Daniel LaRusso is the teenage high school kid recently forced to move with his mother from his home in Newark, New Jersey across to the other side of the United States, to Reseda, California, in L.A.'s San Fernando Valley. His mother has been offered a job opportunity there and although she is enthusiastic and optimistic about their new start in life, Daniel on the other hand is morose and pines for his former existence back in Jersey. Things initially look up for Daniel as he befriends a boy of a similar age in the apartment block where he now lives and is invited to a beach party.

The bullying continues at school although it doesn't diminish Daniel's pursuit of Ali and when after Daniel plays a prank on Johnny at the high school Halloween party in order to impress Ali, he is caught by Johnny's gang and beaten to a pulp. He is rescued by the apartment block janitor, Mr. Miyagi, a Japanese immigrant with whom Daniel's only contact was a leaky tap and repairs on his bike. Miyagi it seems is something of a traditional karate master and he wastes no time in not only saving Daniel from the hands of the bullies but gives them a huge dosage of their own medicine to boot.

The Sensei, John Kreese, turns out to be a vicious muscle bound ex-Vietnam veteran who runs his dojo as a cross between a military boot camp and a concentration camp. He threatens both Daniel and Miyagi although Miyagi treats his aggressive taunts with the contempt they deserve. Miyagi suggests that any challenge should be met at the upcoming All Valley karate competition and that until the date of the competition the beating must cease.

I could go on and complete the story in only a few more paragraphs and I've probably given away much more of the plot than a good reviewer should strictly do, but I'm hedging my bets that most readers of this will have either seen the film, or will know how it ends up. And anyway, any fans of similar Hollywood films will guess the ending anyway!

As mentioned before the performances are somewhat shaky from a pure acting viewpoint, but somehow they all work. Daniel LaRusso was played by Ralph Macchio, who from a career point of view was typecast by this performance and the following ones in Karate Kid II and III. Other films you may have seen him in are "My Cousin Vinny" and "Crossroads" (not the one with Noel Gordon by the way), but as I say he is by far best know for this portrayal. He's cocky and smart mouthed and part of the viewer is actually willing for someone to shut him up but at the same time you respect his indomitable spirit and never lay down attitude. I mean this is the guy that's having his butt kicked on the beach by a bigger, stronger and meaner guy and yet does he lay down after the first kicking, no he leaps up punches him in the nose and declares, "Now we're even man!". Cue another butt kicking from Johnny.

Which brings me nicely onto to Miyagi. Played by stand-up comedian Noriyuki "Pat" Morita, a man only really know for his appearances on Saturday Night Live and as Arnold the owner of the malt shop in Happy Days, this was something of a casting risk. Add to this Morita's small stature and wizened looks it's perhaps something of a deadly risk, and yet again it all somehow "just works"! Adopting an accent that we last saw in Tenko he creates a marvelous character which is part Japanese philosophy, part common sense and part good natured tomfoolery. His bonding with Daniel is totally believable as is the quiet dignity he faces upto Kreese or the bravery he displays to the gang of Cobra Kai's.

Viewers might recognise Martin Kove who played Kreese as detective Victor Isbecki from Cagney & Lacey. Here he's not the tough nice guy he played in that series but puts on a masterful show as the dangerous Sensei of the Cobra Kai dojo. Perhaps you could accuse his performance of nothing more than sneering catchphrases but you cannot fault the way he delivers them. Finally, last by no means least I want to mention Randee Heller who plays Mrs. LaRusso in what must be the defining Italian-American mom portrayal ever!

Pictures of The Karate Kid (Special Edition) (DVD)

An American Dream

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

I picked this version up in my local HMV the other week when fate decreed that not only had I a bit of spare money in my pocket but also a wife and child free afternoon and nothing to do. HMV were also stocking the complete Karate Kid box set, that's films I, II, III and IV for 30 quid and yet this special edition of Karate Kid on its own was only £7. Now don't call me Carol Vorderman but 4 times 7 is 28 so quite why I'm going to pay 30 quid for all four is a bit beyond me, but in anyone's book £7 for a DVD is not at all bad.

"Beyond the Form" feature is again another interesting insight looking at the karate techniques used in the film. The karate co-coordinator is Pat Johnson who has trained and appeared with all the karate film greats and he actually appears in the film as the mustachioed referee at the tournament. What I found especially interesting was that none of the stars had any sort of karate training at all and when they were given their instruction Macchio and Morita would be trained together to strengthen their bond. Likewise the 5 Cobra Kai's would be training in a very rigid fashion in order to cement their brotherhood and Kove was trained alone so that he appeared to all as the aloof and untouchable Kreese.

Finally (yes I mean it now) just a couple of bits of trivia that you may not know.

So that's about it. For any fans of 80's cinema I encourage you wholeheartedly to purchase this DVD, not only is the film a timeless classic and you won't bore of watching, the extras on the DVD make the £7 price mark seem tiny for what you're getting. You might want to warn your families beforehand though. I've been tormenting my wife and kids this pass week, sneaking up behind them only to "sweep the leg", insisting that all food is consumed with chop sticks (with or without fly) and how they should "always look eye".