The Challenge (1982)
The Challenge is an American movie from 1982 directed by John Frankenheimer. Starring Scott Glenn and Toshirō Mifune.
Plot
A katana, one of a pair known as “The Equals”, was an heirloom of the Yoshida family, passed down through the generations before being lost during World War II.
It was finally tracked down and recovered in California by Toshio and Akiko. Hoping to return its rightful owner, their father Toru, Toshio hires down-on-his luck prize fighter Rick Murphy to smuggle the sword back to Japan.
In Japan Murphy is mugged and his partner killed.
Murphy continues to get his way through life at Toru’s school until, after a treacherous and attempt by one of the higher members of the school to steal the sword,
he leaves and is found in a hotel in Kyoto by Akiko, Toru’s only daughter. Finding romance, they go out to see the sights and sounds of the city, including watching a Shinto ceremony. During the crowded parade, Murphy and Akiko get separated and Hideo’s henchmen kidnap her and deliver her to her uncle. Toru goes out to Hideo’s industrial complex where he is shot and wounded by Hideo’s bodyguard Ando. Ando is slain by Hideo for this, and Murphy opts to fight Hideo to defend his sensei. Murphy manages to kill Hideo and present “The Equals” to Toru.
Notable scenes
The big finale fight is worth seeing.
Making of the Challenge
First lead role in a feature film for Scott Glenn.
Much of the movie was filmed on the grounds of the ancient Sokokuji Temple, which had remained unchanged for seven hundred years.
Toshirô Mifune was a student of such martial arts as aikido, kendo, karate, and kenjutsu, as well as being an excellent handler of Japanese samurai swords.
According to co-writer John Sayles, director John Frankenheimer brought him to Japan to change all the Chinese characters of the script into Japanese characters in only five days. One day he went to Kyoto to see the locations for the big battle scene at the end of the movie; the other four days he was locked up re-working the script in the Imperial Hotel in Tokyo while Toshirô Mifune took everyone else out for dinner.
The modern Japanese architectural complex, the setting for the film’s big finale, as well as being seen on the film’s main movie poster and prominently on home video covers, was the International Conference Hall in Kyoto, Japan.
Billed as Steve Seagal, later an actor and movie star, Steven Seagal worked on this movie as technical advisor and martial arts coordinator. The September and October 1982 edition of Coming Attractions (USA) Magazine said that Seagal was “recognized in Japan as a shihan, or ‘master of masters’ of the combat arts.”
Our view on The Challenge
The challenge is a hidden gem you never heard about. A blend of American and Japanese cinema, some action and fighting. Scott Glenn is great and the climax fight choreographed by Steven Seagal is great. A true cult classic. Exploitflix thumbs up!
