Rating summary

Movie		2.0
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		3.0
Overall		2.5

Karate Warrior Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov December 8, 2019

Fabrizio De Angelis' "Karate Warrior" (1987) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of 88 Films. The supplemental features on the disc include video interview with cinematographer Pino Pinori as well as new programs with film critics Mike Leeder and Eugenio Ercolani. In English or Italian, with optional English subtitles for the main feature. Region-B "locked".

If you ever find yourself in the company of an annoying friend that won’t leave your place, even though you have made all the right moves to make him realize that he has overstayed his welcome, tell him that you would love to introduce one of your all-time guilty pleasures to him -- Fabrizio De Angelis’ Karate Warrior. Then direct your friend to the media room, offer him another drink, and invite him to get comfortable in front of your system. I guarantee that in about ten to fifteen minutes you will reclaim your privacy. In fact, there is an excellent chance that your friend will never bother you again because Karate Warrior will permanently alter his opinion of you and your relationship. He won’t admit it, but you will become the star of his ‘nice-but-definitely-weirdo’ list because of your love and admiration of Karate Warrior. You think I am exaggerating? Test my theory, only right before your guinea pig friend leaves your place admit that you were experimenting with him so that you can preserve your relationship. Trust me, this film really is a very special kind of stinker, even by Italian standards.

American teenager Anthony Scott (Kim Rossi Stuart) lands in Manila to spend some time with his father, Paul (Jared Martin), who works there as a journalist. Soon after, he crosses paths with Quino (Enrico Toralba), a local thug, who makes it clear to him that he expects everyone, even visitors, to treat him like a star. When Anthony refuses to do so, Quino and a few of his buddies wait for Paul to go on business, drag him into the nearby forest and nearly kill him. Master Kimura (Ken Watanabe), who lives in isolation there, discovers the badly injured Anthony and slowly helps him get back on his feet. He also transforms the boy into a fearless fighter and eventually he returns to the city to meet his stunned nemesis in a decisive karate fight.

Karate Warrior was scripted by De Angelis and his good friend Dardano Sacchetti (The Tough Ones, The New York Ripper), but I think that it is fair to speculate that the former was the main creative force behind it. Why? Because this is the only scenario that explains how a film with so many clichés and awful lines was actually completed -- a competent writer, like Sacchetti, would have wiped out just about all of them. Indeed, there is too much bad material here not to assume that a non-professional scenarist was calling all the shots. Could I be wrong? No. Because a year later De Angelis and Sacchetti teamed up again for Karate Warrior: 2, so it is pretty clear that they just made these films as fast as they could to capitalize on the success of The Karate Kid films. Also, De Angelis produces both films, so he really was in a position to call all the shots. Once he got paid Sacchetti probably did not care anymore because he knew that it would not have mattered anyway. You can’t win against a person that was funding, writing, and shooting at the same time.

The one and only way in which Karate Warrior could potentially work for some viewers is if it is seen strictly as a nostalgia fix. But this is still a tricky proposition because only the action has the type of vintage appeal that is needed for the film to function as such -- and there is not a lot of it. The seemingly endless and very rough exchanges simply make the film look awfully amateurish.

*Karate Warrior was distributed with two soundtracks: an Italian soundtrack for the domestic market, and English soundtrack for the international market. This Blu-ray release presents the film with the English soundtrack, which features plenty of native overdubbing, as well the Italian soundtrack, which also features native overdubbing. (Please note that the Italian version of the film is a couple of minutes longer).

Karate Warrior Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Karate Warrior arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of 88 Films.

The release is sourced from a brand new 2K remaster and the film looks very healthy. Clarity, depth, and fluidity are very nice, though you should expect to see minor density fluctuations because of some specific lensing decisions that were made during the on-location shooting. The color grading is very convincing. However, some of the indoor/darker footage does reveal slightly thicker than usual blacks that could have been avoided with better precision or adjustments. The overall temperature and color balance, however, are very nice. There are no traces of problematic digital corrections. Image stability is excellent. (Note: This is a Region-B "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you need to have a native Region-B or Region-Free player in order to access its content).

Karate Warrior Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There are two standard audio tracks on this Blu-ray release: English LPCM 2.0 and Italian LPCM 2.0. Optional English subtitles are provided for the main feature.

I viewed the film with the English track, which is something of a mixed bag. For example, it features some quite poor overdubbing, even by Italian standards, and the outdoor footage routinely reveals spikes and drops in dynamic activity that easily could have been avoided in the editing room. Sometimes random noises also enter the main audio field in unusual ways. But these are still what I would describe as 'cosmetic inconsistencies', which means that the basic qualities of the dub remain solid. It is just that the Italian crew that finalized the English soundtrack did not do a particularly good job.

Karate Warrior Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Lighting the Kimono - in this new program, cinematographer Pino Pinori discusses his illustrious career and recalls how he was offered to lense Karate Warrior and what it was like to work with Fabrizio De Angelis. The program was created by Eugenio Ercolani and Giuliano Emanuele. In Italian, with optional English subtitles. (17 min).

• Cinema of the Underdog - in this new program, Mike Leeder discusses the evolution of the martial arts genre films after Bruce Lee, their evolution in the West, and Italian cinema's role for their popularization and diversification. There are also some quite interesting observations about the Philippines and why the country became the Mecca for genre films during the '70s and '80s. In English, not subtitled. (23 min).

• The Cynic, The Rat, and the Karate Warrior - in this new program, Eugenio Ercolani discusses the rise and collapse of Italian genre cinema. In English, not subtitled. (13 min).

• Cover - reversible cover with vintage Italian poster art.

Karate Warrior Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

The fact that Karate Warrior was very successful in Italy does not surprise me at all because there are countless other Italian copycats that made a ton of cash for their producers. People liked these films, and they did because a lot of them were so wild and bold that they ended up smashing taboos and creating entirely new subgenres. This is why many of them are considered cult classics now -- their enthusiasm was, and still is, off the charts. Karate Warrior does not have any of this crucial enthusiasm, though, and this is why I find it a bit odd that it did so well at the box office. It is very poorly scripted and tries to impress only with a wide range of overused cliches. It did nothing for me, and I have a soft spot for genre films that most people would not bother with. This recent release from 88 Films is sourced from a very nice 2K remaster, so if Karate Warrior happens to be a guilty pleasure pick up a copy for your collection. Otherwise, consider a rental first. RENT IT.