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Bloodsport

Original Movie Poster
Directed by Newt Arnold
Produced by Mark DiSalle
Yoram Globus
Menahem Golan
Written by Christopher Cosby
Mel Friedman
Sheldon Lettich (also story)
Starring Jean-Claude Van Damme
Donald Gibb
Bolo Yeung
Norman Burton
Forest Whitaker
and Leah Ayres
Music by Paul Hertzog
Michael J. Bishop
Cinematography David Worth
Editing by Carl Kress
Distributed by Cannon Group
Release date(s) February 26, 1988
Running time 92 mins
Country USA
Language English
Budget $1,500,000 USD (estimated)
Followed by Bloodsport II: The Next Kumite

Bloodsport is a 1988 martial arts film "Based on true events in the life of Frank Dux" as portrayed by Jean-Claude Van Damme. Although it enjoyed little box office success, it is considered a cult classic by martial arts film enthusiasts for showcasing a large variety of international fighting styles, ranging from Kung Fu to Jeet Kune Do and Muay Thai, among many others.

Contents

Plot

Based on supposedly real-life events which took place between 1975 and 1980–1981, Bloodsport tells the story of an American man named Frank W. 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 of the Kumite somewhere in Hong Kong. Then it shows a number of fighters preparing for the Kumite with their own training regimens (from climbing trees to bash coconuts to breaking big ice blocks and boards). Then it shows a man cleaning a platform when it finally shows Frank Dux kicking a speed bag in an Army gym. An officer talks to him about how the commanding officer found out about Frank leaving for the Kumite in Hong Kong and wanted to talk to him. Frank tells that he would take a shower and talk to him only to go AWOL from there.

Dux goes to the Tanakas' house to say goodbye to his trainer 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 catches Dux in the act, the other schoolmates run away, leaving Dux to be the fall guy. Dux explains that he was not stealing, but trying to put the sword back in its rightful place. Tanaka tells Dux that the sword cannot be stolen and it must be earned. Tanaka uses the sword and cuts off the front of Dux's cap, who doesn't flinch during the ordeal. Impressed by his "fighting spirit," Tanaka makes a deal where he will train Dux in exchange for not calling the police on him. Despite being used for a "punching bag" by Shingo during training (at one point Shingo disrespects 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. Shingo dies years later, and despite initial resistence 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 (Air Force Criminal Investigation Division) (Norman Burton and Forest Whitaker) are sent to track down and arrest him.

After arriving in Hong Kong, Dux befriends fellow American contestant, vale tudo fighter Ray Jackson (Donald Gibb) and Victor Lin (Ken Siu), the latter of which acts as a manager/liason for Dux and Jackson. Lin explains that the tournament is "anything goes," and that there are three ways to win:

  • Knock your opponent unconscious;
  • The opponent submits and shouts "matte;" or
  • The opponent is thrown out of the fighting area.

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, and not for the people who read newspapers. As the tournament progresses, Dux beats all of his diverse opponents, including a Sadiq Hossein (Bernard Mariano), Paco (Paulo Tocha), and a formidable Sumo wrestler-type fighter (David Ho). He advances to the third and final day of the tournament to face the defending Kumite champion, Chong Li (Bolo Yeung) — a man with the tendency to cripple and sometimes outright kill his opponents on the platform, and who has also hospitalized Ray Jackson during the second day of the Kumite. When Chong finds that Dux is the better fighter, he blinds Dux with a handful of quicklime, but Dux manages to train his senses and makes Chong Li shout "matte" 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.

Kumite Tournament Bracket

Overview

Despite being only modestly well received at the box office, Bloodsport became one of Jean Claude Van Damme's first starring vehicles and extensively showcased his athletic abilities. On display are numerous physical feats such as his trademark helicopter-style, jump spinning heel kicks, as well as another one of Van Damme's trademark in his ability to perform a complete split.

On the level of moral philosophy, the movie subtly examines questions such as the universal character of honor and dishonor, as well as the values of a heartfelt friendship within the sidelines of its story.

Cast

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.

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.

The film also contained a song by Michael Bishop titled "Steal The Night", which plays during a scene when Van Damme's character runs away from Helmer and Rawlins. This song was never released until 2006, when it was made available for online purchasing. The single contains a vocal and instrumental version.

The tracklisting for the original CD was as follows:

  • 1. Fight to Survive (02:23) - Performed by Paul Delph
  • 2. Kumite (Main Title) (02:39)
  • 3. Father and Son / Training (04:24)
  • 4. The Tree and the Sword / In Hong Kong / The Walled City / Ceremony (07:43)
  • 5. Chong Li Kills (02:50)
  • 6. On My Own - Alone (03:34) - Performed by Paul Delph
  • 7. The Second Day (04:23)
  • 8. The Morning After (02:45)
  • 9. Preparation (02:32)
  • 10. Dim Mak (01:59)
  • 11. Powder (03:42)
  • 12. Triumph (02:33)

Also of note is a previously unreleased piece of score from the movie titled The Gamble, which was released on the "Best of Van Damme Compilation Volume 2" CD.

The 26th of June 2007 saw a limited edition release of the soundtrack on CD by record label Perseverance Records. This release is considered by fans of the soundtrack as a vast 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. The track listing for this limited edition version is as follows:

  • 1. "Steal the Night" (04:28) - performed by Michael Bishop
  • 2. Kumite (02:25)
  • 3. Captain (00:23)
  • 4. Flashback/Martial Science/Father & Son/Training/Tree & Sword (10:20)
  • 5. In Hong Kong (00:58)
  • 6. The Walled City (01:53)
  • 7. Dim Mak (00:42)
  • 8. Police (00:14)
  • 9. First Day: Ceremony/ First Fight/Good, Bad, Ugly/Dux vs Arab (04:31)
  • 10. "Fight to Survive" (02:02) - performed by Stan Bush
  • 11. Morning After (01:55)
  • 12. Second Day (04:25)
  • 13. Samoan Balls (02:16)
  • 14. Jackson Falls (01:28)
  • 15. "On My Own - Alone" (02:12) - performed by Stan Bush
  • 16. Here for the Final?/Inspector, No! (00:57)
  • 17. Paco vs Dux (02:20)
  • 18. Chong Li Kills (01:29)
  • 19. Preparation (00:49)
  • 20. Finals/Powder/Triumph (07:28)
  • 21. "Fight to Survive" (End Title) (02:40) - performed by Stan Bush
  • 22. "Steal the Night" (instrumental version) (04:32)

Titles around the world

  • Argentina: El Gran Dragón Blanco (The Great White Dragon)
  • Brazil: O Grande Dragāo Branco (The Great White Dragon)
  • Bulgaria: Кървав спорт (Bloody Sport)
  • Canada: Bloodsport
  • Czech Republic: Krvavý sport (Bloodsport)
  • Finland: Bloodsport: Viimeiseen Asti (Bloodsport: To The Last Man)
  • France: Bloodsport: Tous Les Coups Sont Permis (Bloodsport: All Strikes Are Allowed)
  • Germany: Bloodsport: Eine Wahre Geschichte (Bloodsport: A True Story)
  • Hungary: Véres Játékok (Bloody Games)
  • Italy: Senza Esclusione Di Colpi (Without Exclusion of Blows)
  • Mexico: Contacto Sangriento (Bloody Contact)
  • Poland: Krwawy Sport (Bloody Sport)
  • Portugal: Força Destruidora (Destructive Force)
  • Romania: Sport sângeros (Bloodsport)
  • Russia: Кровавый спорт (Bloody Sport)
  • Spain: Contacto Sangriento (Bloody Contact)
  • Sweden: Utmaningen (The Challenge)
  • Turkey: Kan Sporu (Bloodsport)

Reception

 Please help improve this article or section by expanding it. Further information might be found on the talk page. (October 2008)

Trivia

 Lists of miscellaneous information should be avoided. Please relocate any relevant information into appropriate sections or articles. (February 2008)
  • The real-life Frank W. Dux was the coordinator of Bloodsport's martial arts scenes.
  • Van Damme was selected for the starring role due to his strong resemblance to Dux as well as Dux fighting trade mark of executing jumping spinning kicks by which to finish off his opponents. This trait earning Dux the "handle" "Fa Ma" meaning the flying horse which became his logo, only worn by his 1st generation students of the very first American born Ninjutsu system, Dux Ryu Ninjitsu.1
  • Bolo Yeung, seen portraying the defending Kumite champion Chong Li, was 49 years old during Bloodsport's filming.
  • Van Damme and Yeung would face off again 3 years later in the film Double Impact.
  • The 'split & punch' attack of the Mortal Kombat video games character Johnny Cage is based on a scene from this movie (Frank Dux v. Pumola).
  • The character of Johnny Cage itself was based loosely on Jean-Claude Van Damme's portrayal of Dux.
  • Bloodsport makes several tributes to the late Bruce Lee. Dux originally convinced his mentor that he was worthy of the complete training - despite him being neither Japanese nor a member of the Tanaka familyline - by reminding Senzo Tanaka that; "You taught me using any technique that works. Never to limit myself to one style. To keep an open mind.", which is a direct reference to the philosophy behind mixed martial arts as it was pioneered by Bruce Lee in the late 1960s and early 1970s. In a later scene Chong Li also says to Frank Dux; "Very good. But brick not hit back.", which is a reference to a similar line spoken by Bruce Lee in the movie Enter the Dragon -- "Boards don't hit back.". Lastly, Bloodsport was set in Hong Kong and is a compilation of numerous events Frank Dux had fought including the real-life Frank Dux Kumite debut. This occurred, according to Nov. 1980 issue of Black Belt magazine in the Bahamas. Frank Dux retired after 329 professional matches, undefeated.citation needed
  • Former Warner Bros. VP of Marketing and Publicity, Joseph Sinda, states in a 2002 documentary one of his most memorable moments with Bruce Lee was Lee asked him to find Frank Dux, which Sinda did but sadly only after Lee's death, in 1975. Sinda, attending in Bruce Lee's honor the Kumite that is the basis of the film Bloodsport2
  • The game Jackson and Dux played when first befriending each other was the 1984 arcade title Karate Champ.
  • Was originally released on Region 2 in 2001 but has since been deleted and is a sought-after item.
  • In the SNES game Best of the Best you can see the 2 detectives and the reporter sitting in the front row just like in bloodsport. The game itself was very much like bloodsport where you compete in a kumite.

See also

References

  1. ^ Benson, Sky (July 02, 2007). "Frank Dux", Fasst.blogspot.com. Retrieved on 29 November 2008. 
  2. ^ "Frank dux videos". Fasstduxryu.com. Retrieved on 2008-11-29.

External links
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