The directory of the original "Karate Kid (1984)" (John Avildsen) was also the director of the original "Rocky (1976)." I read a nice article once about how Avildsen's brilliance showed in how he made the "Karate Kid" the exact opposite of "Rocky."
The hero is young, not old; quick witted, not mentally slow; the girlfriend is rich and pretty, not poor and plain; she's outgoing, not withdrawn; the Karate Kid's teacher is calm and not at all ambitious, while Rocky's manager is washed up and looking for the big win; the Kid's training scenes are set to light music and all shot among nature, while Rocky's theme was all big horns and shot on the docks and in the city.
Opposite setups, but both great fight movies. I wonder if the new one (with Will Smith's son Jaden as the Kid and Jacky Chan as the teacher) can live up to the old.
Update: (I found the article I refer to above): At 25, "The Karate Kid" still packs a punch
No comments:
Post a Comment