Daniel: I thought it came from Buddhist temples and stuff like that.
Miyagi: You too much TV.
A handyman/martial arts master agrees to teach a bullied boy karate and shows him that there is more to the martial art than fighting.
"The Karate Kid" made its premiere on June 22, 1984. Its competition that weekend were the films "Rhinestone", "Top Secret!", and "The Pope of Greenwich Village". "Rhinestone" did just a little bit better at the Box Office than "The Karate Kid". Maybe it was because people wanted to see Sylvester Stallone and Dolly Parton. Ultimately, however, with its estimated budget of $8 million, "The Karate Kid" kicked its competition flat on its back by becoming the 5th biggest hit of the year as it brought in over $90 million. ("Rhinestone" only brought in a little over $21 million and ranked 50 out of 100 films for 1984. The other films did worse than that.)
This certainly wasn't the first film directed by John G. Avildsen as he had previously directed various films including the multi-Oscar winning "Rocky", "The Formula" and "Neighbors" (he went on to direct the next two sequels to "The Karate Kid"). Robert Mark Kamen wrote the screenplay for this film, his third. He went on to write the next two sequels as well.
A lesson learned from such a successful film as "The Karate Kid" is that just because it's successful at the Box Office doesn't necessarily mean it will win top medals or trophies. "The Karate Kid" only received one Oscar nomination and one Golden Globe nomination, both going to Pat Morita for Best Supporting Actor. He won neither. Still, "The Karate Kid" was a huge favorite with the people and that's what really mattered. At the Young Artists Awards in 1985, Elisabeth Shue won Best Supporting Actress and the film itself won Best Family Motion Picture of the Year.
"The Karate Kid" starred Ralph Macchio as Daniel (this was his third feature film), the late Pat Morita as Miyagi who was a veteran to the big screen, Elisabeth Shue as Ali (this was her second feature film), and co-starred Martin Kove as Kreese, Randee Heller as Lucille, and William Zabka as Johnny (this was his feature film debut). Also look for Andrew Shue, Elisabeth's younger brother. He's uncredited, but he was a member of the Cobra Kai. Interestingly enough, he was also uncredited for his involvement in "Adventures in Babysitting" (1987), another film starring Elisabeth Shue.
Filmed primarily in California, certain film footage was shot on location at places such at "Golf 'N' Stuff" in Norwalk, Charles Evans Hughes Jr. High School located in the Woodland Hills of Los Angeles, 19223 Saticoy Street in Reseda, Los Angeles (the LaRusso apartment), and 20924 Gault Street in Canoga Park, Los Angeles which was the location of Mr. Miyagi's house (it has since been demolished).
Rated PG mainly for violence and language, here are some other bits of information you might like to know...
1. Former screenwriter Dennis Palumbo has said that he was offered the screen writing job for the film but reacted to the offer by saying he'd be "willing to do it if he (the title character, Daniel Larusso) lost the fight in the end." Palumbo explained his reasoning: "You can't have Mr. Miyagi tell him, 'It doesn't matter if you win or lose,' for 90 minutes and then have to have him win." Palumbo went on to say, "But that's because I was being a moron... Now, they made four sequels to that movie, so obviously I was wrong."
2. Charlie Sheen turned down the role of Daniel LaRusso. Kyle Eastwood (Clint Eastwood's son) auditioned for the role, too, but was turned down.
3. Elisabeth Shue interrupted her studies at Harvard to be in this movie.
4. The legendary Toshirô Mifune auditioned for the role of Mister Miyagi. Although he was great in the audition (according to director John G. Avildsen in the DVD Commentary), it was felt that his version of Miyagi was "too serious" and played much like the samurai warriors he played in the Akira Kurosawa movies and he was turned down.
5. Pat Morita was initially turned-down for the role of Mr. Miyagi because there was a "no comedian" policy when looking for an actor. He was later given the role because he was best for it after reading.
6. According to Pat Morita, he is credited as Noriyuki 'Pat' Morita because the producers wanted to promote his Japanese heritage.
7. Pat Morita's portrayal of Mr. Miyagi was heavily influenced by karate master Fumio Demura. Morita spent a lot of time with Demura, who doubled him for his fight scenes, and translated not only Demura's attitude towards the martial arts to the character, but also his mannerisms and speech.
8. William Zabka (Johnny) had no martial arts experience prior to being cast in the film. However, he was an accomplished wrestler.
9. Martin Kove, who played the John Kreese character, was rumored to have replaced Chuck Norris, who allegedly turned down the role of Kreese because he didn't want karate trainers to be shown in an unsympathetic light. Norris has since said he was never offered the role but that if he had been, he would've declined for similar reasons.
10. Surprisingly, during filming in late 1983, Ralph Macchio was age 22. Some of the cast did not believe him when he was asked about his age.
11. The last spin kick that Daniel is hit with before he is saved by Mr. Miyagi actually hit Ralph Macchio and hurt him.
12. According to the commentary track on the home video versions of the movie, William Zabka came up with a loose backstory for the Johnny Lawrence character, in order to better "get the feel" for playing the character. He states in the commentary that he envisioned Johnny as having no father, and that Kreese is the closest thing to a father figure he had in his life.
13. According to Martin Kove in the DVD Documentary, he had gotten a call from John G. Avildsen stating that they wanted him to audition for Kreese but was then told to wait. Kove wanted the role so much that he turned down other prospects in order to get this part. But when the "waiting" dragged out for a few weeks, Kove became annoyed as he kept turning down parts. Finally when Avildsen called Kove in to audition, Kove was so annoyed at Avildsen that he berated the director and channeled his anger into an intense audition. Ultimately, that intensity got him the role.
14. During the scene where Mr. Miyagi is drunk and celebrating an "anniversary," he reveals that he served in the 442nd Regimental Combat Team of the United States Army, an Asian American unit composed of mostly Japanese Americans (many of whom had been in internment camps) who fought in Europe during the Second World War and soon became the most highly decorated unit in the history of the American military.
15. Mr. Miyagi's medal is the Medal of Honor, the highest military decoration awarded by the United States. It is easily recognizable by its blue ribbon and the inscription containing the word "valor." In real life, the 442nd Regimental Combat Team had 21 Medal of Honor awardees, including Senator Daniel Inouye of Hawaii. Its members also received 52 Distinguished Service Crosses, 560 Silver Stars, 4000 Bronze Stars, and 9486 Purple Hearts.
16. The song Miyagi drunkenly sings during the "celebration" of his anniversary is actually fragments of an authentic Japanese folk song that Pat Morita often heard as a child.
17. Despite the fact that the note telling Mr. Miyagi about his wife and son was written in November of 1944, Pat Morita himself was only 12 years old in November, 1944.
18. The studio wanted to drop the "drunk Miyagi" scene, feeling it slowed the pace down. Director John G. Avildsen argued for it and has felt it was the scene that got Pat Morita nominated for an Oscar.
19. The 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.
20. The "Crane Technique" while basically fictional, is based on a stance called the crane stance that is used in several traditional Karate kata.
21. The long, continuous shot from the moment Daniel exits the locker room at the tournament until the panoramic view of the entire gymnasium took over 35 takes to get right, according to Ralph Macchio.
22. The climactic karate tournament involved over 500 extras.
23. The referee in the final match is Pat E. Johnson, a karate expert and former student of Chuck Norris. He instructed many movie stars in karate. He is credited as the "fight instructor/choreographer" for the film.
24. William Zabka still owns the red leather jacket he wears in the film.
25. According to Joe Esposito, "You're the Best" was originally written for Rocky III (1982) which explains the lyric "History repeats itself". The song had been rejected in favor of Survivor's "Eye of the Tiger". Ironically, Survivor also performed the theme song ("The Moment Of Truth") for The Karate Kid.
26. The Karate Kid was the name of a character in DC Comic's "Legion Of Superheroes" who was a member of the Legion. DC Comics, which owned the name, gave special permission for the title to be used. There's a thank you to DC Comics for allowing the use of the name at the end of the credits.
And now you know.
The legendary Pat Morita died November 24, 2005 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Among the mourners at his funeral procession was Ralph Macchio who gave the eulogy. Ralph ended his eulogy with the words, "Forever, my Sensei."
Please enjoy the following picture stills from the film. We'll begin with the key characters...
Now, without giving too much away, here's some picture stills following the story line of the film.
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] Daniel-san...[taps his head] Karate here. [taps his heart] Karate here. [points to his belt] Karate never here. Understand?
