times. Archived from the original on November 13, 2007. Retrieved April 28, 2011.
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference oralhistory was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ "Karate Kid Q&A W/Director John G Avildsen & Cast Part 1". YouTube. H Dellamorte. December 4, 2015. Event occurs at 11:47. Archived from the original on April 6, 2017. Retrieved March 4, 2017.
  7. ^ "Ralph Macchio". Biography (TV program). August 16, 2019. Retrieved November 13, 2019.
  8. ^ Thurber, Jon (November 26, 2005). "Pat Morita, 73; Actor Starred in 'Karate Kid' Movie Series". The Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on August 10, 2010. Retrieved August 25, 2010.
  9. ^ Powell, Larry; Garrett, Tom (December 20, 2013). The Films of John G. Avildsen: Rocky, The Karate Kid and Other Underdogs. McFarland. ISBN 9780786490479. Archived from the original on May 3, 2021. Retrieved December 28, 2017 – via Google Books.
  10. ^ M.D, Lyle J. Micheli (November 17, 2010). Encyclopedia of Sports Medicine. SAGE Publications. ISBN 9781506320106. Archived from the original on May 3, 2021. Retrieved December 28, 2017 – via Google Books.