No Retreat, No Surrender

Last updated

No Retreat, No Surrender
NrnsPoster.jpg
Theatrical release poster
Directed by Corey Yuen [1]
Written byKeith W. Strandberg [1]
Story by
  • Corey Yuen
  • Ng See-yuen [1]
Produced by Ng See-yuen [1]
Starring
Cinematography
  • David Golia
  • John Huneck [1]
Edited by
  • James Melkonia
  • Mark Pierce
  • Allan Poon [1]
Music byPaul Gilreath [1]
Production
companies
Distributed by New World Pictures
Release dates
  • October 20, 1985 (1985-10-20)(Italy)
  • May 2, 1986 (1986-05-02)(United States)
Running time
98 minutes [2]
Countries
LanguageEnglish
Box office$4.6 million (US/Canada)
1.4 million tickets (US/France)

No Retreat, No Surrender is a 1985 martial arts film directed by Corey Yuen in his American film directorial debut. It is the first title in the No Retreat, No Surrender franchise, whose plot lines and characters are mostly unrelated. It stars Kurt McKinney, with a supporting cast of Jean-Claude Van Damme, J.W. Fails, Kathie Sileno, and Kim Tai-chung. The film was released in Italy on October 20, 1985, and in the United States on May 2, 1986. [1] [5] McKinney performs as Jason Stillwell, an American teenager who learns martial arts from the spirit of Bruce Lee. Stillwell uses these lessons to defend his martial arts dojo against Soviet martial artist Ivan Kraschinsky (Van Damme).

Contents

The film was written by Keith W. Strandberg, after being contracted by Ng See-yuen, the owner of Seasonal Film Corporation, to put together a script for them, despite not having done so before. Van Damme was cast in the film and caused problems on the set for continually physically contacting other actors and stuntmen during fight scenes, even after director Yuen told him not to. Upon release, the film received negative reviews, focusing on the story, which many critics found too similar to The Karate Kid , The Last Dragon , and Rocky IV .

Plot

Jason Stillwell is a young karate student and Bruce Lee fanatic who trains in his father Tom's dojo in Sherman Oaks, California. One night after a training session, the dojo is visited by members of an organized crime syndicate looking to take over all the dojos in the country. After refusing to join the organization, Tom's leg is broken by a Soviet martial artist named Ivan "the Russian" Krachinsky, one of the boss' hired thugs. A furious Jason tries to take revenge but is easily subdued by the Soviet. Tom discourages any further effort, telling his son that fighting is not the answer.

The Stillwell family relocates to Seattle, where Jason meets R.J. Madison, and they become good friends. Jason reunites with his old girlfriend Kelly Riley, who lives in the neighborhood with her brother, Ian "Whirlwind" Riley, the newly crowned U.S. National Karate Champion. Despite this, Jason has a hard time adjusting, as he and R.J. are constantly beaten and harassed by local bullies, led by an obese boy named Scott and arrogant martial artist Dean "Shooting Star" Ramsay. After getting beaten up and humiliated by Scott and Dean at Kelly's birthday party, Jason visits the grave of Bruce Lee and asks him for help.

Later that night, Jason and Tom have a heated argument over Jason's fighting. When Jason calls his father a coward for running away from the syndicate, Tom destroys some of Jason's Bruce Lee memorabilia in the garage. Distraught, Jason consults with R.J., who helps him move all of his training gear into an empty house nearby. Exhausted from the move, Jason falls asleep at the house but is suddenly awakened by the soul of Bruce Lee, who begins to train him. Under Lee's tutelage, Jason goes from a below-average fighter to a superior martial artist, at one point able to fend off several thugs who ambush his father in a parking lot. In doing so, Jason convinces him that there are times when fighting is necessary.

Later on, Jason, Tom, and R.J. attend an annual kickboxing tournament between the Seattle Sidekicks and the Manhattan Maulers. Before the contest can get under way, the crime syndicate interrupts and makes a wager that none of the Seattle fighters can defeat Ivan. While Dean and Frank are easily bested by the Soviet, Ivan's last opponent, Ian, makes an impressive showing, forcing Ivan to resort to dirty tactics to defeat him. With Ian helplessly entangled in the ring ropes, Scott attempts to bite Ivan in the leg, but the Soviet dispatches him with a headbutt. Kelly tries to stop Ivan by hitting him with a stool, but the Soviet easily disarms her and grabs her by the hair. Angered by this, Jason charges to the ring and attacks Ivan, to the crowd's delight. Utilizing his advanced training, Jason is finally able to conquer his nemesis and earns the respect of his peers and family, who celebrate with him as the frustrated crime syndicate leaves Seattle.

Cast

Jean-Claude Van Damme was cast as the Soviet villain Ivan Kraschinsky. Van Damme Cannes.jpg
Jean-Claude Van Damme was cast as the Soviet villain Ivan Kraschinsky.

Production

Development and writing

After living in Taiwan for a year in the early 1980s, screenwriter Keith W. Strandberg became interested in working in martial arts films as an actor. He moved back to the United States and became a tour director in China, from where he continued to visit Hong Kong to make contact with producers and screenwriters. After being turned down by several studios, including Shaw Brothers, Strandberg read about Seasonal Film Corporation and got in contact with the studio head, Ng See-yuen. Ng expressed an interest in making an American film and asked if Strandberg knew anything about screenplays; Strandberg lied that he did. A year later, Ng contacted Strandberg in America, stating that he wanted to write a script for them. Strandberg wrote a draft of what would become No Retreat, No Surrender. While production began on the film, Strandberg was on set and spent hours every night changing the script to improve its quality while filming. [6]

Casting

Jean-Claude Van Damme was cast as the Soviet villain, Ivan Kraschinsky. On set, he performed a roundhouse kick on Pete Cunningham, rendering him unconscious. [6] Actor and martial artist Timothy Baker stated that during action scenes on the set, the production manager and director Corey Yuen instructed Van Damme to not make contact with the other actors and stuntmen. [7] [8] Despite repeated warnings, Van Damme continued to do so, performing kicks on Baker during filming. Other actors and martial artists claimed that Van Damme had not been reckless with his physical contact, including Ron Pohnel, who said, "His control wasn't such as mine, but I had no complaints". [7] Van Damme originally had a two-picture deal with Strandberg but broke his contract. [6]

Release

Home media

While there was never a DVD release in the United States, [9] a Blu-ray edition of the film was published by Kino Lorber Classics in Region A, on February 21, 2017, which contained both the American theatrical release and a longer international cut. [10]

Reception and legacy

Box office

No Retreat, No Surrender was released on May 2, 1986. [11] It was the eleventh-highest grossing film on its opening week at the American box office, earning $739,723; [12] it grossed a total of $4,662,137 in the United States and Canada. [13]

The film sold 1.3 million tickets in the United States [14] and 395,013 in France. [15]

Critical response

Walter Goodman of The New York Times gave the film a negative review, writing that the story appeared to have been "slapped-together". [16] Time Out compared it to The Last Dragon , Karate Kid , and Rocky IV , noting that it "borrows heavily" from those films and "makes them look like masterpieces". [17] Martial arts magazine Black Belt gave the film a rating of one-and-a-half out of five, noting that Jean-Claude Van Damme does not have much screen time and that the film was derivative of The Karate Kid. [18] Patrick Goldstein of the Los Angeles Times called it "hilariously bad" and an "amateurish clunker" with poor action scenes. [19]

In 1993, Black Belt placed the film at seventh on their list of top-ten choreographed martial arts films. The magazine specifically praised Van Damme's jump kicks, while noting that McKinney's look "suspiciously quick", mentioning that, "unlike the Hong Kong movie industry, American filmmakers have yet to master the technique of speeding up the film without "jumpy/fidgety" side effects". [20] In 2017, Ed Travis of Cinapse said the film "manages to never the less[sic] entertain and delight with a combination of pure earnestness and legitimately cool fight work". [21] Austin Trunick of Under the Radar said Van Damme's scenes "are prime Van Damme, at least, with some fantastic fight choreography and a full showcase of splits, high-kicks, and bug-eyed snarling". [22]

The film was riffed live at a number of venues on the Mystery Science Theater 3000 Live: The Great Cheesy Movie Tour , by Joel Hodgson, in 2019. [23] [24] It was also riffed by RiffTrax on October 15, 2015. [25]

Franchise sequels

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Martial arts film</span> Film genre

Martial arts films are a subgenre of action films that feature martial arts combat between characters. These combats are usually the films' primary appeal and entertainment value, and often are a method of storytelling and character expression and development. Martial arts are frequently featured in training scenes and other sequences in addition to fights. Martial arts films commonly include hand-to-hand combat along with other types of action, such as stuntwork, chases, and gunfights. Sub-genres of martial arts films include kung fu films, wuxia, karate films, and martial arts action comedy films, while related genres include gun fu, jidaigeki and samurai films.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jean-Claude Van Damme</span> Belgian actor and martial artist (born 1960)

Jean-Claude Camille François Van Varenberg, known professionally as Jean-Claude Van Damme, is a Belgian martial artist and actor. Born and raised in Brussels, his father enrolled him in a Shotokan karate school at the age of ten, which led Van Damme to hold the rank of 2nd-dan black belt in karate, and compete in several karate and kickboxing competitions. As a teenager, he won the middleweight championship of the European Professional Karate Association in 1979 and the Mr. Belgium bodybuilding title in 1978. With the desire of becoming an actor in Hollywood, he moved to the United States in 1982, where he worked on several films, until he got his break as the lead in the martial arts film Bloodsport (1988).

<i>Bloodsport</i> (film) 1988 film by Newt Arnold

Bloodsport is a 1988 American martial arts film directed by Newt Arnold. The film stars Jean-Claude Van Damme, with a supporting cast of Leah Ayres, Forest Whitaker, Donald Gibb, Roy Chiao, and Bolo Yeung. The film centers on Frank Dux, a United States Army Captain and ninjutsu practitioner who competes in an underground full-contact martial arts tournament called the Kumite in Hong Kong. Based on Dux's real-life claims, the film was marketed as a true story. It was one of Van Damme's first lead roles and showcased his abilities, launching his career as a mainstream action star.

The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to martial arts:

Kurt Robin McKinney is an American actor and martial artist. McKinney played Jason Stillwell in the 1986 martial arts film No Retreat, No Surrender.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cynthia Rothrock</span> American actress and martial artist

Cynthia Rothrock is an American martial artist and actress best known for her martial arts films. She holds black belt rankings in seven styles of martial arts and was a high-level competitor in martial arts before becoming an actress. In 2014, she was inducted into the International Sports Hall of Fame. In 2016, Martial Arts History Museum bestowed Rothrock the official title of The Queen Of Martial Arts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thomas Ian Griffith</span> American actor and screenwriter (b. 1962)

Thomas Ian Griffith is an American actor, screenwriter, television producer, and martial artist. He is best known for portraying Terry Silver in the 1989 film The Karate Kid Part III, a role he reprised in the fourth through sixth seasons of the television series Cobra Kai.

<i>No Retreat, No Surrender 2</i> 1987 film by Corey Yuen

No Retreat, No Surrender 2 is a 1987 Hong Kong-American martial arts film directed by Corey Yuen, and starring Loren Avedon, Matthias Hues, Max Thayer and Cynthia Rothrock. Despite its title, it does not have any narrative or character connection to No Retreat, No Surrender, as it plots an independent story. The film was originally released as Raging Thunder in the Philippines. It is the second film in the No Retreat, No Surrender franchise.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michael Jai White</span> American actor

Michael Jai White is an American actor and martial artist. He is the first Black American to portray a major comic book superhero starring as Al Simmons, the protagonist in the 1997 film Spawn. White appeared as Marcus Williams in the Tyler Perry films Why Did I Get Married? (2007) and Why Did I Get Married Too? (2010), and starred as the character on the TBS/OWN comedy-drama television series Tyler Perry's For Better or Worse. White portrayed Jax Briggs in Mortal Kombat: Legacy and the Cyborg Seth in Universal Soldier: The Return, opposite Jean-Claude Van Damme. He portrayed boxer Mike Tyson in the 1995 HBO television film Tyson. He also played the title role in the blaxploitation parody film Black Dynamite (2009), as well as the animated series of the same name.

Kim Tai-chung, also known as Kim Tai-jong or Tong Lung, was a South Korean martial artist, actor and businessman. A Taekwondo practitioner, he is best known for his martial arts films.

<i>Bloodfist</i> 1989 American film

Bloodfist is a 1989 American martial arts film directed by Terence H. Winkless, starring Don "The Dragon" Wilson, Rob Kaman, Billy Blanks and Cris Aguilar. The plot sees an American former kickboxer travel to Manila, where he re-enters competition to avenge the murder of his brother and fellow fighter.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Scott Adkins</span> English actor and martial artist (born 1976)

Scott Edward Adkins is a British actor and martial artist. He gained prominence with his villainous portrayal of the Russian prison fighter Yuri Boyka in the American martial arts film Undisputed II: Last Man Standing (2006), a role he reprised in its sequels Undisputed III: Redemption (2010), which won him an Action on Film Award for Breakout Action Star, and Boyka: Undisputed (2017), which won him a Jackie Chan Action Movie Award for Best Action Movie Actor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pete Cunningham (kickboxer)</span> Canadian martial artist and actor (born 1963)

Peter "Sugarfoot" Cunningham is a retired Canadian 7-time World Champion Hall of Fame kickboxer, boxer, martial artist, actor and author. Rated by experts as one of the greatest full contact fighters of all time, Sugarfoot was a superb technician who possessed high fighting I.Q. and lightning speed. He retired from kickboxing in 1996 with a record of 50-1-1, having avenged the only draw of his career but only one defeated Peter, the undefeated Richard Sylla at the WKA World Title in Paris. Cunningham's skills in the ring have been praised by many martial arts legends, including Benny "The Jet" Urquidez, Bill "Superfoot" Wallace, Chuck Norris, Dan Inosanto, Rigan Machado, Don "The Dragon" Wilson and many others. Cunningham maintained a high level competition throughout his career as most of his opponents were either current or former champions. In 1998 in San Jose, California, Peter was honored as the inaugural inductee in the I.S.K.A. Hall of Fame.

Takayuki Kubota, also known as Tak Kubota, was a Japanese and American karateka, known for founding the Gosoku-ryu style of karate. He held the title of sōke (grandmaster) for his development of the Gosoku-ryū, and was the founder and president of the International Karate Association. He was also the inventor and holder of the trademark of the Kubotan self-defense key chain.

Anthony Young is an American martial artist, teacher, and practitioner of the Goju Ryu Karate style and founder of the Tony Young All-Star Karate Academy. He is also a sport karate competitor.

Michel Qissi is a Moroccan Belgian actor, filmmaker, and martial artist best known for his action films. Qissi is the co-founder of The World Cinema Combat Federation (WCCF), an organization he formed with Grand Master Beom Jhoo Lee which teaches fight choreography in filmmaking.

Daniel Bernhardt is a Swiss actor, stuntman, martial artist, and former model. He is known for his work on various action films. He made his acting debut in the leading role in the martial arts film Bloodsport II: The Next Kumite (1996), and appeared in two of its sequels, Bloodsport III (1997) and Bloodsport 4: The Dark Kumite (1999).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alain Moussi</span> Canadian actor, stuntman, and martial artist

Alain Moussi is a Canadian actor, stuntman, and martial artist trained in jujitsu, kickboxing, and karate. He plays the lead role of Kurt Sloane in the reboot of the Kickboxer series, Kickboxer: Vengeance (2016) and Kickboxer: Retaliation (2018), a role that was originated by Jean-Claude Van Damme, who portrays his mentor in the films. Moussi also played the lead role in the action film Jiu Jitsu (2020), the role of Charlie Nash in the web series Street Fighter: Resurrection (2016), and Batman in the first season of the television series Titans (2018).

Sijo Saabir Quwi Muhammad is an American martial artist and police officer.

Seasonal Film Corporation was an independent film company from Hong Kong, originally founded by the ex-assistant Shaw Brothers movie director Ng See-yuen in 1974. One of their first films was Call Me Dragon in 1974, starring Bruce Liang, Kurata Yasuaki and Mang Hoi. Seasonal Film Corporation was one of the well known independent filming company in Hong Kong and who was also responsible with likes of martial arts stars such as Jackie Chan, Hwang Jang-lee, Jean-Claude Van Damme, Yuen Woo Ping, Bruce Liang, Alan Chui Chung-San and Corey Yuen.[John Liu Chungliang],[Don Wang Tao]Conan Lee,Hiroyuki Sanada.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 "No Retreat, No Surrender". British Film Institute . London. Archived from the original on August 2, 2012. Retrieved October 10, 2012.
  2. ↑ "No Retreat, No Surrender (15) (CUT)". British Board of Film Classification . July 24, 1986. Retrieved November 26, 2015.
  3. ↑ "Seasonal Film Co". BFI Film & Television Database. London: British Film Institute. Archived from the original on January 31, 2009. Retrieved February 26, 2013.
  4. ↑ "No Retreat, No Surrender". AFI Catalog. American Film Institute . Retrieved June 14, 2020.
  5. ↑ "Jean-Claude van Damme". The A.V. Club . Retrieved March 22, 2011.
  6. 1 2 3 Logan, Bey. "The No Retreat Man" (PDF). Keith Strandberg Official Website. Retrieved February 26, 2013.
  7. 1 2 Window, Thomas W. (July 1993). "The Trial of Jean-Claude van Damme". Black Belt . 31 (7). Active Interest Media, Inc.: 21. ISSN   0277-3066 . Retrieved February 25, 2013.
  8. ↑ Window, Thomas W. (July 1993). "The Trial of Jean-Claude van Damme". Black Belt . 31 (7). Active Interest Media, Inc.: 22. ISSN   0277-3066 . Retrieved February 25, 2013.
  9. ↑ "No Retreat, No Surrender Blu-ray". Blu-ray.com. June 22, 2016. Retrieved October 15, 2016.
  10. ↑ "Kino Lorber Classics: No Retreat, No Surrender" . Retrieved June 28, 2017.
  11. ↑ Mannikka, Eleanor (October 10, 2012). "No Retreat, No Surrender". Allmovie. Archived from the original on July 29, 2014.
  12. ↑ "Chart May 2-4, 1986". Box Office Mojo . Internet Movie Database . Retrieved February 26, 2013.
  13. ↑ "No Retreat, No Surrender". Box Office Mojo . Internet Movie Database . Retrieved February 26, 2013.
  14. ↑ "No Retreat, No Surrender". KinoPoisk (in Russian). Retrieved February 12, 2021.
  15. ↑ "No Retreat, No Surrender (Karate Tiger) (1986)". JP's Box-Office (in French). Retrieved February 12, 2021.
  16. ↑ Goodman, Walter (May 17, 1986). "No Retreat No Surrender (1986)". The New York Times . Retrieved February 25, 2013.
  17. ↑ CB (September 10, 2012). "No Retreat, No Surrender". Time Out . Retrieved February 25, 2013.
  18. ↑ Clary, David W. (October 1992). "Hot Property". Black Belt . 30 (10). Active Interest Media, Inc.: 20. ISSN   0277-3066 . Retrieved February 25, 2013.
  19. ↑ Goldstein, Patrick (May 6, 1986). "Movie Review: No Rhyme, No Reason in 'No Retreat'". Los Angeles Times . Retrieved July 11, 2014.
  20. ↑ Window, Thomas W. (May 1993). "The 10 Best and 10 Worst Choreographed Martial Art films". Black Belt . 35 (5). Active Interest Media, Inc.: 21. ISSN   0277-3066 . Retrieved February 25, 2013.
  21. ↑ Travis, Ed (February 21, 2017). "No Retreat, No Surrender: An Endearing The Karate Kid Clone". Cinapse . Archived from the original on November 26, 2022. Retrieved December 9, 2018.
  22. ↑ Trunick, Austin (February 21, 2017). "No Retreat, No Surrender". Under the Radar .
  23. ↑ McDonnell, Brandy (August 14, 2019). "'Mystery Science Theater 3000 Live' coming to OKC area". The Oklahoman . Retrieved November 4, 2019.
  24. ↑ Allman, Kevin (June 3, 2019). "'Mystery Science Theater 3000 Live' (aka MST3K) is coming to the Mahalia Jackson Theater". The Advocate . Baton Rouge, La. Retrieved November 4, 2019.
  25. ↑ "No Retreat, No Surrender". rifftrax.com. Retrieved October 2, 2023.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.