Ken Takakura's screen debut, following his admission into Toei ranks via the studio's annual New Faces program, came surprisingly enough in this pair of Okinawa karate films. The two-parter was released on Jan. 29, 1956 as two thirds of a triple feature. Both halves run just under one hour. The fighting is actually pretty good for the time, and it's fun to see Takakura as an impatient, bearded karate rascal.
Ken Takakura
Harumi Urazato
Susumu Namishima
Takashi KandaHiga Saburo (Gisen's Disciple)
Isao YamagataNagoe Gisen
Toranosuke Ogawa
Yoshi Katō
Takamaru Sasaki
Akikane Sawa
Mayumi Fujisato
Young man travels to Indonesia to visit relatives and learns the art of karate.
New Jersey teen Daniel LaRusso moves to Los Angeles with his mother, and soon strikes up a relationship with Ali. He quickly finds himself the target of bullying by a group of thugs, led by Ali's ex-boyfriend Johnny, who study karate at the Cobra Kai dojo under ruthless sensei John Kreese. Fortunately, Daniel befriends Mr. Miyagi, an unassuming repairman who just happens to be a martial arts master himself. Miyagi takes Daniel under his wing, training him in a more compassionate form of karate for self-defense and, later, preparing him to compete against the brutal Cobra Kai.
Masutatsu Oyama is recruited by his former Army friend to work for a crew of gangsters, but when they kill both his girlfriend and his best friend, Oyama flees away to a small town where he both learns lessons in martial arts philosophy from a wandering master and helps a young boy take on a challenge to fight a ferocious captured bear to win money for the boy's injured father.
The last of the Masutatsu Oyama trilogy. Oyama takes a job as a professional wrestler in Okinawa, but when he discovers that he is expected to take a dive, he quits in disgust. However, when a friend finds herself in desperate need of medical supplies, Oyama steps back in the ring to raise the money—but will he be able to follow the script this time?
On his 18th birthday, Goku receives a mystical Dragonball as a gift from his grandfather. There are only six others like it in the whole world, and legend has it that whoever possesses all seven will be granted one perfect wish. When the arrival of a dark force triggers a tragedy, Goku and his companions are propelled into an epic quest to collect the seven Dragonballs and save the Earth from destruction.
Mr. Miyagi decides to take Julie, a troubled teenager, under his wing after he learns that she blames herself for her parents' demise and struggles to adjust with her grandmother and fellow pupils.
Four beautiful rivals at an invitation-only martial-arts tournament join forces against a sinister threat. Princess Kasumi is an aristocratic warrior trained by martial-arts masters. Tina Armstrong is a wrestling superstar. Helena Douglas is an athlete with a tragic past. Christie Allen earns her keep as a thief and an assassin-for-hire.
Asthmatic teenager Barry Gabrewski is a daydreamer. Troubled by bullying, he escapes into a fantasy world where he is the sidekick to his martial arts hero, Chuck Norris, in a series of high-octane adventures taken right out of his movies. With help from his teacher's wise old uncle, Mr. Lee, Barry learns the finer points of martial arts and enters a karate championship.
Mari Hirakawa is a woman who inherits her father's karate dojo. However, she finds out that Chan Keung, her father's former student, is also its heir and they fight to determine its sole owner.
The mob is trying to strongarm local martial arts schools, forcing young Jason Stillwell and his family to move after his father is injured defending their dojo. With his father now rejecting violence, Jason is forced to train on his own to protect himself and his best friend from the members of a rival karate school.
Karate champion Matt Logan is enlisted by the police to train officers in self-defense after narcotics agents are killed by an assailant using the martial arts.
When old martial arts master Master Tak disappears, his best student, Jet, steps in to find him. However, when he learns that Tak's life is in danger, he decides to protect him at all costs.
Somewhere in New Jersey, a group of masked rollerblading children "save the universe" by training to fight the evil Cobra Khan through a series of action-packed montages. Along the way they hypothesize some slapstick hijinks in a balloon factory, and save the day through a hypothetical Sonic Virtual Reality battle. A real treat!
Lady Karate focuses on Yoshiko's mission to persuade China's la emperor, Puyi to leave his comfortable existence in Tientsin and journey back to Manchuria to be the figurehead ruler of Manchukuo under the direction of the Japanese occupiers. She has ten days to finish the job or she'll be obligated to commit hara-kiri at the end of it. She also has enemies among the Japanese military who want to maintain control over Pu Yi themselves.
Set in 1932, amid the rise of militarism after the establishment of the Manchukuo colony in Northeast China, the story centers on a trio of karateka. Studying under their aging master in a small dojo in the woods of central Kyushu, Choei, Taikan and Giryu face a company of kempeitai military police come to requisition their dojo for use as a military base.
Despondent over the closing of his karate school, Cobra Kai teacher John Kreese joins a ruthless businessman and martial artist to get revenge on Daniel and Mr. Miyagi.
Jean Claude Van Damme plays a dual role as Alex and Chad, twins separated at the death of their parents. Chad is raised by a family retainer in Paris, Alex becomes a petty crook in Hong Kong. Seeing a picture of Alex, Chad rejoins him and convinces him that his rival in Hong Kong is also the man who killed their parents. Alex is suspicious of Chad, especially when it comes to his girlfriend.
Cool government operative James Bond searches for a stolen invention that can turn the sun's heat into a destructive weapon. He soon crosses paths with the menacing Francisco Scaramanga, a hitman so skilled he has a seven-figure working fee. Bond then joins forces with the swimsuit-clad Mary Goodnight, and together they track Scaramanga to a Thai tropical isle hideout where the killer-for-hire lures the slick spy into a deadly maze for a final duel.
Bronson Lee, a Japanese-American raised by his grandma in the harsh, poverty-stricken desert Southwest, returns to Japan to demonstrate his mastery of karate by entering the tournament that will determine the first World Karate Champion.
Bernie and Chic are two loveable goofballs just looking for easy work, sexy ladies, and a good slice of pizza. But a beating from a gang of thugs convinces the buddies to train in the martial arts in the hopes of meeting girls… and maybe learning a little self-defense.