Bloodsport (film)

Bloodsport
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Newt Arnold
Produced by	Mark DiSalle Yoram Globus Menahem Golan
Screenplay by	Christopher Cosby Mel Friedman Sheldon Lettich
Story by	Sheldon Lettich
Starring	Jean-Claude Van Damme Roy Chiao Donald Gibb Leah Ayres
Music by	Paul Hertzog
Cinematography	David Worth
Editing by	Carl Kress Jean-Claude Van Damme (uncredited)
Studio	The Cannon Group
Distributed by	Paramount Pictures
Release date(s)	February 26, 1988 (1988-02-26)
Running time	92 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$1.1 million
Box office	$11.8 million (USA)

Bloodsport is a 1988 American martial arts sports drama film directed by Newt Arnold, starring Jean-Claude Van Damme, Roy Chiao, Donald Gibb and Leah Ayres. The film is based on the claimed adventures of Frank Dux. Bloodsport was followed by three sequels, Bloodsport II: The Next Kumite (1996), Bloodsport III (1997) and Bloodsport 4: The Dark Kumite (1999), however they were released direct-to-video and Jean Claude Van Damme did not feature in any of them.

The film performed well at the box office, grossing $11,806,119 domestically on a budget of $1,100,000, a 1,073% return on cost. Bloodsport became one of Jean Claude Van Damme's first starring films and showcased his athletic abilities. On display are numerous physical feats such as his trademark helicopter-style, jump spinning heel kicks, and Van Damme's ability to perform a complete split.

Plot

Bloodsport tells the story of a Canadian man named Frank Dux (Jean Claude Van Damme), who was trained from his youth in the ways of Ninjutsu by a Japanese master of the art, Senzo Tanaka (Roy Chiao). Primarily to honor his mentor out of gratitude and respect for having been allowed the training in place of Senzo Tanaka's deceased and only son, Dux leaves for Hong Kong to participate in the Kumite — an illegal and underground, freestyle, single-elimination and occasionally deadly full-contact martial arts tournament to which the world's best martial artists are clandestinely invited every five years.

The movie begins with the preparation for the Kumite somewhere in Kowloon Walled City. Then a number of fighters are shown preparing for the Kumite with their own individual training regimens (from climbing trees, bashing coconuts, to breaking large ice blocks and boards). Frank Dux is then shown kicking a speed bag in an Army gym. An officer informs him that the commanding officer found out about Dux's involvement in the Kumite and wants to speak to him. Frank tells him he wants to take a shower first, only to go AWOL instead.

Dux goes to the Tanakas' house to say goodbye to his mentor and remembers back to his training days. A flashback sequence shows a younger Frank Dux being goaded by two schoolmates to steal a sword in Mr. Tanaka's house. As Mr. Tanaka and his son Shingo return to the house, his schoolmates run away, leaving Dux behind. Shingo easily subdues Dux, but Mr. Tanaka calls him off and sends him back to his studies. Tanaka then tells Dux that the sword cannot be stolen; it must be earned. Dux explains that he was not stealing, but trying to put the sword back in its rightful place.

Tanaka uses the sword and cuts off the bill of Dux's cap, who does not flinch during the ordeal. Impressed by his "fighting spirit", Tanaka explains to Dux's parents that he intends to train their son in exchange for not reporting him to the police. Despite being used for a "punching bag" by Shingo during training (at one point Shingo insults Dux by calling him a "round-eye"), Dux saves Shingo from two bullies at school. Shingo confides in Dux that one day he would make his father proud by going to the Kumite. After Shingo's death years later, and despite initial resistance to the idea, Tanaka agrees to train Dux as a member of the Tanaka Clan.

Back in the United States, two military law enforcement agents (Army Criminal Investigation Division) (Norman Burton and Forest Whitaker) are summoned to track down and arrest Dux for desertion. After arriving in Hong Kong, Dux befriends fellow American contestants fighter Ray Jackson (Donald Gibb) and Victor Lin (Ken Siu), the latter of whom acts as a manager/liaison for Jackson and Dux. In order to prove he is part of the Tanaka clan, Dux is invited to perform the "Dim Mak" (the Touch of Death or Death Touch). Dux executes this move to perfection and his invitation is honored. Jackson and Dux soon become great friends, with the older Jackson acting as a big brother of sorts to Dux.

Dux, Jackson and the defending Kumite champion, Chong Li (Bolo Yeung) — a man with the tendency to cripple and sometimes outright kill his opponents on the platform - all make it through the first day of the Kumite. Dux earns the enmity of Chong Li after breaking his record for the fastest KO. Dux eventually becomes involved with a female American journalist, Janice Kent (Leah Ayres), who is attempting to investigate the secretive Kumite event. Dux believes the Kumite is for the fighters only, and not for the people who read newspapers. During the break between the fighting, the agents attempt to apprehend Dux, but he eludes them.

On the second day of the tournament, Jackson is set up against Chong Li. Although Jackson quickly gains the upper hand, he chooses to gloat, rather than finish Chong Li, with the result that the other fighter overpowers him and proceeds to brutally beat him, putting him in the hospital. Dux vows that he will avenge Jackson. Kent tries to convince Dux to pull out of the tournament, citing Jackson's beating, but he refuses. That night, the agents again attempt to take Dux in, but they relent when he threatens them with their own tasers.

Dux advances to the final of the tournament to face Chong Li. When Dux gets the upper hand during the fight, Chong Li blinds him with a handful of quicklime, but Dux trains his senses to overcome the handicap and makes Chong Li shout "matté" to become the first Western winner of the Kumite. The film closes with Dux returning to the United States and statistics detailing the real-life Frank W. Dux's alleged achievements (such as the fastest KO) are shown.

Cast

• Jean-Claude Van Damme as Frank Dux
• Donald Gibb as Ray Jackson
• Ken Siu as Victor (credited as "Kenneth Siu")
• Bolo Yeung as Chong Li
• Leah Ayres as Janice Kent
• Roy Chiao as Senzo Tanaka
• Michel Qissi as Suan Paredes (credited as "Michelle Qissi")
• Norman Burton as Helmer
• Forest Whitaker as Rawlins
• Bernard Mariano as Sadiq Hossein
• Philip Chan (陳欣健) as Captain Chen
• Paulo Tocha as Paco
• Keith Davey as Eddie
• John Law as Chan Lulu

Soundtrack

Bloodsport's soundtrack score was composed by Paul Hertzog, who also composed another Jean-Claude Van Damme movie titled Kickboxer. Hertzog's score was only issued on CD a few times. Due to its rarity, it is now considered a collector's item and goes for as much as $150 on eBay and $199 on Amazon.com.^{[citation needed]} The movie's score contained the songs "Fight To Survive" and "On My Own", both of which were performed by Stan Bush. However Stan Bush's songs as featured in the movie are not present on the official soundtrack, and alternate versions with vocals by Paul Delph are present on it instead. Paul Delph received a Grammy nomination for his work.

The film contained the song "Steal The Night" by Michael Bishop, that plays during a scene when Van Damme's character runs away from Helmer and Rawlins. The song was not released until the mid 2000's, when it was made available for online purchasing. The single contains a vocal and instrumental version. Also of note is a previously unreleased piece of score from the movie The Gamble, that was released on the Best of Van Damme Compilation Volume 2 CD. On June 26, 2007, Perseverance Records released a limited edition of the soundtrack on CD. The release is considered to be an improvement over all previous releases as the CD contains for the first time, the original versions of the tracks performed by Stan Bush as heard in the motion picture.

Reception

The film received mostly negative reviews from critics. Bloodsport has gained a large following amongst martial arts film fans and is considered to be a cult classic. On the website Rotten Tomatoes the film currently holds a 33%, but with 71% of the audience liked the film. One review stated "Proudly plotless in a way that other low-budget actioners ought to emulate more often".

DVD release

Bloodsport was released in a Region 1 DVD by Warner Home Video on October 1st, 2002.

Sequels

Bloodsport was followed by three sequels, Bloodsport II: The Next Kumite (1996), Bloodsport III (1997) and Bloodsport 4: The Dark Kumite (1999).

Remake

A remake of Bloodsport is being planned. Phillip Noyce is attached to direct based on a screenplay by Robert Mark Kamen. Screen Daily reported, "The story will follow an American who goes to Brazil to recover from the violence he has experienced in Afghanistan who gets involved in a martial arts contest."

External links

• Bloodsport at the Internet Movie Database
• Bloodsport at AllRovi