![]() ![]() He won't simply hand over ancient tactics. Pat Morita earned an Oscar nomination for his iconic role as Mr. Dux's tall tales are different only by being recent enough to fact check.įatherhood is a key theme of this story about Daniel LaRusso (Ralph Macchio), the latchkey son of a single mom (Randee Heller) who wants to learn Karate to get back at a local gang of bullies. Martial arts films began with heroic legends surrounding local fighters. So maybe this California gym owner fibbed to boost his dojo's cred during the karate craze of the 1980s. Dux "never ventured closer to Southeast Asia than San Diego," notes the Los Angeles Times. You see, he sold it to free those poor orphans! His military records tell a different story. That's why he doesn't have the sword from winning the very real Kumite tournament. He once supposedly battled Philippine pirates to rescue a ship full of orphans. When the film debuted in 1988, Dux's stories were branded a "macho fantasy." Dux claimed to have conducted covert military missions in Southeast Asia and even to have been awarded the Medal of Honor - in secret, of course. ![]() For years, the real Dux had been telling his students at his Woodland Hills, California, dojo tales of his 1970s glory days as a wandering commando-ninja It's an anachronistic cultural relic but still bloody effective in the hands of a true master.īased on the supposedly true story of Frank Dux, "Bloodsport" follows the exploits of an ex-commando who enters an Asian "Kumite" tournament and defeats all comers. The blade is a stand-in for the martial arts genre in Tarantino's capable hands. Thurman's fight scene with a Chinese-American samurai gangster played by Lucy Liu is the most sublime six minutes of artful violence ever committed to celluloid.īesides direct Wuxia references, like the appearance of Chinese folk anti-hero Pai Mei, "Kill Bill" also mixes inspiration from Japanese sword-fighting films like "Shogun Assassin," "Dora-Heita," and even the feudal majesty of "Seven Samurai." The samurai sword is an object of deep reverence in "Kill Bill." It's the only thing the story's various murderous assassins agree deserves respect. Caradine is excellent as an assassin kingpin who interrupts The Bride's wedding and slaughters everyone in the chapel, leaving her for dead. ![]() ![]() This revenge tale follows Uma Thurman's "The Bride" on her quest to track down her ex-boyfriend (David Caradine). The plot of "Kill Bill" is classic Wuxia. ![]()
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