With the international theatrical release of The Karate Kid remake just on the horizon, Sony are hoping to cash in on its popularity (as it’s already doing very well at the Box Office stateside), and the popularity/nostalgia factor of the original movie; by releasing it, and it’s first sequel, on Blu-ray just after the reboot hits European cinemas.
The original 1984 movie was a classic family film that followed the trials and tribulation of the young, Newark raised, Danny Larusso (Ralph Macchio, My Cousin Vinny), as he moves from his beloved home in New Jersey to a less than luxury apartment in Los Angeles, California, and struggles to fit in, as he’s immediately set-upon by a gang of local bullies.
After being humiliated, and beaten up, at a party by the bullies (who only attacked him because he was flirting with the ex-girlfriend of the head bully), and landing in trouble at school for getting into fights, he learns that the gang are all hardcore karate students known as the Cobra Kai, and are taught by a vicious and brutal sensei named John Kreese (Martin Kove, Middle Men).
Being something of a karate wannabe himself, Daniel is desperate to learn (both for fun and to defend himself), and as the attacks begin to worsen he is defended, taken in, and later taught, by the handyman from his building; an elderly man from Okinawa named Mr Miyagi (Pat Morita, Happy Days); who begins one of the strangest and most original training methods ever seen, in order to train Daniel up to fighting standard in time for the local karate championships; which he entered Daniel in, to stall his beatings, and teach the bullies a lesson.
The majority of the movie is then concerned with watching Danny develop and hone his skills, under the guidance of Mr Miyagi, as well as exploring the deepening friendship between the two completely different characters, and Daniel’s growing relationship with the young Ali (Elizabeth Shue, Leaving Las Vegas), ahead of the karate championships, and the seeing how the inexperienced Newark lad fares when fighting against the hardened Californian karate enthusiasts of the Cobra Kai.
It’s basically the Rocky of family films (and was actually directed by John G. Avildsen, who directed the first and fourth Rocky movies, and had a score proved by Rocky’s Bill Conti); complete with lengthy training sequences, montages, and elderly and caring, yet experienced, mentor (Mickey being replaced by Mr Miyagi), the budding relationship (Ali being The Karate Kid’s Adrian), and the climactic fight that pits the underdog against seemingly impossible odds, where lasting the distance, and putting up a good fight, is every bit as important as victory; and is just as compelling (if not more so in certain places), and a good deal easier for younger viewers to watch.
There’s plenty of humour dabbled throughout the film; which mostly comes in the form of Mr Miyagi’s dry witticisms; and a huge amount of emotional drive, as The Karate Kid is such a well written and well acted movie (as every actor, bar the lad who played Daniel’s main rival, is totally convincing in their role; Pat Morita’s performance earned him an Oscar nomination as he was utterly perfect for Mr Miyagi, and Ralph Macchio was always believable as his young headstrong student), that it’s impossible to watch and not get drawn in straight away, and really begin to care for the characters.
Twenty-six years since its initial release, the original Karate Kid is every bit as fresh as it was back then, and remains a brilliant family film that every youngster should watch, and is guaranteed to love; it’s a true underdog story, and one that every viewer is bound to get behind, and root for, right up until the very end; a well shot, well acted, and well written film that’s still so good today, it hardly even needs a remake.
Picture:
The blu-ray edition of The Karate Kid is presented via a 1080p transfer that restore its original 1.85:1 aspect ratio, and does just about everything to ensure that the film appears exactly how it was originally intended to be seen; maintaining that rough and ready 80’s look, but updating the video sufficiently to compete in the modern market.
Being from the 80’s, The Karate Kid has a somewhat soft overall look (with some scenes appearing just a little too soft), and a fairly high level of grain; although that is to be expected, as it presents the film in its natural state (not excessively cleaned up by artificial means) and is fairly consistent (but slightly more pronounced during darker scenes), and provides the movie with a decent cinematic look that actually enhances its appeal and never distracts from the pictures fairly high detail level.
The detail itself isn’t quite in the same league as some of Sony’s other, more modern, transfers (such as Shutter Island), but has improved massively from previous DVD releases, and provides objects, textures, and faces, with much more depth than has been seen previously; as do the black levels, which are fairly deep and inky for the most part, and only show slight elements of crush here and there.
Colours can occasionally be somewhat over-saturated, but generally look fantastic (the primaries really stand out as being bold and vibrant) and are helped by the transfer’s well balanced contrast levels that also provide natural looking fleshtones, that can sometimes appear a little warm, but always fit with the look of the movie (it is California after all).
There are a couple of other slight problems with the transfer; which come in the way of a couple of small instances of slight banding and pixelation (although they’re not that noticeable), as well as a little bit of wobble during the opening titles, and the odd speckle of dirt on the print now and then; but for a film that is over a quarter of a century old, The Karate Kid looks simply amazing; uniformly crisp, stable and consistent, which is better than many other 80’s movies that have been ported to Blu-ray; and remains as true as it possibly could to it’s original presentation, making it’s small number of flaws very forgivable, as this is by far and away, the best that The Karate Kid has ever looked.
Audio:
Presented via a DTS-HD Master Audio mix in 5.1 surround, The Karate Kid’s audio is less impressive than it’s video quality, but still admirable in its own right; as while it is a mostly front heavy soundtrack the rear channels are used to provide a few instances of ambient noise to good effect, and the movie’s dialogue is well leveled, very clear, and completely intelligible throughout.
Whilst directional effects may be few and far between, they still sound great, and fit well within the solid mid-range sounds that reproduce the film’s score excellently in the new mix, as well as the 80’s pop songs that accompany it; sounding much smoother than their lossy counterparts; and while there’s little bass employed, its use is always appropriate for the film.
It might not be an overly flashy mix, or one that people will instantly reach for to show off to their friends, but the new lossless soundmix that accompanies The Karate Kid onto Blu-ray is an excellent reproduction of it’s key sounds, and as it’s well prioritized, and gives no instances of drop-out, and has no real problems, is a truly solid effort that is again, much better than it has ever sounded previously.
Extras:
The Karate kid also comes to Blu-ray with a surprisingly high number of special features that include an audio commentary; with the director, writer, and Ralph Macchio, and Pat Morita (so it obviously isn’t as Pat sadly died in 2005), which is quite a fun and easy listen, as the guys obviously have fun chatting about everything from product placement and where certain actors/extras have ended up, to the digital age, costumes/hair, and making fun of Ralph’s acting; a feature called Blu-pop; which is basically a pop-up trivia track, but stays a cut above most, as the pop up facts are always interesting, there’s plenty of info/videos all the way through, and the video commentary by Ralph Macchio and William Zabka (who played Daniel’s main rival, Johnny) is constantly interesting and informative, and ensures that the feature never becomes gimmicky; and access to Sony’s BD-Live portal.
There’s also a range of other featurettes, such as The Way of The Karate Kid: Part 1, and The Way of The Karate Kid: Part 2; which fit together to form a pretty extensive making of featurette that includes interviews from just about every major player involved, plenty of behind the scenes footage (which is kind of rare for a film of this age), clips from the film, and a good deal of information covering everything from casting to stunt work; Beyond the Form; where martial arts choreographer Pat E. Johnson talks about his involvement with the film, the philosophy of karate, and how film impacted the sport itself; and a feature where Bill Conti explains his process in writing the film’s score.
Finishing up is a ten minute featurette about the art of raising and caring for Bonsai trees, and a trailer for Ice Castles, which round off the bonus materials and combine together with the other features to create a surprisingly extensive collection, that’s easy to watch/listen to, brilliantly informative, carefully chosen and made, surprisingly doesn’t repeat itself too much, and makes for a selection that’s better than any fan could realistically have hoped for.
The Bottom Line:
In the 26 years since The Karate Kid has been released, it’s lost none of its appeal, and is every bit as good as it was back then, having dated exceptionally well, and remaining one of the most grippingly inspirational, and easily ranking among the best ever, underdog films ever made; there are literally dozens of quotable lines littered throughout the script (who doesn’t remember ‘wax on, wax off’), decent and tense action, a solid coming-of-age tale behind the main training/fighting story, and solid performances that really drive the movie, and make it a film that’s actually worth remembering.
Not only that, but the picture and audio quality on this new Blu-ray release are excellent; and by far and away the best The Karate Kid has ever looked and sounded; to the point that fans of the film will not only be satisfied, but overjoyed with a transfer that is the truest representation of the source material ever released; showcasing the film exactly how it was meant to be seen/heard (even restoring its original aspect ratio).
The special features are also an added bonus, as there are very few releases of this age that can even hope to compete with even the quantity of extras included on the disc, let alone the impeccably high quality of those extras, and when coupled with the updated picture and sound, they make for one disc that is a Blu-ray must; a disc that is guaranteed to please all of the nostalgic fans who are bound to revisit the classic around the release of the remake, and from time to time after, as The Karate Kid has an infinite re-watch-ability factor, and is sure to be fondly revered by any youngsters who visit it for the first time.
