Excellent condition Special Edition version of a much-loved movie

The Karate Kid is a popular 1984 drama by the director, John G Avildsen and one of the better takes on the original fighting classic Rocky (also directed by John G Avildsen). The new kid in town (Ralph Macchio) targeted by karate-wielding bullies, gets himself a mentor in the form of the handyman (Pat Morita) from his apartment building. The mentor teaches him self-confidence, fighting skills and the art of karate. The screen partnership of Macchio's motor-mouth character and Morita's reserved father figure works well and the script allows for the younger man to develop sympathy for the painful memories of his teacher. Elisabeth Shue is enlisted as the romantic interest that klutzy Macchio dreams of winning. But the film's real engine, as with Rocky, is the fighting, and there's plenty of that. Subsequently the film went on to breed many Karate Kid wannabes in the mid 80s.

Synopsis
In John G. Avildsen's THE KARATE KID, Daniel (Ralph Macchio) and his mother (Randee Heller) move from New Jersey to Southern California, where he's not too keen about his new home--until he meets Ali (Elizabeth Shue), an attractive girl who seems to like him. But trouble looms when Ali's ex-boyfriend (William Zabka) and his gang of ruffians start tormenting Daniel. One day, as Daniel is suffering a beating at the hands of these louts, Mr. Miyagi (Noriyuki 'Pat' Morita), an elderly Japanese handyman, comes to his rescue. To Daniel's amazement, Miyagi manages to take down the whole group all by himself using karate. Daniel begs to learn this ancient martial art, and soon Miyagi begins the boy's training, teaching Daniel that there is more to karate than fighting. Through a series of lessons, the wise mentor instils a sense of honour and nobility in his young pupil while preparing him for the ultimate karate showdown. However, as Daniel studies the discipline and art of karate, his enemies are learning a dirtier kind of fighting from Kreese (Martin Kove), a cold-blooded ex-marine. Ultimately, the boys will fight to the finish in the All Valley Karate Championship in a rousing and triumphant finale. Morita is a gem as the elderly father figure Miyagi, giving the character warmth, wisdom, and comic charm. Macchio's underdog character inspired an entire generation to run out and join the nearest karate school while chanting 'wax on, wax off.'.

I remember watching this film as a kid and feeling the magic of it all, and even now when I watch it many years on I still get that same buzz when Daniel wins the final of the karate tornament and I still cheer when his wise old teacher Mr Miyagi gives the gang who have been bullying him a good beating. The fact that this film made over $90,000,000 at the box office in the USA alone, gives you an idea of how good the film is and how popular it was on its release.

When Daniel LaRusso and his mum move to a new town, he becomes the victim of a gang of karate students because he is dating the ex-girlfriend of the leader of the pack. After several beatings a wise old Japanese handyman and martial arts master called Mr Miyagi agrees to teach him karate so that he can enter an upcoming karate tornament and beat the bullies once and for all.

The real key to this film is the relationship between the two main characters Mr Miyagi and Daniel. Despite the obvious age difference they become the best of friends very quickly, as Mr Miyagi begins to teach Daniel not only martial arts, but self confidence and self respect through philosophy. He becomes a father figure to Daniel who's real father is dead, forming a real bond right from the start, which continues (and grows) throughout the two sequels that they both appear in.

Ralph Macchio who plays Danniel does a good job with his character, however may be just slightly over-shadowed by the stunning performance from Noriyuki 'Pat' Morita who played Mr Miyagi, and was actually nominated for an Oscar for his role in this film, in the catagory of Best Actor in a Supporting Role, beaten only by Jack Nicholson for his performance in 'Terms Of Endearment'. Elisabeth Shue is on board as Ali, the girl Daniel starts seeing when he arrives in the new town. Martin Kove also does a good job as the nasty Cobra Kai sensei.

In terms of the DVD itself there a few extras; three quite cool games that you can play when the disc is inserted into a computer. They include Catch The Fly, Find The Village, and Capture The Bonsai Tree, and although they are very easy they are quite fun, and kids would probably enjoy that a lot. Besides this there is a theatrical trailer and filmographies for Ralph Macchio, Noriyuki 'Pat' Morita, Elisabeth Shue, and John G. Avildsen the director.

Overall, 'The Karate Kid' really is a good film, possibly one of the best of its kind to come out of the 80's, with John G. Avildsen doing a good job of directing, especially when it comes to the fight scenes, something that he was always pretty good at (check out 'Rocky'). He is also re-united with Bill Conti (whom he also worked with in 'Rocky') to produce a very catchy score that fits the film perfectly.

If you are a martial arts fan, or just want an enjoyable film to entertain you for a couple of hours and have you cheering at the screen, then this is a good choice of film. If you have seen it before, then you could try any of the three sequels