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59-435: The film takes the template established by previous tournament fighting films, especially the recent Bloodsport , and adds a whodunnit element to it. While negatively received, it generated record profits for Concorde Pictures , and kickstarted a long running franchise of increasingly unrelated sequels and spinoffs. To bolster its credibility, Bloodfist listed the real-life martial arts credentials of its stars, not only on

118-540: A Nixon -like U.S. president during a martial arts demonstration. That film was cancelled due to Lewis' other commitments. Winkless was offered the directing gig on Bloodfist after other Corman prospects bailed on him, and was given just one day to sign on. Upon learning that it would be shot in the Philippines , he consulted with fellow Concorde director Carl Franklin , who had already worked there. Franklin warned him that it would be tough, but encouraged him to go. The film

177-399: A cult film . Though Jean-Claude Van Damme doesn't appear in additional installments, it was followed by three sequels: Bloodsport II: The Next Kumite (1996), Bloodsport III (1997), and Bloodsport 4: The Dark Kumite (1999). A remake of Bloodsport was reported to be in planning in 2011. Phillip Noyce was attached to direct a screenplay by Robert Mark Kamen . The main character

236-470: A call from the Philippines police department . He is told his half-brother Michael is dead, and he must pick up the body in Manila . Raye travels to Manila and collects his ashes. But with the police refusing to help, he decides to stay there and find his brother's killer himself. Raye gets training help from a man named Kwong and stays with local kickboxer Baby Davies, upon whom local Filipino neighbor Angela has

295-522: A crush, and his sister Nancy. Kwong tells Raye about a gladiatorial competition known as the Ta-Chang , or Red Fist tournament, where only one comes out alive, and his brother's killer will likely be there. Kwong trains Raye for the tournament and enters him. He manages to win all the fights and proceeds to the final match, where he faces off with Chin Woo. Kwong tells him that Chin Woo is his brother's killer and also

354-422: A distribution deal at the time, on February 20, 1990. According to early 1990s press, the film shipped some 80,000 units and generated total revenue of $ 11 million. Wilson himself actually quoted more conservative figures of 60,000 to 70,000 tapes sold, and about $ 10,000,000 in overall revenue. New Concorde Home Entertainment released Bloodfist on DVD, along with its first three sequels, on May 30, 2000. The DVD

413-486: A film series which includes four sequels. U.S. Army Captain Frank Dux has trained in the ways of ninjutsu under his sensei Senzo Tanaka. As a boy, Dux and some of his friends broke into Tanaka's home to steal a katana , but Dux was apprehended while returning the katana to its place. Impressed by Dux's integrity and toughness, Senzo decided to train him alongside his son, Shingo. After Shingo's death, Senzo trains Dux as

472-478: A great idea for a movie. There was one guy who he introduced me to, named Richard Bender, who claimed to have actually been at the Kumite event and who swore everything Frank told me was true. A few years later this guy had a falling-out with Frank, and confessed to me that everything he told me about the Kumite was a lie; Frank had coached him in what to say. On casting the lead role, producer Mark DiSalle said, "I wanted

531-571: A member of the Tanaka clan. Dux is invited to the Kumite, an illegal martial arts tournament in Hong Kong. After his Army superiors refuse to let him go, Dux goes absent without leave , says goodbye to his sensei and leaves for Hong Kong. Two Criminal Investigation Command agents, Helmer and Rawlins, are assigned to track down and arrest Dux. After arriving in Hong Kong, Dux befriends American fighter Ray Jackson and their guide Victor Lin. When they arrive at

590-646: A new martial arts star who was a ladies' man. Jean Claude [Van Damme] appeals to both men and women. He's an American hero who fights for justice the American way and kicks the stuffing out of the bad guys." Bloodsport was filmed entirely on location in Hong Kong . It is one of the few films featuring scenes filmed inside Kowloon Walled City before its demolition in 1993. Other locations included The Peninsula Hotel , Causeway Bay , Hong Kong Trail , Victoria Peak , and Stanley Fort . Bloodsport ' s soundtrack score

649-449: Is a 1988 American martial arts film directed by Newt Arnold . The film stars Jean-Claude Van Damme , with a supporting cast of Leah Ayres , Forest Whitaker , Donald Gibb , Roy Chiao , and Bolo Yeung . The film centers on Frank Dux (Van Damme), a United States Army Captain and ninjutsu practitioner who competes in an underground full-contact martial arts tournament called the Kumite in Hong Kong . Based on Dux's real-life claims,

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708-463: Is currently out-of-print . The film was re-issued on Blu-ray by Shout! Factory on December 20, 2022. Bloodfist has received predominantly negative reviews. In a contemporary piece, the New York Daily News unfavorably compared the film to Jean-Claude Van Damme's then-current output, writing that " Blood Fist [sic] limps through increasingly predictable paces sans so much as a soupçon of

767-487: Is where it all began for the Muscles from Brussels, but beyond Van Damme's athleticism, Bloodsport is a clichéd, virtually plotless exercise in action movie recycling." On Metacritic the film has a weighted average score of 29 out of 100, based on 5 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews". Slashfilm regards it as one of the most influential martial arts movies of all time. Bloodsport has become regarded as

826-648: The CBS soap opera The Young and the Restless as Anita Lawson . Bach was born in Warren, Ohio , the daughter of Norma Jean Kucera (née Verdugo), an acupuncturist, and Bernard P. Bachman, a rancher. Her mother was a daughter of Antonio L. Verdugo, of Bisbee, Arizona , a baker born in Mexico, while her father was of German ancestry. She was raised in Warren, Ohio . Her mother, born into

885-597: The Los Angeles Times wrote, "Hacking through the jungle of cliche and reservoir of bad acting in Bloodsport [...] are some pretty exciting matches." Van Damme was nominated for a Golden Raspberry Award for Worst New Star , but lost to Ronald McDonald in Mac and Me . Rotten Tomatoes , a review aggregator , reports a 48% approval rating based on 29 reviews and an average rating of 5.1/10. The site's consensus reads: "This

944-487: The 1990s. Co-star Billy Blanks also graduated to leading roles within a few years, most notably for Shapiro-Glickenhaus Entertainment . The film received a direct sequel the next year, Bloodfist II , where Wilson reprised his role as Jake Raye. After that, Bloodfist became a brand name used by Concorde for a number of unrelated action vehicles starring Don "The Dragon" Wilson. Those were branded as Bloodfist in some markets but not in others. The original film's storyline

1003-711: The Hong Kong mountain temple from the original script with the Taal Volcano , which Wilson is seen climbing in the final version. However, the helicopter required for aerial photography of the actor's ascent was only available for about one hour. The shoot was generally difficult, due to low-quality gear and limited communication with his Filipino peers. The crew was on a six-day week, as with most U.S. productions shot in developing countries, but worked shorter days than those in Los Angeles. The director's request to have cameras equipped with crystal sync motors, which were needed to offset

1062-502: The Kumite arena, the officials are skeptical but eventually accept them after Dux proves his connection to the Tanaka clan by performing the Dim Mak death touch. On the first day of the tournament, Dux earns the enmity of the ruthless Kumite champion Chong Li after breaking his record for the fastest knockout. Dux becomes involved with American journalist Janice Kent, who is investigating the Kumite. Dux refuses to help her, but she sneaks into

1121-654: The Verdugo family, claimed to be descended from one of oldest Californio families. She spent some of her childhood on a ranch in South Dakota , and she visited her grandparents in Faith, South Dakota . In 1970, Bach graduated from Stevens High School in Rapid City, South Dakota . She briefly majored in drama at UCLA , where she supplemented her income by making clothes for friends and theater groups. Bach's professional debut

1180-507: The appropriateness of the cut-off shorts at first, saying she could not wear them in a restaurant scene. When prompted by the producers to visit a restaurant across the street, Bach found the waitresses were wearing "little miniskirts that matched the tablecloths!" This style of cut-off denim shorts is now popularly known as " Daisy Dukes " in reference to Bach's character of that name from the show. She starred on The Dukes of Hazzard opposite Tom Wopat , John Schneider and James Best . At

1239-462: The arena by agreeing to a date with a spectator. On the second day, Jackson is matched against Chong Li. Although Jackson comes close to defeating Li, he wastes time showboating for the crowd, allowing Li to recover and brutally beat him. Dux visits Jackson in the hospital and vows to avenge him. After witnessing the brutality of the tournament, Kent argues with Dux and tries to convince him not to return. Dux tells her that he has to win in order to become

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1298-437: The best he can be. Helmer and Rawlins arrive in Hong Kong and contact local police inspector Chen. They begin asking around for Dux and track him down to his hotel. A chase through the downtown ensues but Dux evades them when they fall into a canal. When Dux arrives at the Kumite, Helmer and Rawlins are waiting for him, along with Chen and four of his officers. Dux defeats them, but agrees to return with Helmer and Rawlins after

1357-465: The credits for carrying it. Winkless vowed to never again work in the Philippines after that experience. Roger Corman was a mostly hands-off producer, but he did show up in the editing booth and suggested a few changes. Even though they were often limited to trimming a few frames, Winkless found that they all improved the scene, which was a testament to Corman's experience. The late-blooming director, who

1416-440: The director, Blanks harbored doubts as to whether the job was real until the moment he walked onto the set. Don Wilson departed the U.S. for Manila on November 7, 1988. The principal actors were only available for about twenty days, however filming lasted thirty-two days in total, which was longer than average by Corman's standards. The schedule allowed Winkless reasonable time to sort out some outstanding issues, such as replacing

1475-452: The existence of the Kumite. Bloodsport was produced and released by Cannon Films on February 26, 1988. Despite negative critical reviews, it was a considerable box office success , grossing $ 50 million on a budget of $ 1.5–2.3 million. The success of the film helped the resurgence of the martial arts film genre in America. It has also been identified as a cult film and spawned

1534-431: The fighter who put Baby Davis in a coma. Jake's gym friend Hal, who has come from California to watch Raye's final bout, informs Raye that Kwong is the real killer & the fight fixer after Kwong drugs Raye and framing him for the murder of an old man. Angela comes in with a gun to avenge Baby, but dies at the hands of Chin Woo. Woo is defeated by Raye, who sets off after Michael's true killer. Kwong reveals that his brother

1593-491: The film "helped give the martial arts genre a boost but also foretold certain things like the Ultimate Fighting Championship and the idea of pitting different styles against each other." Retired professional mixed martial artist and kickboxer Mirko Cro Cop , inspired by Van Damme's performance in the film, began training in his parents' garage with his father's boxing equipment and weights. Bloodsport

1652-402: The film a two on a scale of zero to five. VideoHound's Golden Movie Retriever , a Thomson Gale reference book, rated it a two on a scale of zero to four. However, VideoHound's Complete Guide to Cult Flicks and Trash Pics , an exploitation-centric spinoff of the prior publication, rated it a three, finding that "the killer is not easy to spot until the final reel" and "on a purely visceral level

1711-483: The film delivers, though it will remain strictly viewing for the martial arts fan." Bill Wallace wrote in Black Belt that "maybe it wasn't the best karate film in the world, but at least people could see what different martial artists look like doing their fight scenes." Beyond its modest cinematic achievements, Bloodfist kickstarted the career of Don Wilson, who became a staple of the independent action film market in

1770-518: The film was delayed by a few months. For its U.S. release, Bloodfist used a touring regional release model, debuting on 54 screens in the Southeast on September 22, 1989, and later expanding to 77 screens as it reached major markets. The film maintained a respectable per-screen average of around $ 2500 for several weekends, and went on to gross $ 1,770,082 domestically. The film was released on home video through MGM/UA Home Video , with whom Concorde had

1829-555: The film was marketed as a true story . It was one of Van Damme's first lead roles and showcased his abilities, launching his career as a mainstream action star. The screenplay is based on many of Dux's claims first covered in the November 1980 issue of Black Belt magazine . The real Dux served as the action choreographer and technical advisor. After its release, many of Dux's claims were disputed, including by co-screenwriter Sheldon Lettich , who claimed Dux fabricated his fight record and

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1888-497: The film's concept, his casting was purely coincidental. He was at the time the bodyguard to actress Catherine Bach , who had been contracted for a film in the Philippines. At their hotel's disco, Blanks struck a conversation with Winkless, who informed him that he was in town to direct a martial arts film and still had one fighter left to cast. Blanks landed the role on the spot, much to his excitement, and prompty made arrangements to free himself of his remaining obligations. According to

1947-458: The film's cost at closer to $ 300,000. To hype Bloodfist 's release, Concorde printed a disparaging quote from World Kickboxing Association president Howard Hanson—whose light heavyweight title was held by Wilson—on the film's poster, reading "Don Wilson would kick Van Damme's a-- in one round!" Corman also challenged the Belgian to a fight with Wilson for $ 100,000. Wilson conceded that this

2006-400: The film. According to Van Damme, Corman first tried to sign him after Bloodsport , but he felt that Concorde productions were not up to his standards. Although he had no directorial experience in the genre, Terence H. Winkless had co-written a script for Roger Corman's brother Gene in the 1970s, in which kickboxer Joe Lewis was to have played a cyborg engineered by Chinese radicals to kill

2065-581: The handicap and defeating Li by making him utter the phrase "matté". The next day, he bids farewell to Kent and Jackson before returning to the United States with Helmer and Rawlins. Co-writer Sheldon Lettich came up with the idea for the film. According to Lettich: I had known Frank Dux for a number of months before I came up with the idea for Bloodsport . Frank told me a lot of tall tales, most of which turned out to be bullshit. But his stories about participating in this so-called "Kumite" event sounded like

2124-430: The kickboxing champ, I'd like you to come in and read for my film." Wilson had no idea who Corman was, but he did and after only reciting a handful of lines, the producer informed him he was hired. Wilson's contract was initially for two pictures, and stipulated that he would work on the first for a weekly salary of $ 1000 or $ 1200, depending on sources. However, another article says Wilson made between $ 80,000 and 90,000 from

2183-410: The limitations of HMI lights , was initially approved, but the equipment in question was never provided, leading to visible flicker in late arena scenes. Some cameras dated back to local producer Cirio Santiago's father, most notably a Mitchell from 1946. Its outdated viewfinder prevented him from seeing exactly what was being captured, and it was so unwieldy that a "camera lifter" received mention in

2242-534: The low purse in comparison to what he stood to make on his upcoming films, and argued that the challenge was unfair as he had stopped competing in 1980 to focus on his cinematic pursuits. Bloodfist was originally intended for release in June 1989, but Concorde had problems securing theater bookings due to an oversaturation of blockbusters such as Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade , Ghostbusters II and Batman , so

2301-421: The mindless charm of Kickboxer . And while real-life chopsocky champ Don Wilson may be capable of kicking 'Van Damme's a-- in one round' (as one of the pic's bloodthirsty blurbs contends), he lacks Jean-Claude's clumsy but genuine charisma." The Variety reviewer credited as Lor. also noted the "formula script, utilizing virtually the same premise as [the] recent Van Damme vehicle Kickboxer ". He conceded that

2360-454: The model for the figurehead for the schooner Californian . After the series ended, Bach had roles in a number of low-profile films. From 1992 to 1994, she starred in the Canadian family drama series, African Skies . In 2006, she guest-starred on Monk , and in 2010 had a small cameo in the comedy film You Again . In 2012, Bach joined the cast of CBS daytime soap opera, The Young and

2419-525: The most recent ones also surround mixes. In January 1989, the Los Angeles Times reported a U.S. box office gross of $ 11.7 million against a budget of $ 2.3 million. In August 1989, the Chicago Tribune reported that the film pulled in $ 50 million worldwide, including $ 15 million in the U.S. and Canada, making it Cannon Group's most profitable film of 1988. Leonard Klady of

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2478-456: The original films were attached to the project, including Kurt McKinney , Michel Qissi , and Bolo Yeung 's son David Yeung. Catherine Bach Catherine Bach (born Catherine Bachman ; March 1, 1954) is an American actress. She is known for playing Daisy Duke in the television series The Dukes of Hazzard and Margo Dutton in African Skies . In 2012, she joined the cast of

2537-476: The picture "has a couple of plot twists plus a statuesque blonde leading lady (Riley Bowman) to distinguish it from others in the genre. Unfortunately, the editing is ragged and photography hit-and-miss, while the fighters-turned thesps show little acting ability." TV Guide was similarly dismissive, pointing to "the screenplay being recycled from at least five other kung fu films", and "further hampered by bad acting and obvious budget restraints." AllMovie rated

2596-452: The poster but in the credits as well, a gimmick that carried over to other Concorde films and was copied by some competitors. A man gets beaten by his opponent, but after he finds out the fight was rigged, he decides to fight back. He kills his opponent and is announced as the winner. On his way back to his home, another man kills him. Back in the United States, retired boxer Jake Raye and co-owner of Hal and Jake's self-defense class receives

2655-434: The producers were looking for a Dolly Parton -lookalike; despite not looking like what they were searching for, she was hired on the spot. One of the earliest costume ideas from the producers was that she wear a tight white turtleneck , go-go boots and a poodle skirt , but Bach asked if she could bring her own outfit, which was a homemade T-shirt , a pair of cut-off denim shorts and high heels . Bach had concerns about

2714-500: The song "Steal the Night" by Michael Bishop during a scene where Dux runs from Helmer and Rawlins. The song was released in the mid-2000s as a single containing a vocal and instrumental version. On June 26, 2007, Perseverance Records released a limited-edition CD of the soundtrack including, for the first time, the original film versions of the Stan Bush songs. In 2021 the complete soundtrack

2773-461: The suggestion of the show's producers, Bach posed as Daisy Duke for a poster, which sold 5 million copies. The poster once caused a stir when Nancy Reagan took a liking to it after Bach visited the White House with one as a gift for one of her former schoolteachers then working there. While she was starring on The Dukes of Hazzard , her legs were insured for $ 1,000,000. In 1985, she served as

2832-458: The tournament. On the final day, Li kills his semifinal opponent, much to the consternation of the crowd. Fearing defeat in the final against Dux, Li conceals a salt pill in his waistband before the bout. When Dux gains the upper hand, Li blinds him by crushing the pill and throwing it into Dux's face. Initially frustrated by his inability to see, Dux clears his mind and recalls his training from Tanaka, who taught him to fight blindfolded, overcoming

2891-462: Was exploitation mogul Roger Corman's entry into the genre. To find his next star, the producer instructed his staff to survey martial arts publications' fighter rankings, where the name of Don "The Dragon" Wilson came up. Unsure if he even had the right contact information, Corman left a message on one Don Wilson's answering machine that said "Hi, my name is Roger Corman. If you're the Don Wilson that's

2950-466: Was a publicity stunt orchestrated by his producer, but nonetheless accused Van Damme of misrepresenting himself as a former world champion, and asserted that the Belgian would be no match for him in real life. According to Wilson, Van Damme jokingly replied that instead of fighting him, he would rather settle the score with Corman himself. In a retort published in Black Belt magazine, Van Damme scoffed at

3009-617: Was also re-used in two spinoffs, the female-fronted Angelfist (1993) and the futuristic Bloodfist 2050 (2005). In addition, the Bloodfist premise became the go-to for Concorde martial arts vehicles. It was re-used two more times in 1993 alone, for the company debuts of Jerry Trimble in Full Contact and Dominic Labanca in Dragon Fire , although these films were not marketed as official remakes. Bloodsport (film) Bloodsport

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3068-489: Was an inspiration for the video game Mortal Kombat , and Johnny Cage , one of the characters, is a parody of Jean-Claude Van Damme. Van-Damme himself later voiced a Johnny Cage character based on his likeness in Mortal Kombat 1 . In 2024, Capelight Pictures released The Last Kumite , a crowd-funded film "inspired by the likes of Bloodsport, Kickboxer and No Retreat No Surrender ". Several people with ties to

3127-505: Was as one of the children in a production of The Sound of Music . Bach's first screen appearance was in the Burt Lancaster murder mystery, The Midnight Man , shot in upstate South Carolina in 1973, in which she played murder victim Natalie Claiburn. Her next role was Melody in the 1974 film Thunderbolt and Lightfoot . Bach heard about the audition for The Dukes of Hazzard through her husband. When she arrived there, she found

3186-403: Was composed by Paul Hertzog , who would also compose the score for Jean-Claude Van Damme's next movie Kickboxer . For the movie Bloodsport the songs "Fight to Survive" and "On My Own" were both performed by Stan Bush . Bush's performances are replaced on the soundtrack with alternate versions sung by Paul Delph . Due to this work Paul Delph was nominated for a Grammy . The film plays

3245-446: Was originally set in Hong Kong , and Robert King 's screenplay went barely untouched after its original draft. Even though Winkless was due to leave for Manilla just ten days after being introduced to the project, the script he received still mentioned Hong Kong locations, including a scene where the hero climbed a long flight of stairs to a mountain temple. While Billy Blanks did possess the requisite martial arts credentials to satisfy

3304-493: Was released on picture discs by Waxwork Records . Bloodsport was released on VHS and Betamax by Warner Home Video on December 21, 1988. Within a few months, it had sold some 150,000 units. Warner also released a DVD of the film in the United States on October 1, 2002. Multiple Bluray versions have been released throughout the years, the earliest in 2010 and the latest, including 4K versions, in 2023 and beyond. The older releases feature only stereo audio, while

3363-426: Was still learning the tricks of the trade, found how to piece together several smaller locations into a larger on-screen locale by masking cuts with elements of vegetation. While contemporary publications pegged the budget at $ 1,000,000, Wilson said that he had been told by Winkless that the film may have actually been made for under $ 200,000. In another interview, Wilson quoted the budget as $ 250,000. Other sources put

3422-618: Was supposed to be an American Afghanistan War veteran competing in a vale tudo tournament in Brazil. Director James McTeigue was attached to the project by 2013, and the filming was to be done in Australia and Brazil. As of 2023, the remake has not been produced. According to the American Film Institute , the success of Bloodsport helped the resurgence of the martial arts film genre in America. According to Jean-Claude Van Damme ,

3481-409: Was the fighter who died at the hands of Michael that night, and that Kwong is the one who murdered him. Kwong fights Raye in the same alley where Michael died. Raye is badly wounded but impales Kwong on a fence. Nancy and Raye walk off into the night. The worldwide success of 1988's Bloodsport , starring Jean-Claude Van Damme , generated a resurgence in the production of martial arts films. Bloodfist

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