All language subtitles for The.Unknown.Story.S01E07.Karate.Kid.1080p.PCOK.WEB-DL.AAC2.0.H.264-playWEB_track3_[eng]

It's one of the greatest

underdog stories of all time.

Hey, uh, there's Miyagi.
Who is that?

And a cornerstone
of 1980s pop culture.

The Karate Kid.

One of the feel good
films of forever.

The Karate
Kid was full of heart,

captivating an
entire generation.

It was such a great
story of survival

and believing in yourself.

It just blew everybody
out of the water.

From those
legendary quotable lines...

- Sweep the leg.
- Wax on, wax off.

To one of
the most iconic moments

in cinema history.

Who didn't try to
do the crane kick?

You kidding me?

The
franchise has permeated

pop culture forever.

I quite didn't know it was
gonna work out that well

but it's kinda nice.

And spotlighted
martial arts in totally new way.

Forget football,
tennis, golf.

Karate was now the
sport of America.

Hear
behind th scenes tales.

He rolls a sock
up and he shoves it

down into his crotch,
zips up the costume.

Get the
scoop on casting drama.

The producer said this
is not a comic's role.

I want an actor.
Get me an actor.

And find out
wh really knew karate

and who didn't.

He couldn't do a damn thing.
I said this kid is perfect.

He's absolutely perfect.

I faked it kinda well.

The Karate Kid
helped define a decade.

And the Cobra Kai
series ha reinvented it

for a whole new generation.

This is a global phenomenon.

It is a fun ride.
We are very proud of the show.

Now, find
out how it all began.

We didn't really know if this
thing was gonna go anywhere.

And why
we're still obsessed

with these characters
four decades later.

When the Karate Kid
stormed into theaters

in the summer of 1984
audiences young and old

embraced the underdog
story of Daniel LaRusso,

who, with his mentor,
Mr. Miyagi, formed

one of Hollywood's greatest
teacher student pairings ever.

Sequels and more
followed as the legacy

of this inspirational
franchise continued to grow

throughout the decades.

Culminating with the wildly
popular Cobra Kai series

starting in 2018.

But none of this vast
karate kicking universe

would even exist if
it weren't for a man

named Robert Mark Kamen
an this fateful night

back in 1964.

I was at the World's
Fair in New York

and I was 17-years-old.

I got jumped by
this bunch of guys.

They chased me around
th World's Fair.

Then I ran into the New York
State Pavillion,

where a man named Ed McGrath

was doing
a karate demonstration

and I thought this
was the cat's meow

and the next
Monday I signed up.

I was a, you know, skinny
little Jewish kid from New York

and he taught me how to be
a skinny little Jewish kid

from New York who could beat
the [bleep] out of people.

But
Kamen soon realizes

something is missing
from his training.

The further I
got into his style,

the deeper I wanted to get
into what it really was.

The deeper aspects of the art.

So, I went to Okinawa
and started training

in traditional
Okinawan Goju Karate.

While
in Japan in 1971,

Kamen connects with two men

who had been students of
Okinawan Karate legend,

Chojun Miyagi.

That's right, Miyagi.

Chojun Miyagi, he
was one of the great

Okinawan karate masters.

He died in 1953.

And he is still revered to this
day as one of the luminaries

of Okinawan Karate.

That's where Miyagi comes from.

Jump ahead to 1982.

Kamen, now an up and coming
Hollywood screenwriter,

receives a phone call from the
chairman of Columbia Pictures

who was looking to
develop a new project.

Frank Price was my mentor.

He called me up and said
he had bought an article

from Jerry Weintraub
th producer

and it was about a
nine year old kid

who, who was bullied and got
a black belt in Taekwondo.

Then I said that story doesn't
interest me but I have a story

about myself and my teacher
and how I came to martial arts.

That story
from Kamen's youth

will become the basis of the
original Karate Kid film

and that June Kamen
puts pen to paper.

The writer was an
authentic karate practioner

and mirrored some of the
elements in his life

in this story.

I think that helped a lot.

It was really genuine in terms
of martial arts in America.

When
it comes to naming

the other main characters,
aside from Mr. Miyagi,

Kamen doesn't have to
look far for inspiration.

My daughter's
name is Alessandra

and we call her Ali with an i.

Hey, you got a name?

Ali, with an i.

I took her name
and used it as that.

Daniel and Johnny
were my nephews.

Lucille was their mother.

Her maiden name was Lorenzo.

So, I named Daniel,
Daniel LaRusso.

And Johnny, Johnny Lawrence
because Johnny's name

was John Lawrence Weber.

The script,
tentatively titled

The Karate Kid Project is
greenlit by Columbia Pictures

and tells a familiar tale
that focuses on the underdog.

It's a classic outsider in
high school trying to fit in

and, and failing miserably.

Crushing on the
most popular girl.

Being bullied.

And then finding a mentor
wh has also had his own

strange form of bullying.

And they find this connection
which is very magical.

It's not a karate movie.

Karate just happens to
be, yo know, the backdrop.

It's really a
coming of age story

about a relationship
between a young boy

and this father
figure of Mr. Miyagi.

Daniel LaRusso moves
from Newark, New Jersey,

3,000 miles away to
Reseda, California.

He didn't have a dad.

He biked to school and he was
bullied, constantly bullied.

- Yes, Johnny, give it to him.
- You want it, you got it.

Who hasn't been bullied?
Right?

And so, you put
it all together

and you're like wow, this
guy is very relatable.

And that's why it works.

Because we all see
ourselves in him.

And who
better to direct

a sports based underdog story
than Oscar winning

John G. Avildsen,

whose resume includes a
little movie called Rocky.

We joked about it.

We used to call it
the Karocky Kid.

And Sly is convinced
that I ripped him off.

So, fine, whatever.

It wasn't supposed to
be Rockyesque at all.

Except that it has
the same elements.

The little Italian
kid meets a mentor,

trains hard, there's a montage.

It doesn't bother me that,
uh, there are Rocky parallels.

Uh, how bad can that be?

John had such a pure
love for the story

And I said, "Aren't you
worried people are gonna say

you're just ripping
yourself off?"

He said, "No, these characters
are completely different.

This is new and fresh to me."

It was an underdog movie.

And underdog movies were
very popular back then

and they still are really.

You know, everybody likes
to root for the underdog.

What a great st--
it's just a great story.

With the
Karate Kid Project

now in pre-production it's
time to begin casting.

But the film makers
are about to clash hard

over who's going to play
th most critical role.

It's the spring of 1983.

And casting is underway
fo Columbia Pictures'

loosely titled The
Karate Kid Project

with Oscar winning director
John G. Avildsen at the helm.

Writer Robert Mark Kamen
created these unique,

soon to be very
memorable characters.

Now, it's time to figure out
just who's going to play them

on screen and who
will land the role

of the actual Karate Kid.

Daniel LaRusso,
I mean, granted,

we can't see it now as him
being anything other than

being played by Ralph Macchio.

I mean, that is,
that is who it is.

But other contenders at the
time, Robert Downey Jr.,

Charlie Sheen, Emilo Estevez,

these type of guys
were on the list.

Nicholas Cage and Sean
Penn and Eric Stoltz.

A lot of great young
actors of that time.

But none of them
quite resonate with Avildsen.

Until one day...

I was living on 77th street.

And John was living
on 89th street.

And he called me up and said,
"I'm gonna send this kid down.

I think he's exactly
who yo wrote about."

And I opened the door
an there's Ralph.

Avildsen had
just finished recording

a screen test in his office
with a young actor named

Ralph Macchio and is impressed.

You know, I, I
woulda been better off

if you'd just let them beat me.
It woulda been done with.

It woulda been all
gone once and for all.

Now, I gotta carry your weight
around too? Thanks a lot.

I appreciate it.

Good, very good.

Ralph Macchio, at that point,
had been in a Mad Magazine

movie called Up the Academy.

And then had been on,
uh, a couple of TV shows.

Such as ABC's hit
drama, comedy Eight is Enough

where in it's final
1980-81 season

Macchio played Jeremy Andretti.

A relative who lived
with th Bradford family.

Jeremy, can I talk
to you a second?

- Sure, talk.
- Well, I think I made--

Nice talking to you
Nicholas, gotta run,

but we'll have to do
it again sometime.

Macchio's
most notable role to date

was playing Johnny Cade
in the film adaptation

of S.E. Hinton's novel
The Outsiders.

Bonnie Timmerman, one
of the casting directors,

saw Ralph in the Outsiders, a
little bit of a darker movie

but a little bit of an
outcasty kind of type of role,

more sensitive, and thought he
would be the perfect person

to play the Karate Kid.

First of all, he's
a talented actor.

Second of all, he's not
muscular but he's also got

that Italian, sort of Jersey,
sort of New York toughness

but in a quiet way.

He was 22 at the
time but he looked like

a scrawny 17-year-old.

I asked him to do
some karate moves.

He couldn't do a damn thing.

And I called John up, I
said, "This kid is perfect,

he's absolutely perfect."

Um, I faked it kinda well.

As far as defense, I still run
to the next street corner,

you know.

Although,
plenty of actresses

will read for the role of
Daniel's love interest, Ali,

such as Demi Moore
and Helen Hunt,

only one stands out.

Elisabeth Shue was a
student at Wellesley College

in Massachusetts.

She seems incredibly
assured as an actress

in this movie, even though the
Karate Kid was her first one.

Shue has few
bi parts under her belt.

But it's a series of
recent Burger King

fast food commercials
in early 1983,

where she is truly
front and center.

Buy a Whopper and get
on free at Burger King

this Saturday and Sunday only.
Just say--

The Whooper beat the Big Mac.

She's sort of this fresh,
sort of California girl

that was very appealing.

She was not a push over.

And I think that's
what really resonated

for young girls, especially.

The guys may have
had a crush on her

but I think girls
wanted to be her.

I think that if Elisabeth
Shue is supposed to be

the embodiment of
the California girl

you fall in love with then
William Zabka's job there

is to be the embodiment of the
California jerk who you hate.

He was so good at being bad.

It's incredible what
a great job he did

because this was Billy
Zabka's first film.

He was only 18 at the time.

What a perfect face
for a horrible guy.

He's mean and he's
just so, like, ugh.

It's so funny.

He's so not like
that in real life.

He's just the
sweetest, nicest guy.

But not
at West Valley High,

where Zabka's Johnny is the
main bully of Cobra Kai,

the karate crew
who torment LaRusso

every chance they get.

Johnny, Bobby,
Tommy, Dutch and Jimmy,

rich kids from the Valley
wh all ride motorcycles

because they can afford too.

They're just rich,
spoiled brats.

21-year-old
actor, Ron Thomas

is cast in the role
of Bobby Brown.

The thing about Bobby
that I really loved

is that he knew where
to draw the line

and he wasn't afraid to
stand up for what was right.

For Thomas,
unlike Zabka, and of course,

Macchio, little if any karate
training will be required.

I was a second degree black
belt at the time of my audition

and my agent said don't say
that you're a black belt.

They wanna focus on your acting

and they're gonna
train you anyway.

I said okay,
that's kinda weird.

The movie's all about karate.
You don't want me to tell 'em.

Not yet. Don't say anything.

During rehersals Robert
Mark Kamen came up to me

and said you know out
of all the guys here

you're the only one who looks
like he belongs in a Gi.

And that's kinda when the cat
started getting out of the bag,

that I actually, you
know, was a martial artist.

And the
ruthless teacher

who trains the Cobra
Kais in their evil ways?

John Kreese will be played by
character actor Martin Kove.

Marty Kove is the perfect
gu to have played Kreese.

And he just brought such hatred

from the audience
toward this guy.

He had that, that
square jawline.

He had the, the muscles
that, and the tattoos

and the characteristics
you would expect

of a California sensei
teaching these teenage boys

to strike first, to strike
hard, to show no mercy.

There was karate school
near where I lived in Queens.

The teacher was like Kreese.

He was nuts, he
believed that karate

was only for punching
you in the face.

And that's who I
based Kreese on.

The biggest
casting challenge

is to find the ideal actor
wh will become Mr. Miyagi.

Daniel's mentor and the
true heart of the story.

Producer Jerry Weintraub and
the studio execs at Columbia

initially had
their sights set on

Japanese acting
legend, Toshiro Mifune

who had appeared in
more than 100 films

and played one of the leads in
the 1980 TV miniseries Shogun.

Toshiro Mifune was, was
originally the first choice

for Mr. Miyagi and
then they realized

that he did not speak
a word of English.

And it was gonna take to long

to get him up to
speed for the role.

But Toshiro Mifune
plays a samuari,

very strong and stark and
upright and it was so wrong.

And so,
director Avildsen pushes

for a less obvious and
far less serious option,

Pat Morita, aka, Arnold
from ABC's iconic hit show

Happy Days.

See, I speak Japanese,
Chinese, Korean,

a little Hungarian.

Well, tell me something.
What do you consider yourself?

Good looking.

John went to Jerry Weintraub

and said I think I
found Mr. Miyagi.

And he said, well, who is it?
It's Pat Morita.

He's on Happy Days.
He's not our Mr. Miyagi.

Whenever my name came
up from casting people

and, and, whatever
Jerry Weintraub,

the, the producer, said no,
no no, I don't want a comic.

This is not a comic's role.

I want an actor. Find me
an actor. We gotta get it.

There must be in all of America.
Get me an actor.

Pat Morita's showbiz DNA
is as a stand up comedian.

And he was mostly known
on the West Coast.

Pat Morita as they say in
polite language worked blue.

He did a lot of raunchy
outrageous stuff.

I think there some hesitancy
to bring him in as Mr. Miyagi

because of the fear
that the audience

might see him only as
Arnold from Happy Days

and not be able to accept
hi as this wise old man

who is about to teach
Daniel the, the secrets

of his family's karate.

During this
screentest filmed by Avildsen

in California late that spring,
Morita reads for the part.

You see, in Okinawa,
a belt mean, uh,

don't need rope
to hold up pants.

Uh, karate is, uh, here.

And that's all the
ammunition the director needs.

Several days later,
he and Jerry Weintraub

were in a conversation an
suddenly his assistant

turns on the monitor and
he had plugged the monitor

with my audition tape.

And now, um, Jerry looks
and he goes, this is,

hey, there's Miyagi.
Who is that?

That's, that's him.
We don't need to look anymore.

Who is that?

John says, that's
the Pat Morita

you didn't want to
consider for the role.

But the studio is
still not fully convinced.

So, they had Ralph and I
meet and they do a screentest.

So, Ralph and I worked,
really worked, I mean,

we had to do a physical
and, and find the characters

and the relationship.

After
Columbia brass witness

the undeniable chemistry
between Morita and Macchio,

any qualms about
whether they have found

the right Miyagi are
officially dashed.

I looked at that
with him and Pat

and I said there's
nothing better than this.

It happens very rarely
but when you get casting

that just feels so right
like that, it's magic.

And these two together from
the very beginning were magic.

They just fit.

John Avildsen convinced Jerry
Weintraub to hire Pat Morita.

And the rest is history.

To Jerry's credit,
he's gets on the horn

and says Pat, I almost made
the worst mistake of my life.

I just want to be the
first to congratulate you.

You got the part of Miyagi.

That's why Miyagi talk like this
because he run out of energy.

Thank God, he
chose Pat Morita.

I can never think of
anybody on the planet

that could've done Mr.
Miyagi the way he did.

It was just perfection.

With this crucial
piece of the puzzle in place,

casting for the film
is finally complete.

Now, it's time for the main
players to begin rehearsing

and training together.

All while gearing
up to shoot a movie

that will change
their lives forever.

It's the end of summer 1983

and the cast and crew
of Th Karate Kid Project

are prepping to begin shooting

in Southern California
in the fall.

And the first order of business
is to gather the troops.

We got shuttled up to,
um, Jerry Weintraub's house

in the Hollywood Hills
and we got together

and had this big table read

in his living room.

And you know some of these
people and who they are

and what they've done and there
you are sitting with them.

It's surreal.

You know, like, is this really,
is this really happening?

Hello.

Weeks of
thorough rehearsals

are also accompanied by
intense karate training,

since the main cast members

are far from being
martial arts experts.

None of the primary
actors in The Karate Kid

had any karate training at all.

So, that was a crucial
part of pre-production.

We worked for
about five weeks on,

on the training for the
movie but, uh, you know,

I just did what was necessary.

And who better
to teach these novices?

Martial arts master
Pat E. Johnson

who was a peer and
colleague of Chuck Norris.

And performed stunt work
in Bruce Lee's classic

Enter the Dragon.

It was hard.

We trained probably an
hour to two hours everyday.

And Pat Johnson's
a serious guy.

He doesn't play.

He does not mess around.

And so the training was
intense and serious.

A lot of work. We, we,
we worked, uh, very hard

to physically prepare
for these roles.

All the actors did.

And that
training would continue

right through principal
photography which begins

on October 31st, 1983.

Scene one,
on the beach in Malibu

where Daniel first meets Ali.

Hey, did you lose something?

Yeah, I hope we're
no bothering you.

Hey, how do you,
um, how do you juggle?

While also getting his first
taste of the Cobra Kai gang.

Avildsen wants to
preserve the tension

between the Cobra Kais and
Daniel even between takes

so he employs a
certain strategy.

John Avildsen's, sort of,
ploy is to keep the Cobras

separate from Ali
and from Daniel

and not let us intermingle
'cause they wanted

that to come across on film.

And we were friends, you
know, and we snuck around

behind John's back.

And you know Ralph would
invite me into his trailer

and and hang out but he
wanted to keep us separate

so that we could bring
that kind of energy

into those scenes and, and
beat the crap out of him.

And not feel bad.

Daniel's
first real confrontation

with the Cobra's comes just
after the Halloween dance.

I remember just
watching Daniel,

like, dressed as a shower, like,

running down the street away
from these guys.

Get out of my way.

That was fun to film.

After running across that
field in November in the cold,

like, I don't know, 20 times,
we needed oxygen, no joke.

And then we had to do this
fight scene and get beat up.

Mr. Miyagi hops
over the fence.

Here's this little Japanese guy
who's gotta be, what, like,

in his early fifties
at that point,

who comes in and takes ou
every single Cobra Kai

just like one by one.

But was
it really Pat Morita

single handedly taking
out all those Cobra Kais?

Pat Morita was body
doubled by Fumio Demura

who is a very
established master.

And Demura had a very
similar build to Pat Morita

which works very well.

But you can see how
his body posture

totally changes in
that fight scene.

You can totally spot
that it's a ringer.

Fumio Demura,
he's the real deal.

And he tossed us around,
hit us a few times

and some of the actors
are like, uh,

okay, I think we
need some stunt guys.

We cut that night and Fumio
came back the next night

with his karate people.

I was relieved at any point
to, you know, sit it out

and let the stunt
guys put on the makeup

for the skeleton costume an
let them take the falls.

Those
skeleton costumes alone

have become iconic.

Though, there's something
else audiences never knew

when it comes to the
outfit worn by Dutch

played by Chad McQueen.

We're all getting
ready to shoot

and we're all in these
cool skeleton costumes.

It's cold out and Chad says,
uh, "Hey guys just watch this."

And he grabs a sock out his
bag and he rolls the sock up

and he shoves it
down into his crotch,

zips up the costume
and he goes, "Yep."

And we're like, "are you
really gonna do that?"

"Hell yeah."

So, he actually filmed
with this, uh, sock

to enhance the costume effect.

I didn't need a
sock personally.

But, uh, you know,
that was Chad.

Sock
enhancements aside,

once Mr. Miyagi comes
to Daniel's rescue

that fateful night
it sets the tone

for their mentor
student relationship.

Which then becomes the
true core of the film.

Mr. Miyagi takes
him under his wing

and he has so much wisdom,
so much grace, so much reserve,

and he's transfering that
to Daniel

without him even knowing it.

Daniel doesn't think that
he's being taught karate.

But oh, it proves to be karate.

He's like you're
gonna paint the fence.

He's like, paint the, what?
Paint the fence?

Up, down.

And of course, who knew that
wax on, was a right block

and wax off was a left block?

What?

Wax on right hand.

Wax off left hand.

My favorite scene
in the entire movie

is when he's like I've
been painting your house,

I've been sanding the
floors, waxing your cars,

I haven't learned
a [bleep] thing.

And Miyagi says--

- Eh, you learn plenty.
- I learned plenty.

I learned how to sand
your decks maybe,

I've waxed your car,
painted your house,

painted your fence, I
learned plenty, right.

And then he attacks him
with all of this barages

of punches and kicks
an Daniel's like--

Agh!

Suddenly, we see
what it all means.

And like, oh, he's been teaching
him karate the whole time.

It was just freaking magical.
I just loved that scene.

We all want somebody who
ca protect emotionally,

psychologically and physically,

who is kind, gentle, loving

and can solve any
problem you have

and beat up any body who
gives you a hard time.

There's a lot of different
moments in the movie that,

that stick out. Iconic moments.

Um, the chopsticks, you know.

Everybody's tried to catch
a fly with a chop stick

at some point in their life.

What stands out for me is
th scene where Mr. Miyagi

gives Daniel the car.

I can't believe it.

Oh.

Oh, wow.

And it's the culmination
of what he has given Daniel

and when Daniel said
you're my best friend.

You're the best
friend I ever had.

And Mr. Miyagi says--

Ah, you pretty okay, too.

That was a moment.
That was just a golden moment.

With Pat Morita
and Ralph Macchio

you can feel a
palpable connection

that comes over as very
genuine in the film.

It's one of the
greatest pairings

I think that Hollywood
has ever really produced.

As shooting
continues Columbia Pictures

officially locked in
the Karate Kid title

thanks to permission
from DC Comics

who owns the rights to a
character bearing the same name.

But there's one small
lingering problem.

Everybody from Ralph Macchio
to William Zabka on down

hated the title Karate
Kid an thought that

this was going to be
a kids movie you show

on Saturday afternoon
after cartoons.

Yeah, Ralph hated it.

He thought it was
just so cheesy.

Um, and a lot of
people said that.

Even my own manager
sai there is no audience

for this movie. It's not going
to go anywhere.

But John Avildsen
said you don't know

what you guys are making here.
You guys are making history.

They tried all different
titles and none of them

worked and so they
settled on the Karate Kid.

And as it turned
out, it worked.

But
far more important

than fighting over
the film's title

is the movie's grand
finale where Daniel fights

for the championship title.

A Classic Hollywood ending
that is eternally etched

in pop culture.

It's late in the fall of 1983
and shooting for the Karate Kid

is almost complete.

Daniel Larusso has been training
intensely with Mr. Miyagi

for the big finale showdown
against the Cobra Kai.

But, will his hard work
and diligence pays off?

Spoiler alert, after almost
four decades, absolutely.

So, the All Valley
tournament is this culmination

of everything that
we've been waiting for.

It's good versus evil.

It's the nice boy
versus the bad boy.

They built this
arena in the gymnasium

of Cal State Northridge.

And they'd gone to a lot
of the karate schools

around the LA area
and had the senseis

bring in real black belts

an real martial artists

who fight regularly in
point karate tournaments

as extras to fill
this tournament.

Before
filming the iconic scene

Macchio does his own research

to better understand
the culture.

John Avildsen, the
director of the film

had us go to
several tournaments

around the Los Angeles area.

And I watched the kids
that really weren't as,

as, uh, as trained, well
trained as the guy,

of the other opponents.

And they had that nervousness
quality about them.

and they, you know, and
when they went forward

they felt confident and
then they stepped back.

So, I used a lot of
that with Daniel in,

in the final fight scene.

Daniel's first
opponent in the semi finals,

Bobby.

In Bobby's mind
he could've won

and he should've won.

And when Kreese says I want
him out of commission--

I want him out of commission.

Bobby, regrettably does it.

You know, goes out
there and hurts him.

Ow!

Daniel, Daniel I'm sorry.

I'm sorry.
- My leg.

Despite
being in serious pain,

Daniel musters up the
courage to face Johnny

in the final round.

Which yields one of the
films most famous lines,

if not one of the most
famous in all of 80s cinema.

Kreese has the spectacular
line, "sweep the leg".

Sweep the leg.

Come on. That is about as good
a bad guy line as you get.

That is wicked.

We are meant to
believe the entire movie

that Johnny Lawrence and
Cobra Kai are the villains

and when Martin Kove said--

You have a problem with that?

No, sensei.

And you see the
absolute look of terror

in Johnny Lawrence's eyes
yo realize that John Kreese

is the villain in this movie.

No mercy.

Johnny
does the deed.

Let
him have it, Johnny.

Which helps set up

the now iconic
finale of the film.

It's over for Daniel San,
but somehow he reaches

inside of himself and
he finds something

that he doesn't
even know is there.

And in the last second
he centers himself

and the hands go up.

You're like, no,
he's gonna do it? What?

Winner.

The crane kick
ma have been inspirational

but is it even real?

I made it up and,
um, Darryl Vidal,

who is a brillant martial
artist, executed it.

It was the first
time I met Darryl Vidal

and he was rehearsing
it on a stump.

They brought him
in to develop it.

And, and Darryl Vidal was
very agile at the time.

In fact,
that's actually Vidal

not Morita practicing the
crane kick on the beach

in yet another iconic
visual from the film.

He made the
impossible, possible.

I didn't know anybody
could do that.

But he did and looked great.

Shooting
for the Karate Kid

wrapped in mid December
but it won't be until

the following June when
th movie is released

that the film makers and
cast will get to witness

first hand with an audience,
the magic they created.

We went down to Westwood
to watch the premiere.

And then, I can remember Ralph
kicks Johnny in the face,

the whole audience went crazy.

And a few guys down
in the front row,

they actually jumped
up out of their seats

and they just threw their
hands in victory like this.

Like, they're like,
yeah, yeah, yeah.

And then, John Avildsen
leans over to me

and whispers in my ear.
He goes, "We got a hit."

John and I went to
a preview in New York.

And we're standing
outside the theater

and these two guys in
suits and ties come out

with attache cases and they ar
holding their attache cases

and trying to do this and
we knew we had something.

Who didn't try to do the
crane kick after Karate Kid?

You kidding me?

If I weren't as old as I am
right now with bad knees,

I'd get up right now and
tr and do a crane kick.

Every single kid on
their wa to the parking lot

was doing the crane kick.

And like, just pretending
to do karate in any form

or waxing on and waxing off.

I mean, it's so rare
that a movie hits

like that in that way.

We didn't quite
know it would become

as iconic as it became.

But we knew we were
touching people.

The film was a huge hit.

And it was a huge hit
among demographic.

Everyone was going
to go see Karate Kid.

The film rakes in
more than 90 million dollars

at the U.S. box office

against just
an 8 million dollar budget

and becomes the fifth highest
grossing film of the year.

I quite didn't know it was
gonna work out that well

but it's kinda nice.

This movie made karate
really, really hot.

Forget football,
soccer, tennis, golf.

Karate was now the
sport of America.

There was subsequently
an explosion

of martial arts students

and suddenly you were
seeing karate schools

on every corner.

They wanna learn Miyagi-Do
which is a, a term I made up.

You know, there's no
such thing as Miyagi-Do.

The impact it had
on the martial arts

community was astounding.

People, I think saw the
success that Daniel had

in changing his life,
thanks to Mr. Miyagi

and they thought well, if
Daniel can do that as,

as a kid coming from New
Jersey, why can't I do that.

The wild
success of the film

reverberates especially
loudly when Pat Morita

earns a Best Supporting
Actor Oscar nomination

for his portrayal
of the wise sensei.

Totally unexpected,
surprise to say the least.

And uh, it just blew
everybody out of the water.

Um, my entire family,
all my friends.

My phones rang off the
hook for about two weeks.

It is a performance that
stands the test of time.

Because the movie without
Pa Morita does not exist.

We would not be
talking about it today.

We would not have had sequels.
We would not have had a remake.

We would not have
had Cobra Kai.

Pat Morita is that movie.

And
sequels there will be

as the pop culture legacy
of the Karate Kid brand

grows throughout the
rest of the decade

and beyond, culminating
with the reinvention

of the franchise that no one
could have ever predicted.

Summer 1986, it's
been two years

since Daniel San,
an Mr. Miyagi

became household names when
the first Karate Kid film

captivated and inspired
audiences from coast to coast.

With Robert Mark Kamen
returning to write the script

and director John G. Avildsen
behind the camera once again,

The Karate Kid Part 2 hit
theaters in late June.

As moviegoers gear
up for another dose

of karate fever.

This time in the Land
of the Rising Sun.

Karate student, huh?

- Yeah.
- Well, welcome to Okinawa.

Choosing to go back
to Okinawa and explore

Mr. Miyagi's roots, I
think wa a great choice.

People love Mr. Miyagi.

And they wanted to
see more about him.

And then the big fight
happens between Chozen

who is, is Daniel's,
uh, rival in this movie.

It's a fight to the
death this time.

It's a whole
different culture.

Hopefully, we kept the charm
that the first one had.

They knew enough to bring
it to this new environment

and let that really
inform the story.

It worked beautifully.

Fans
feel the same way

with the sequel raking in
more than 115 million dollars

at the U.S. box office.

Making it even more successful
than its predecessor.

I think it's wonderful
that a, that a picture

about relationships
and about people

and about this father son kind
of relationship could work.

A third
Karate Kid installment

lands in summer 1989.

Which sees John Kreese
and his villainous partner

Terry Silver at odds with
Daniel and Mr. Miyagi.

Although ticket sales this
time are disappointing.

Still, the franchise
even gets its own

Saturday morning cartoon
series that fall.

Uh, Mr. Miyagi's in trouble.

Mr. Miyagi.

Go, Miyagi be
home fo supper.

But Mr. Miyagi.

Go, Daniel San.

Proof that this story
an that these characters

were so universal and timeless

is the fact that
after Ralph Macchio

leaves the franchise
after Karate Kid 3

we're still seeing the story be
told in The Next Karate Kid.

For the 1994 film,
producers put a new twist

on a familiar tale.

Except this time, Miyagi's
protege is a teenage girl.

Played by a 19-year-old,
Hilary Swank.

Okay, let me
tell yo something.

No one thinks that Hilary Swank
was a good karate kid?

That's my favorite
of th franchise okay.

The Next Karate Kid,
very underrated.

It's a very
young Hilary Swank.

And she's astounding.

You can see her
spark in that film

despite having
incredibly tepid strip.

She really works
and shines in it.

Maybe do tonight?

Don't order me around.

It's not order.
It's very small request.

I told you this morning,
I know where I'm going

in my life and I don't need an
math problems to get there.

I mean, kudos
to the producers

for trying to include
women into the story.

With a
worldwide box office gross

that barely limps past
the 15 million dollar mark

the Karate Kid franchise
seems all but over.

Each of the main original
actors continue to work in film

and television over the years
to varying degrees of success

while Elisabeth Shue's
post karate career

proves to be the strongest.

But then, in 2005--

Actor Pat Morita,
who became well known

for his role in Happy
Days an later starred in

the Karate Kid movies has died.

Morita passes away
at age 73 due to kidney failure

which begs the question,
without Mr. Miyagi,

could the franchise ever
breathe life again.

The answer comes in 2010
in the form of a remake

co-produced by Will Smith
an Jada Pinkett Smith.

And starring their son Jayden.

The reboot of the Karate Kid,
um, essentially is, is again,

this is the same storyline
just instead of Ralph Macchio

you have Jayden Smith,
instead of Pat Morita

you have Jackie Chan.

Jackie Chan is
always fun to watch.

And I even had a little
conversation with Will Smith

about you know how he
wanted to pay respect

and homage to the original
movie and the characters.

The film rakes in
a whopping 359 million dollars

at the world wide box office.

Which is more than the
original four films combined.

If that's not evidence of
a timeless set of characters

and a plot and a
conflict and a resolution

that really resonates with
people, I don't know what is.

Fast forward to 2018
when the Karate Kid franchise

gets truly reinvented.

This time on a smaller screen
with these two simple words,

Cobra Kai.

Cobra Kai brings us back to
the universe of the Karate Kid.

Daniel LaRusso and Johnny
Lawrence are grown adults.

Because of streaming

it became the hottest thing
all over again.

From the
very first episode

which premieres on YouTube Red

fans learn where life has
taken Johnny 34 years later.

Bonsai.

Daniel LaRusso here,
from LaRusso Auto

bringing you specials
on all of our inventory.

We have an excess of Jeep
Grand Cherokees priced to go.

Cobra Kai is about
their remeeting.

Johnny Lawrence.
I, I, I, I knew it was you.

Holy, how the hell are you?

Hey, man.

Johnny Lawrence reforming
th Cobra Kai dojo.

And how this conflict
between Daniel LaRusso

and Johnny Lawrence
boils over to their kids.

They found a smart angle
in by entering this universe

through the Johnny Lawrence
whatever happened to this bully

at that time and made
him a human character.

I thought that was brilliant.

Because why do you want to
make it from Daniel's POV?

He's rich, he's successful,
he has everything.

And so you have
to tell the story

from Johnny's point of view.

And then have Daniel
react to that.

It was amazing to step
back into the character

and the guys, they really found
a great entry point into him

and showing him broken down
after all these years.

And so as you see these
two characters redevelop

you feel some pity
for, for Johnny

and the direction
his life has taken.

I mean, no one was rooting
for Johnny 30 years ago

but now all of a sudden we
find ourselves as audience

being like, well, he's got
a sensitive side to him

and I kinda want
to see him succeed.

So, he becomes this anti-hero.

When I saw it, Billy
and Ralph's performance

and where this was headed,
there was a lot of levels to it,

and I thought it was brilliant.

Starring
much of the cast

from the original
Karate Kid films,

season two picks
up even more steam.

And then in 2020, Cobra
Kai, simply explodes.

Leave it to Netflix.

They pick it up
and air the seasons

and even before
season three aired

they had already
ordered a season four.

I mean, this is a
global phenomenon.

By the season
three premiere in January 2021

more that 73 million households
have watched the show

which earns an Emmy nomination
for Outstanding Comedy Series

that summer.

The beautiful
thing about Cobra Kai

is that they're actually
leaving in, you know,

scenes from the
original Karate Kid.

So, we're getting that
nostalgia factor,

we're getting that excitement.

And then, they have
teenage cast members

that are just cool.

My sensei says I'm the
best student in his class.

- Really?
- Best in his class.

Yeah.

And that, you know,
millenials or gen-zers,

will totally tune in even
if they've never seen

the original films.

I'm ready for your lame
ass karate this time.

It's not lame ass karate.

It's Cobra Kai.

So, you got the
original fan base

which was genius in itself
an then you've got you know,

the new generation of kids.

It's very smart
what they're doing.

The young generation
loves this show

and then their parents
pop into the TV room

and say wait, do you
know that this is,

that was the movie that
we, an then all of a sudden

the couch is packed
with the whole family.

As for the character
of Bobby Brown, he's back too.

I think Bobby being
a pastor now is genius.

This, this is
where most of us go

when we think
about forgiveness. True?

And, um, he's also conflicted.

Like, he'll go out and
he'll have a few beers

with his buddies in a bar
and get in a bar room brawl.

You know?

Or he'll sweep his
buddy in church.

Forgive me father.

For what?

I, I love it.
I just love where Bobby is.

They caught lightning
in a bottle with this.

They really did.

It is a fun ride.

We are very proud
of the show and,

and the response that we've
gotten across the board.

I could definitely see a
world under which Cobra Kai

just keeps going.

I mean, much like the
legacy of Karate Kid

has sort of lasted these
past like 40 years or so.

That underdog story is something
that I think audiences

are always gonna crave.

The story is really
about Daniel and Miyagi.

And because the
casting was so good,

because the magic was
so good people relate.

And they relate to those tw
characters deeply that way.

It's a very unique
iconic movie and franchise

that's been created here.

It's this magical thing
that happened in Hollywood

that I can't think
of another movie

that's really done
the same thing.

I mean, it totally infiltrated
its way into the zeitgeist.

Sweeping the leg,
like who even knew

what that was before 1984?

And now like you go around an
you're like sweep the leg.

If you do the pose
of the crane kick,

99 percent of the people
that see you do that

are gonna know exactly
what that's referring to.

All of these things
just really became part

of pop culture and really,
they've remained here.

They've never left.

It makes me feel good that,
that I touched people that way.

And I never intended to.

This was a very innocent
piece of material.

And that I think
was the brilliance

of the Karate Kid is
that it transcended age,

it transcended boys, girls.

You could love the Karate Kid
no matter what your upbringing.

No matter, really,
no matter what.

And that is why the Karate Kid
has had so much staying power.