From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| “The Moment of Truth” | |
|---|---|
| Single by Survivor | |
| from the album The Karate Kid Soundtrack, Vital Signs | |
| Released | July 1984 |
| Recorded | 1984 |
| Genre | Rock |
| Length | 3:47 |
| Songwriter(s) | Bill Conti, Dennis Lambert, Peter Beckett |
| Survivor singles chronology | |
| “I Never Stopped Loving You” (1984)”The Moment of Truth“ (1984)”I Can’t Hold Back“ (1984) |
“The Moment of Truth” is a song recorded by the rock band Survivor. It was the first hit single with their new lead singer Jimi Jamison (from Cobra, replacing Dave Bickler due to vocal problems). After making the No. 1 hit “Eye of the Tiger” for Rocky III, the band was asked to perform a composed song for the 1984 film The Karate Kid. The song reached No. 63 on the Billboard Hot 100 on July 7, 1984 and stayed on the chart for seven weeks. The song was later re-issued on the Vital Signs album in 2009 by Rock Candy.
Music video
The music video shows the band performing in a culture Japanese park with mixed scenes from the movie. The song is written by Bill Conti, Dennis Lambert & Peter Beckett and published by Karussell Label.
Charts
| Chart (1984) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| US Billboard Hot 100 | 63 |
Cover versions
- Mari Hamada covered the song in her 1985 album Rainbow Dream.
| The Karate Kid | |
|---|---|
Theatrical release poster
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| Directed by | John G. Avildsen |
| Produced by | Jerry Weintraub |
| Written by | Robert Mark Kamen |
| Starring | |
| Music by | Bill Conti |
| Cinematography | James Crabe |
| Edited by |
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Production
company |
Delphi II Productions
Jerry Weintraub Productions |
| Distributed by | Columbia Pictures |
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Release date
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Running time
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127 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $8 million |
| Box office | $100 million (US/Canada) |
The Karate Kid is a 1984 American martial arts drama film written by Robert Mark Kamen and directed by John G. Avildsen. It is the first installment in the Karate Kid franchise, and stars Ralph Macchio, Pat Morita, and Elisabeth Shue. The Karate Kid follows Daniel LaRusso (Macchio), a teenager taught Gōjū-ryū karate by Mr. Miyagi (Morita) to help defend himself and compete in a tournament against his bullies, one of which is the ex-boyfriend of his love interest Ali Mills (Shue).
Kamen was approached by Columbia Pictures to compose a film similar to Avildsen’s previous success Rocky (1976), after signing the director. Kamen drew inspiration from his own life when writing the film. As a result, he maintained strong opinions regarding cast, and petitioned heavily for Morita’s inclusion. Preparations for the film began immediately after the final edit of the script was complete, and casting took place between April and June 1983. Principal photography began on October 31, 1983, in Los Angeles, and filming was complete by December 16, 1983.
The Karate Kid was theatrically released in the United States on June 22, 1984. The film received universal acclaim from critics, many of whom praised the action sequences, writing, storyline, acting performances, and music. The film was also a commercial success, grossing $100 million in the United States and Canada, making it one of the highest-grossing films of 1984 and Hollywood’s biggest sleeper hit of the year.
The film is also notable for kickstarting the career of Macchio, as well as revitalizing the acting career of Morita, who was previously known mostly for comedic roles, and earned Morita a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. The Karate Kid subsequently launched a media franchise, and is credited for popularizing karate in the United States.
The Karate Kid is a semi-autobiographical story based on the life of its screenwriter, Robert Mark Kamen. At age 17, after the 1964 New York World’s Fair, Kamen was beaten up by a gang of bullies. He thus began to study martial arts in order to defend himself. Kamen was unhappy with his first teacher who taught martial arts as a tool for violence and revenge. So he moved on to study Okinawan Gōjū-ryū karate under a Japanese teacher who did not speak English, but was himself a student of Chōjun Miyagi.
As a Hollywood screenwriter, Kamen was mentored by Frank Price who told him that producer Jerry Weintraub had optioned a news article about the young child of a single mother who had earned a black belt to defend himself against the neighborhood bullies. Kamen then combined his own life story with the news article and used both to create the screenplay for The Karate Kid. Additionally, given John G. Avildsen‘s involvement with both films, Sylvester Stallone often joked with Kamen that the writer had “ripped off” the Rocky films with The Karate Kid.
DC Comics had a character called Karate Kid. The filmmakers received special permission from DC Comics in 1984 to use the title for the first film (and subsequent sequels).
A number of actors were considered for the part of Daniel, including Sean Penn, Robert Downey Jr., Charlie Sheen, Emilio Estevez, Nicolas Cage, Anthony Edwards, C. Thomas Howell, Tom Cruise and Eric Stoltz. Ralph Macchio was ultimately cast on the strength of his performance as Johnny Cade in The Outsiders (1983). Macchio has stated that his performance as Johnny influenced the development of Daniel LaRusso in his next film, The Karate Kid.
Macchio later commented that, “the character was originally named Danny Weber. As soon as I walked in the room, it changed to LaRusso.”
The studio originally wanted the role of Mr. Miyagi to be played by Toshiro Mifune, who had appeared in the films Rashomon (1950), Seven Samurai (1954), and The Hidden Fortress (1958), but the actor didn’t speak English. Pat Morita later auditioned for the role, but was rejected for the part due to his close association with stand-up comedy, and for the character Arnold on Happy Days. After a few failed attempts, Morita grew a beard and patterned his accent after his uncle, which led to him being cast in the role.
Crispin Glover was considered for the role of Johnny, but the studio later opted for William Zabka. After his audition, Zabka saw Macchio, who noted “[Zabka] scared the shit out of me” during his audition to the studio. When he was cast, Zabka was a wrestler with no previous training in karate.
Demi Moore was also considered for the role of Ali, but Elisabeth Shue was cast based partly on a Burger King commercial that became widely popular in the early 1980s. The film marks the debut roles of both Zabka and Shue. Late in production, Valerie Harper was considered for the role of Lucille, but the studio later instated Randee Heller for the role.
Filming began on October 31, 1983, and wrapped on December 16, 1983.
The film’s fight choreographer for the combat scenes was Pat E. Johnson, a Tang Soo Do karate black belt who had previously been featured in Bruce Lee‘s American–Hong Kong martial arts film Enter the Dragon (1973) and worked with Chuck Norris at American Tang Soo Do martial arts schools. Johnson also makes an appearance as the referee in The Karate Kid. Pat Morita’s stunt double for Mr. Miyagi, Fumio Demura, is also a karate black belt who had previously worked with Bruce Lee, who learnt some nunchaku techniques from Demura.
The musical score for The Karate Kid was composed by Bill Conti, a frequent collaborator of director John G. Avildsen since their initial pairing on Rocky (1976). The instrumental score was orchestrated by Jack Eskew and featured pan flute solos by Gheorge Zamfir. On March 12, 2007, Varèse Sarabande released all four Karate Kid scores in a 4-CD box set limited to 2,500 copies worldwide.
Track listing for 1984 soundtrack
- “The Moment of Truth” (Survivor)
- “(Bop Bop) On the Beach” (The Flirts, Jan and Dean)
- “No Shelter” (Broken Edge)
- “Young Hearts” (Commuter)
- “(It Takes) Two to Tango” (Paul Davis)
- “Tough Love” (Shandi)
- “Rhythm Man” (St. Regis)
- “Feel the Night” (Baxter Robertson)
- “Desire” (Gang of Four)
- “You’re the Best” (Joe Esposito)
| Year | Award | Category | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1985 | Academy Awards | Best Actor in a Supporting Role – Pat Morita | Nominated |
| Golden Globes | Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture – Pat Morita | Nominated | |
| Young Artist Awards | Best Family Motion Picture – Drama | Won | |
| Best Young Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture Musical, Comedy, Adventure or Drama – Elisabeth Shue | Won | ||
| Best Young Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture Musical, Comedy, Adventure or Drama – William Zabka | Nominated |
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