The Karate Kid I & II (1984 + 1986/Sony Blu-ray Set)
Picture:
B Sound: B Extras: B/C+ Films: A-
Acting as
one of the most recognizable coming of age films in recent time The Karate Kid is a fun, yet memorable
tale. The Karate Kid film series acts as the quintessential underdog tale
that like Rocky before it and Rudy after as it has you cheering in
your seat. The premise is simple enough
as a good hearted kid (played by Ralph Macchio) finds himself a mentor in the
form of an eccentric old man (played by Noriyuki ‘Pat’ Morita). The film for all intents and purposes is a
drama, but a very entertaining drama.
The 1984 John G Avildsen (Rocky),
which had low hype at first, turned out to be a smash hit and even earned the
talented Pat Morita an Oscar nomination.
On top of the critical praise and general public following, the film
spurred three sequels and a huge merchandising campaign.
The plot
starts off simple enough as Daniel LaRusso (Ralph Macchio) moves from New Jersey to Reseda
California with his mother. At school
Daniel meets a girl named Ali Mills (Elisabeth Shue), but soon finds himself an
enemy in the form of Ali’s boyfriend Johnny (William Zabka). Johnny is a karate student and at the top of
his class at the Cobra Kai Dojo, where he is taught to be a relentless and
vicious fighter. Daniel is subjected to
a host of beatings from Johnny and his crew, but one day is rescued by an
unlikely savior in the form of Mr. Miyagi.
Mr. Miyagi is the handyman at Daniel’s apartment complex, but somehow
managed to defeat all five Cobra Kai members with ease; leading Daniel to ask
him to be his teacher. Mr. Miyagi
refuses to be Daniel’s teacher, instead offering to help resolve the issue by
taking him to the Cobra Kai Dojo to confront the bully’s sensei. Mr. Miyagi and Daniel are met with a less
than warm welcome by Cobra Kai’s sensei John Kreese (Martin Kove), leading
Miyagi and Kreese agreeing to a match in 2 months between Johnny and Daniel at
the ‘All Valley Karate Tournament.’
Training begins, but Daniel finds himself subjected to one hard labor
chore after another making him question Miyagi when his ‘real training’ will
start. Daniel soon finds out that Miyagi
methods are not as crazy as they seem and he is slyly leading the doubtful
student to greatness.
Whereas
you would expect a sequel to a film like The
Karate Kid to be a simple rehashing, The
Karate Kid: Part II stands on its on as a film with great depth, detailed
drama and solid action. The film picks
up where The Karate Kid left off and
soon has Daniel and Mr. Miyagi departing to Okinawa
to visit Mr. Miyagi’s ailing father. We
soon discover that Mr. Miyagi had fled Okinawa
all those years ago after an altercation with the son (Sato) of the richest man
in town and a karate student of Miyagi’s father. Miyagi had loved the woman the Sato was
arranged to marry and instead of following tradition Miyagi professed his love
to the woman (Yukie) in public; in turn infuriating Sato and leading Sato to challenge
Miyagi to a fight to the death. Miyagi
did not wish to fight his former friend and instead fled to America. The story from this point takes off on a rich
adventure of training, challenge, love, loss and new experiences. As previously mentioned the film stands on
its own from the original, while maintaining all of the elements that made the
first film so great.
To me The Karate Kid films are classic, my
only question in this case is why not include all the films in this Blu-ray
set? Perhaps it has something to do with
restoring the film to the desired high definition quality (as may be true) or
maybe the studio is looking to make a little more off splitting the series; who
knows? All that I can say is that the
films are as great as ever and I thoroughly enjoyed partaking in the classics
again.
The
technical features of this two film Blu-ray box set are very nicely
presented. The picture is a 1080p AVC
encoded 1.85 X 1 that looks somewhat dated as it radiates with 1980’s film
quality, but it is the best the film has ever looked on home video. Most impressive is the level of detail found
throughout the two films with every aspect of the scenery popping. The contrast is well balanced, along with a
vivid color palette that takes both films to the next level. The blacks are no as deep and inky as they
should be, but are by no means bad as they adequately frame the martial arts
infused films. There is a level of grain
throughout both films that is not distracting and if anything gives The Karate Kid some cinematic depth. I
would not say the picture is demo quality, but overall is quite nice. The sound is a 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio on
both The Karate Kid I & II delivering
a track that is crisp, clean and clear throughout. The films are very dialogue heavy, but the
surrounds pick up and offer an immersive experience during the action
sequences. The ambient noises give the
film a degree of atmosphere that is quite welcome as it brings the films to
life. I would have to say that this is a
technically worthwhile Blu-ray set and whereas there are some dated 1980s
aspects to both films, overall they deliver a pleasurable viewing experience.
The
extras are mostly ported over from previous DVD releases, but are enjoyable
nevertheless. Extras include the
following:
The Karate Kid
Audio Commentary: The late Pat Morita, John G.
Avildsen, Ralph Macchio and writer Robert Mark Kamen all gather to deliver a
WONDERFUL commentary track that is entertaining, informative and light
hearted. The men obviously all enjoy
each others company and have fond memories of making the film, making it a fun
track to partake in.
The Way of the Karate Kid: Part I- Essentially a big behind the
scenes featurette that takes the viewer through the twists and turns of the
film’s production.
The Way of the Karate Kid: Part II- Continues where Part I left off.
Beyond the Form: The martial arts choreographer
Pat E. Johnson discusses his experience making The Karate Kid and its impact on
him and the world
East Meets West: A Composers Notebook: Bill Conti
let’s the viewer into his thought process for creating the music of The Karate
Kid
Life of a Bonsai: Essentially the art of Bonsai
featurette
Trailers
Blu-Pop *Blu-ray Exclusive* For once an
awesome Blu-ray exclusive is delivered! This featurette offers a plethora of
Karate Kid factoids as a picture-in-picture commentary track of Ralph Macchio
and William Zabka plays offering even more info.
BD-Live
*Blu-ray Exclusive*
The Karate Kid: Part II
Blu-Pop *Blu-ray Exclusive* The same as
mentioned on The Karate Kid, but
this track obviously centering on Part
II
“The Sequel” Featurette: A ported over featurette that
takes the viewer behind the scenes of the second film
BD-Live
*Blu-ray Exclusive*
- Michael P. Dougherty II
