The Quest (film)
| The Quest | |
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 Theatrical release poster |
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| Directed by | Jean-Claude Van Damme |
| Produced by | Moshe Diamant Peter MacDonald (executive) |
| Written by | Frank Dux (story) Jean-Claude Van Damme (story) Steven Klein Paul Mones |
| Starring | Jean-Claude Van Damme Roger Moore James Remar Janet Gunn Jack McGee Aki Aleong |
| Music by | Randy Edelman |
| Cinematography | David Gribble |
| Editing by | John F. Link William J. Meshover |
| Release date(s) | April 19, 1996 April 26, 1996 |
| Running time | 95 min. |
| Country | USA |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $30 million |
| Box office | $57,400,547 |
The Quest is a 1996 American martial arts action film written and directed by Jean-Claude Van Damme. The film starred Van Damme, Roger Moore, Janet Gunn, and James Remar. The film is Van Damme's directorial debut. The plot revolves around an international martial arts tournament. Claims by Frank Dux that it was a rework of a script Frank Dux wrote entitled "The Kumite" were rejected by a jury.[1][2]
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[edit] Plot summary
Christopher Dubois (Jean-Claude Van Damme) is a pickpocket living in 1925 New York. Orphaned as a child, Dubois looks after a large group of young orphans by performing cons and stealing. After stealing a large sum of money from a group of gangsters, Dubois and the children are found by the gangsters. Dubois is able to subdue the gangsters with his physical skill, but the struggle draws the attention of the police. After promising to return to the children, Dubois escapes the police by stowing away on a boat. He is eventually found out by the crew and imprisoned by gun smugglers and pirates and forced into physical labor. Eventually, the crew decides Dubois is no longer needed. But before he can be killed, the pirate ship is attacked and boarded by a mercenary Englishman, Lord Edgar Dobbs (Roger Moore). After saving each others lives, Dobbs agrees to help Dubois return home, but deceives him and sells Dubois into slavery on an island near Siam, where Dubois is trained in Muay Thai fighting.
After 6 months, Dobbs and his partner Harri Smythe (Jack McGee) find Dubois fighting in a Muay Thai match and see that he has become a skilled fighter. Dobbs later assists (and to some extent exploits) Dubois, buying Dubois' freedom so the now expert fighter can represent the United States in a Kumite-like tournament called the Ghang-gheng, held in the Lost City of Tibet, where representatives of different countries like Germany, Soviet Union, Scotland, Spain, Turkey, Brazil, Siam, Korea, Greece, France, China, Japan, Okinawa, Africa, and Mongolia fight in elimination bouts, and the winner of the tournament receives a valuable statue, the Golden Dragon. Along for the journey are American reporter Carrie Newton (Janet Gunn) and heavyweight boxing champion Maxie Devine (James Remar).
Dubois ultimately wins the tournament by defeating the representative of Mongolia, but does not accept the Golden Dragon. Instead he trades it for the lives of Dobbs and his comrade Harri, who were sentenced to death for trying to steal the Golden Dragon.
[edit] Casting
- Jean-Claude Van Damme as Christopher Dubois
- Roger Moore as Lord Edgar Dobbs
- Janet Gunn as Carrie Newton
- James Remar as Maxie Devine
- Jack McGee as Harri Smythe
- Aki Aleong as Khao
- Abdel Qissi as Khan (Mongolian Fighter)
- Louis Mandylor as Riggi
- Chang Ching Peng Chaplin as Master Tchi
- Ryan Cutrona as Officer O'Keefe
- Peter Wong as Chinese fighter
- Kōji Kitao as Japanese fighter
[edit] Reception
The film earned $21,607,190 at the American box office.[3] It did much better overseas with nearly 40 million. The film's reaction was negative by critics.[4][5][6] [7][8]
[edit] References
- ^ "Van Damme Cleared in Suit Over 'Quest'". The Los Angeles Times. 1998-11-11. http://articles.latimes.com/1998/nov/11/entertainment/ca-41432. Retrieved 2010-08-23.
- ^ "Van Damme Victor in Clash". People. http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,615023,00.html. Retrieved 2011-03-12.
- ^ Welkos, Robert W. (1996-04-30). "'The Quest' Finds Its Audience". The Los Angeles Times. http://articles.latimes.com/1996-04-30/entertainment/ca-64135_1_weekend-box. Retrieved 2010-08-24.
- ^ Thomas, Kevin (1996-04-26). "A Knockout for Director Van Damme". The Los Angeles Times. http://articles.latimes.com/1996-04-26/entertainment/ca-63134_1_van-damme. Retrieved 2010-08-23.
- ^ Maslin, Janet (1996-04-26). "FILM REVIEW;Van Damme as Auteur". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/1996/04/26/movies/film-review-van-damme-as-auteur.html. Retrieved 2010-08-24.
- ^ Levy, Emanuel (1996-04-26). "The Quest". Variety. http://www.variety.com/review/VE1117905193.html?categoryid=31&cs=1. Retrieved 2010-08-25.
- ^ Lasalle, Mick. "`Quest' Great for Kicks". San Francisco Chronicle. http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/1996/04/26/DD28304.DTL. Retrieved 2010-08-25.
- ^ McGavin, Patrick (1996-04-26). "Van Damme's Directorial Debut `Quest' Ambitious But Predictable". Chicago Tribune. http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1996-04-26/entertainment/9604260326_1_chris-dubois-martial-arts-instructor-quest. Retrieved 2010-09-20.
