THE KARATE KID (1984, Blu-ray released May 11, 2010 – MSRP $24.95)
When you talk about films from the 80s that are quintessentially representative of the decade you’ll no doubt eventually end up covering John G. Avildsen‘s (Rocky) classic The Karate Kid. Now on Blu-ray, just in time to promote the remake about to hit cinemas, the film might be over a quarter-century old now but its time-honoured tale of David vs. Goliath, or Daniel-san vs. the Cobra Kai dojo, if you like, is still the one to beat!
All right. Let’s face it. This is really Noriyuki ‘Pat’ Morita’s movie. As much as The Karate Kid is the story of young Daniel Larusso, played by Ralph Macchio in his star-making role, it’s his sensei, Mr. Miyagi who really steals the show. Evidenced by the fact that Morita was nominated for an Academy Award and Golden Globe for his performance here. He is truly magnificent in this film and deserves every accolade he received. I don’t think I ever realized how wonderful, vibrant and nuanced his performance of the apartment handy-man turned karate-instructor was and how he carries the film on his shoulders. Morita makes Miyagi so much more than the famous catch phrases that have survived him.
The Karate Kid holds up. It’s a mash-up of familiar story elements popular in films of the time (coming of age drama mixed with Rocky-style underdog tale) that manages to hit all the right beats – Young boy moves to a new town, meets a cute girl, gets bullied and beaten down and learns to stand on his feet and face his fears thanks to a wise, aged mentor. With characters of surprising complexity and depth and just the right amount of action sprinkled throughout, The Karate Kid feels somewhat timeless in its execution. That is, aside from the very dated source music (Trivia: big battle song “You’re the Best” was originally recorded for Rocky III but was cast aside in favour of “Eye of the Tiger“) and the sometimes-painful (awful Oscar-style opening scenes), sometimes-brilliant (Zamphir‘s pan pipes) score by BIll Conti.
Sony has delivered another winner in their Blu-ray edition of The Karate Kid. The 1984 film will never look as slick and processed as its more modern brethren but this new high-def transfer is most likely the definitive look of the film on home video. There’s more detail, colour accuracy and black-depth than ever before. Fans will definitely be happy. The lossless DTS-HD MA 5.1 soundtrack delivers a solid crane-kick to the head as well. While not, perhaps, as dynamic or expressive as modern work, it’s clean, clear and very faithful to the source.
There’s a veritable cornucopia of special features packed onto this single Blu-ray disc, most of which were created for DVD with the participation of Morita a couple of years before his passing. The commentary with Avildsen, writer Robert Mark Kamen, Morita and Macchio is a hoot and sounds more like old pals reminiscing about old times than former colleagues revisiting past work. The two-part “Making of” doc provides almost 45-minutes of excellent behind the scenes footage and interviews, while the collection of featurettes deliver short (8 to 13-minute long) looks at topics as broad as fight choreography, soundtrack composition and bonsai trees. Sony’s new “Blu-Pop” track feature combines pop-up trivia information with picture-in-picture commentary from Macchio and his on-screen rival, William Zabka. The disc is rounded out with BD-Live and a collection of trailers.
Previously on The Blu-ray Blog: Original 1984 Karate Kid and Karate Kid Part II coming to Blu-ray
Finally! LOVED this movie growing up. Cant wait!