Popularity
501
Up 237 this week

The Karate Kid (1984)

PG  |   |  Action, Drama, Family  |  22 June 1984 (USA)
7.2
Your rating:
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 -/10 X  
Ratings: 7.2/10 from 114,233 users  
Reviews: 228 user | 77 critic

A handyman/martial arts master agrees to teach a bullied boy karate and shows him that there is more to the martial art than fighting.

Director:

Watch Trailer
0Check in
0Share...

Watch Now

From $7.99 on Amazon Video

ON DISC

10 Bond Trivia Facts

Count down 10 things only real James Bond fans know about James Bond.

Watch now

Related News

Where Are They Now? – Action Heroes
| Blogomatic3000
Tiff ’15 – Victor’s Top 5 Films at Tiff
| SoundOnSight

User Lists

Related lists from IMDb users

a list of 30 titles
created 10 Dec 2010
 
a list of 40 titles
created 03 Dec 2013
 
a list of 30 titles
created 9 months ago
 
a list of 39 titles
created 9 months ago
 
a list of 30 titles
created 6 months ago
 

Related Items

Search for "The Karate Kid" on Amazon.com

Connect with IMDb


Share this Rating

Title: The Karate Kid (1984)

The Karate Kid (1984) on IMDb 7.2/10

Want to share IMDb's rating on your own site? Use the HTML below.

Take The Quiz!

Test your knowledge of The Karate Kid.

User Polls

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 2 wins & 2 nominations. See more awards »

Videos

Photos

Learn more

People who liked this also liked... 

Action | Family | Romance
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 5.9/10 X  

Daniel accompanies his mentor to Okinawa who is off to see his dying father and confront his old rival, while Daniel inadvertently makes an enemy of his own.

Director: John G. Avildsen
Stars: Pat Morita, Ralph Macchio, Pat E. Johnson
Action | Drama | Family
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 4.9/10 X  

Ostracised villain John Kreese attempts to gain revenge on Daniel and Miyagi, with the help of a Vietman War comrade, the wealthy owner of a toxic waste disposal business.

Director: John G. Avildsen
Stars: Ralph Macchio, Pat Morita, Robyn Lively
Action | Drama | Family
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 6.2/10 X  

Work causes a single mother to move to China with her young son; in his new home, the boy embraces kung fu, taught to him by a master.

Director: Harald Zwart
Stars: Jackie Chan, Jaden Smith, Taraji P. Henson
Family | Sci-Fi
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.9/10 X  

A troubled child summons the courage to help a friendly alien escape Earth and return to his home-world.

Director: Steven Spielberg
Stars: Henry Thomas, Drew Barrymore, Peter Coyote
Adventure | Comedy | Family
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 6.3/10 X  

The scientist father of a teenage girl and boy accidentally shrinks his and two other neighborhood teens to the size of insects. Now the teens must fight diminutive dangers as the father searches for them.

Director: Joe Johnston
Stars: Rick Moranis, Matt Frewer, Marcia Strassman
Action | Drama | Family
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 4.2/10 X  

Mr. Miyagi is back and he takes a new pupil under his wing; a troubled adolescent girl.

Director: Christopher Cain
Stars: Pat Morita, Hilary Swank, Michael Ironside
Animation | Comedy | Crime
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.7/10 X  

A toon hating detective is a cartoon rabbit's only hope to prove his innocence when he is accused of murder.

Director: Robert Zemeckis
Stars: Bob Hoskins, Christopher Lloyd, Joanna Cassidy
Space Jam (1996)
Animation | Adventure | Comedy
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 6.3/10 X  

Michael Jordan agrees to help the Looney Toons play a basketball game vs. alien slavers to determine their freedom.

Director: Joe Pytka
Stars: Michael Jordan, Wayne Knight, Theresa Randle
Hook (1991)
Adventure | Comedy | Family
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 6.7/10 X  

When Captain Hook kidnaps his children, an adult Peter Pan must return to Neverland and reclaim his youthful spirit in order to challenge his old enemy.

Director: Steven Spielberg
Stars: Dustin Hoffman, Robin Williams, Julia Roberts
Adventure | Drama | Family
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.4/10 X  

A troubled boy dives into a wonderous fantasy world through the pages of a mysterious book.

Director: Wolfgang Petersen
Stars: Noah Hathaway, Barret Oliver, Tami Stronach
Home Alone (1990)
Comedy | Family
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.4/10 X  

An 8-year old troublemaker must protect his home from a pair of burglars when he is accidentally left home alone by his family during Christmas vacation.

Director: Chris Columbus
Stars: Macaulay Culkin, Joe Pesci, Daniel Stern
Jumanji (1995)
Adventure | Family | Fantasy
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 6.8/10 X  

When two kids find and play a magical board game, they release a man trapped for decades in it and a host of dangers that can only be stopped by finishing the game.

Director: Joe Johnston
Stars: Robin Williams, Kirsten Dunst, Bonnie Hunt
Edit

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
...
...
Miyagi (as Noriyuki 'Pat' Morita)
...
Ali
...
...
...
Ron Thomas ...
Rob Garrison ...
...
...
Israel Juarbe ...
...
...
Juli Fields ...
Dana Andersen ...
Edit

Storyline

Daniel and his mother move from New Jersey to California. She has a wonderful new job, but Daniel quickly discovers that a dark haired Italian boy with a Jersey accent doesn't fit into the blond surfer crowd. Daniel manages to talk his way out of some fights, but he is finally cornered by several who belong to the same karate school. As Daniel is passing out from the beating he sees Miyagi, the elderly gardener leaps into the fray and save him by outfighting half a dozen teenagers. Miyagi and Daniel soon find out the real motivator behind the boys' violent attitude in the form of their karate teacher. Miyagi promises to teach Daniel karate and arranges a fight at the all-valley tournament some months off. When his training begins, Daniel doesn't understand what he is being shown. Miyagi seems more interested in having Daniel paint fences and wax cars than teaching him Karate. Written by John Vogel <jlvogel@comcast.net>

Plot Summary | Plot Synopsis

Taglines:

He taught him the secret to Karate lies in the mind and heart. Not in the hands. See more »

Genres:

Action | Drama | Family | Sport

Certificate:

PG | See all certifications »

Parents Guide:

 »
Edit

Details

Country:

Language:

|

Release Date:

22 June 1984 (USA)  »

Also Known As:

Karate Kid  »

Box Office

Budget:

$8,000,000 (estimated)

Gross:

$90,800,000 (USA)
 »

Company Credits

Show detailed on  »

Technical Specs

Runtime:

Sound Mix:

Color:

(Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1
See  »
Edit

Did You Know?

Trivia

There are two actors in the film with 2 degrees of separation from Bruce Lee.

Pat E. Johnson, who plays the referee, was in Enter the Dragon (1973). Although he does not appear on screen with Lee, Johnson played a mobster who tries to rough up Roper.

Chad McQueen, who plays Dutch, is the son of 'Steve McQueen' (I) (qv, who was a close friend of Lee and also one of the pall bearers at his funeral. See more »

Goofs

When Johnny first fights Daniel at the beach, Johnny pushes the radio against Daniel's chest with the speakers facing Daniel, but as Daniel falls the speakers are facing Johnny. See more »

Quotes

Tommy: Get him a body bag! Yeah!
See more »

Connections

Referenced in Reno 911!: Cop School (2005) See more »

Soundtracks

Back Street Life
Written by Takeo Abe
Performed by Noriyuki "Pat" Morita
See more »

Frequently Asked Questions

See more (Spoiler Alert!) »

User Reviews

 
The late Pat Morita, karate kid man
17 January 2006 | by (United States) – See all my reviews

Metaphorically speaking, the late Pat Morita is the real life Daniel-san. Mr. Morita was humbled by the following incidents in his life: interned during WWI, suffered from a weak spine, short in stature and a stereotypical Japanese, nicknamed "Hip Nip" and casted for mainly comically roles in American TV and cinema. As if through divine intervention, the role of Mr. Miyagi was created, a natural and defining role for Pat Morita. Like the main character Daniel-san, who earned dignity and respect through karate, so too did Pat Morita earn dignity and respect as an actor for his role as Mr. Miyagi. The Miyagi character is a humble, soft-spoken, respected, Asian sensei (teacher.) He is humble not because he is weak and avoids being some bully's victim, but because he knows he holds the fate of all who bullies him in his hands. So it was that Pat Morita finally achieved through the character of Mr. Miyagi in the Karate Kid series what Daniel-san always gains at the end of each movie: dignity, respect, and honor to compensate for all the times of abuse, suffering, and humiliation.


35 of 47 people found this review helpful.  Was this review helpful to you?

Message Boards

Recent Posts
Karate kid part iv???? mrjamesinnes-ji
What was Kreese like in his off hours? johnny_burnaway
Why was Ali such a bitch to him? outlaw82
Guess each character's future profession/occupation nashawn187
Love the Kreese defenders eadabfc
What happened to the mom's computer job? tkdnj
Discuss The Karate Kid (1984) on the IMDb message boards »

Contribute to This Page