Best of the Best

For the science fiction anthology, see Best of the Best: 20 Years of the Year's Best Science Fiction.

Best of the Best
Directed by	Robert Radler
Produced by	Phillip Rhee Peter Strauss
Written by	Paul Levine
Starring	Eric Roberts James Earl Jones
Music by	Paul Gilman
Cinematography	Douglas Ryan
Editing by	William Hoy
Distributed by	Taurus Entertainment Company
Release date(s)	November 10, 1989
Running time	97 min.
Country	United States
Language	English

Best of the Best is a 1989 martial arts film. The plot revolves around a team of Americans facing a team of Koreans in a taekwondo tournament. Several sub plots pop up in the story - moral conflicts, the power of the human spirit triumphing over adversity are some themes. The movie stars Phillip Rhee, James Earl Jones, Eric Roberts and Chris Penn.

Plot

Alexander Grady, a widower and father of a five-year-old son, Walter, is chosen to represent the United States of America in an international martial arts tournament against Team Korea, despite a shoulder injury that once forced him into retirement. Also chosen for the team is Tommy Lee, a man seeking revenge against a member of Team Korea for the death of his brother during a previous tournament. The rest of Team USA consists of Travis Brickley, an extremely brash fighter with a short fuse; Virgil Keller, a devout Buddhist; and Sonny Grasso, a streetwise fighter from Detroit.

Coached by veteran trainer Frank Couzo, the team prepares to meet an unstoppable group of true martial arts experts. Their chances of winning are virtually non-existent, as the Koreans train all year long and are known as the best the sport has to offer. Along their journey, the Americans have to deal with their personal conflicts and tragedies, before they become a team. The most prominent conflict is that of Tommy, who has been chosen to fight the vicious fighter Dae Han Park, with whom Tommy has a personal grudge. Years earlier, Tommy's brother faced off against Dae Han in a similar tournament; Dae Han quickly took the advantage in the fight, and knocked Tommy's brother down. While he was trying to get up, Dae Han kicked him in the head (an illegal act in Taekwondo rules), killing him. Couzo knew this, having been the coach for that ill-fated team, but chose to pair Tommy with Dae Han anyway since Tommy was the only one with a chance of defeating him.

When the tournament starts, Keller and Grasso are out classed by their Korean opponents. Travis does his best to psyche up the team with his brash attitude leading to a sudden death breaking duel with his opponent. Couzo invites Grady's family to motivate him to win; however, his shoulder is severely re-injured during his bout. Instead of giving up, he implores Tommy to "pop" the shoulder back into place and resumes the fight with one arm, ultimately defeating his opponent.

Finally, Tommy faces the Captain of the Korean team, Dae Han, the man responsible for the death of his brother. Tommy gets the upper hand and delivers a series of moves that rattles Dae Han. With each point scored, Dae Han is weakened and battered up more. In the last few seconds of the match, Tommy has made up ground to where the USA team trails Korea by one point and can easily win the tournament for the Americans with one more blow, one that could possibly kill his opponent. As Tommy prepares his fighting stance, Couzo and Alex recognize that he is going to execute the same move that knocked Virgil down during training. At the urging of both Alex and Couzo to not execute, Tommy has a change of heart as he sees a bloodied Dae Han crawling on the ground. Not wishing to leave Dae Han to the same fate that befell his brother, Tommy chooses to stand down, saving Dae Han's life but ending the chances of a USA victory by one point as time expires. Couzo consoles Tommy telling him, "You won that match, don't ever forget that".

At the medal ceremony, the winning medals are given to the Korean team. However, Dae Han gingerly walks to Tommy and praises him for his honorable act. Dae Han apologizes for the death of Tommy's brother, and in return offers himself as a brother to Tommy. Tommy accepts, and Dae Han hands over his medal, and hugs Tommy. The other members of Team Korea see this, and they also give their medals to their respective American opponents.

Cast

• James Earl Jones as Coach Frank Couzo
• Eric Roberts as Alexander "Alex" Grady
• Phillip Rhee as Tommy Lee
• Chris Penn as Travis Brickley
• John Dye as Virgil Keller
• David Agresta as Sonny Grasso
• Tom Everett as Assistant Coach Don Peterson
• Sally Kirkland as Kathryn Wade
• Louise Fletcher as Mrs. Grady (Alex's mother)
• Edan Gross as Walter Grady (Alex's son)
• Hee Il Cho as Korean Coach
• Simon Rhee as Dae Han Park
• James Lew as Sae Jin Kwon
• Ken Nagayama as Yung Kim
• Ahmad Rashad as Broadcaster
• Ho Sik Pak as Han Cho

Soundtrack

Best of the Best
Soundtrack album by Various Artists
Released	1989
Genre	Rock, Pop
Length	35:40
Label	Relativity Records

Originally released as a vinyl record album, cassette and CD, re-released on CD in 2004.

1. Tales of Power - Jim Capaldi (3:32)
2. Best of the Best- Stubblefield & Hall (4:12)
3. American Hotel - Kirsten Nash (4:14)
4. Something so Strong - Jim Capaldi (4:34)
5. The Devil Made Me Do It - Golden Earring (3:18)
6. Radar Love (live) - Golden Earring (4:00)
7. Backroads - Charlie Major (4:03)
8. Original Score Medley - Paul Gilman (4:11)
9. Someday I'm Gonna Ride in a Cadillac - Charlie Major (3:36)

Reception

Critics were universally negative about the film. In his book Iceman: My Fighting Life, UFC champion Chuck Liddell cites Best of the Best as his personal favorite martial arts film.^{[citation needed]}

External links

Best of the Best at the Internet Movie Database