Best of the Best
Encyclopedia
Best of the Best is a 1989 martial arts film
. The plot revolves around a team of Americans facing a team of Koreans
in a taekwondo
tournament. Several sub plots pop up in the story - moral conflicts, the power of the human spirit triumphing over adversity are some themes. The movie stars Phillip Rhee
, James Earl Jones
, Eric Roberts
and Chris Penn
.
; and Sonny Grasso, a streetwise fighter from Detroit
.
Coached by veteran trainer Frank Couzo, the team prepares to meet an unstoppable group of true martial arts experts. Their chances of winning are virtually non-existent, as the Koreans train all year long and are known as the best the sport has to offer. Along their journey, the Americans have to deal with their personal conflicts and tragedies, before they become a team. The most prominent conflict is that of Tommy, who has been chosen to fight the vicious fighter Dae Han Park, with whom Tommy has a personal grudge. Years earlier, Tommy's brother faced off against Dae Han in a similar tournament; Dae Han quickly took the advantage in the fight, and knocked Tommy's brother down. While he was trying to get up, Dae Han kicked him in the head (an illegal act in Taekwondo rules), killing him. Couzo knew this, having been the coach for that ill-fated team, but chose to pair Tommy with Dae Han anyway since Tommy was the only one with a chance of defeating him.
When the tournament starts, Keller and Grasso are out classed by their Korean opponents. Travis does his best to psyche up the team with his brash attitude leading to a sudden death breaking duel with his opponent. Couzo invites Grady's family to motivate him to win; however, his shoulder is severely re-injured during his bout. Instead of giving up, he implores Tommy to "pop" the shoulder back into place and resumes the fight with one arm, ultimately defeating his opponent.
Finally, Tommy faces the Captain of the Korean team, Dae Han, the man responsible for the death of his brother. Tommy gets the upper hand and delivers a series of moves that rattles Dae Han. With each point scored, Dae Han is weakened and battered up more. In the last few seconds of the match, Tommy has made up ground to where the USA team trails Korea by one point and can easily win the tournament for the Americans with one more blow, one that could possibly kill his opponent. As Tommy prepares his fighting stance, Couzo and Alex recognize that he is going to execute the same move that knocked Virgil down during training. At the urging of both Alex and Couzo to not execute, Tommy has a change of heart as he sees a bloodied Dae Han crawling on the ground. Not wishing to leave Dae Han to the same fate that befell his brother, Tommy chooses to stand down, saving Dae Han's life but ending the chances of a USA victory by one point as time expires. Couzo consoles Tommy telling him, "You won that match, don't ever forget that".
At the medal ceremony, the winning medals are given to the Korean team. However, Dae Han gingerly walks to Tommy and praises him for his honorable act. Dae Han apologizes for the death of Tommy's brother, and in return offers himself as a brother to Tommy. Tommy accepts, and Dae Han hands over his medal, and hugs Tommy. The other members of Team Korea see this, and they also give their medals to their respective American opponents.
cites Best of the Best as his personal favorite martial arts film.
Martial arts film
Martial arts film is a film genre. A sub-genre of the action film, martial arts films contain numerous fights between characters, usually as the films' primary appeal and entertainment value, and often as a method of storytelling and character expression and development. Martial arts are frequently...
. The plot revolves around a team of Americans facing a team of Koreans
South Korea
The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...
in a taekwondo
Taekwondo
Taekwondo is a Korean martial art and the national sport of South Korea. In Korean, tae means "to strike or break with foot"; kwon means "to strike or break with fist"; and do means "way", "method", or "path"...
tournament. Several sub plots pop up in the story - moral conflicts, the power of the human spirit triumphing over adversity are some themes. The movie stars Phillip Rhee
Phillip Rhee
Phillip Rhee is a Korean-American actor and director, most famous for his role in the Best of the Best movie series....
, James Earl Jones
James Earl Jones
James Earl Jones is an American actor. He is well-known for his distinctive bass voice and for his portrayal of characters of substance, gravitas and leadership...
, Eric Roberts
Eric Roberts
Eric Anthony Roberts is an American actor. His career began with King of the Gypsies , earning a Golden Globe nomination for best actor debut. He starred as the protagonist in the 1980 dramatisation of Willa Cather's 1905 short story, Paul's Case...
and Chris Penn
Chris Penn
Christopher Shannon "Chris" Penn was an American film and television actor known for his roles in such films as The Wild Life, Reservoir Dogs, Footloose, Rush Hour, True Romance, All the Right Moves and Pale Rider.-Early life:Penn was born in Los Angeles, California, the youngest son of Leo Penn,...
.
Plot
Alexander Grady, a widower and father of a five-year-old son, Walter, is chosen to represent the United States of America in an international martial arts tournament against Team Korea, despite a shoulder injury that once forced him into retirement. Also chosen for the team is Tommy Lee, a man seeking revenge against a member of Team Korea for the death of his brother during a previous tournament. The rest of Team USA consists of Travis Brickley, an extremely brash fighter with a short fuse; Virgil Keller, a devout BuddhistBuddhism
Buddhism is a religion and philosophy encompassing a variety of traditions, beliefs and practices, largely based on teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as the Buddha . The Buddha lived and taught in the northeastern Indian subcontinent some time between the 6th and 4th...
; and Sonny Grasso, a streetwise fighter from Detroit
Detroit, Michigan
Detroit is the major city among the primary cultural, financial, and transportation centers in the Metro Detroit area, a region of 5.2 million people. As the seat of Wayne County, the city of Detroit is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan and serves as a major port on the Detroit River...
.
Coached by veteran trainer Frank Couzo, the team prepares to meet an unstoppable group of true martial arts experts. Their chances of winning are virtually non-existent, as the Koreans train all year long and are known as the best the sport has to offer. Along their journey, the Americans have to deal with their personal conflicts and tragedies, before they become a team. The most prominent conflict is that of Tommy, who has been chosen to fight the vicious fighter Dae Han Park, with whom Tommy has a personal grudge. Years earlier, Tommy's brother faced off against Dae Han in a similar tournament; Dae Han quickly took the advantage in the fight, and knocked Tommy's brother down. While he was trying to get up, Dae Han kicked him in the head (an illegal act in Taekwondo rules), killing him. Couzo knew this, having been the coach for that ill-fated team, but chose to pair Tommy with Dae Han anyway since Tommy was the only one with a chance of defeating him.
When the tournament starts, Keller and Grasso are out classed by their Korean opponents. Travis does his best to psyche up the team with his brash attitude leading to a sudden death breaking duel with his opponent. Couzo invites Grady's family to motivate him to win; however, his shoulder is severely re-injured during his bout. Instead of giving up, he implores Tommy to "pop" the shoulder back into place and resumes the fight with one arm, ultimately defeating his opponent.
Finally, Tommy faces the Captain of the Korean team, Dae Han, the man responsible for the death of his brother. Tommy gets the upper hand and delivers a series of moves that rattles Dae Han. With each point scored, Dae Han is weakened and battered up more. In the last few seconds of the match, Tommy has made up ground to where the USA team trails Korea by one point and can easily win the tournament for the Americans with one more blow, one that could possibly kill his opponent. As Tommy prepares his fighting stance, Couzo and Alex recognize that he is going to execute the same move that knocked Virgil down during training. At the urging of both Alex and Couzo to not execute, Tommy has a change of heart as he sees a bloodied Dae Han crawling on the ground. Not wishing to leave Dae Han to the same fate that befell his brother, Tommy chooses to stand down, saving Dae Han's life but ending the chances of a USA victory by one point as time expires. Couzo consoles Tommy telling him, "You won that match, don't ever forget that".
At the medal ceremony, the winning medals are given to the Korean team. However, Dae Han gingerly walks to Tommy and praises him for his honorable act. Dae Han apologizes for the death of Tommy's brother, and in return offers himself as a brother to Tommy. Tommy accepts, and Dae Han hands over his medal, and hugs Tommy. The other members of Team Korea see this, and they also give their medals to their respective American opponents.
Cast
- James Earl JonesJames Earl JonesJames Earl Jones is an American actor. He is well-known for his distinctive bass voice and for his portrayal of characters of substance, gravitas and leadership...
as Coach Frank Couzo - Eric RobertsEric RobertsEric Anthony Roberts is an American actor. His career began with King of the Gypsies , earning a Golden Globe nomination for best actor debut. He starred as the protagonist in the 1980 dramatisation of Willa Cather's 1905 short story, Paul's Case...
as Alexander "Alex" Grady - Phillip RheePhillip RheePhillip Rhee is a Korean-American actor and director, most famous for his role in the Best of the Best movie series....
as Tommy Lee - Chris Penn as Travis Brickley
- John DyeJohn DyeJohn Carroll Dye was an American film and television actor known for his role as Andrew in the television series Touched by an Angel.-Early life:...
as Virgil Keller - David Agresta as Sonny Grasso
- Tom EverettTom EverettTom Everett is an American actor known for his performances in political films such as Air Force One and Thirteen Days.-Film:-TV:-External links:...
as Assistant Coach Don Peterson - Sally KirklandSally KirklandSally Kirkland is an American film and television actress.-Early life:Kirkland was named after her mother, fashion editor Sally Kirkland, who was a fashion editor at Vogue and LIFE magazines, and was raised in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Her father, Frederic McMichael Kirkland, worked in the scrap...
as Kathryn Wade - Louise FletcherLouise FletcherLouise Fletcher is an American actress best known for her role as Nurse Ratched in One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest, for which she won the Academy Award for Best Actress, and as Kai Winn Adami in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. She also guest starred on the science fiction television series Heroes...
as Mrs. Grady (Alex's mother) - Edan GrossEdan GrossEdan Gross is a former child actor. He appeared in many guest spots on many popular television programs in the 1980s and 1990s including Cheers, Murphy Brown, The Golden Girls, Empty Nest, Newhart, Highway to Heaven, Married… with Children, Northern Exposure, and Herman's Head...
as Walter Grady (Alex's son) - Hee Il ChoHee Il ChoCho Hee Il is a prominent Korean-American master of taekwondo, holding the rank of 9th dan in the martial art. He has written 11 martial art books, produced 70 martial art training videos, and has appeared on more than 70 martial arts magazine covers...
as Korean Coach - Simon Rhee as Dae Han Park
- James LewJames LewJames Jene Fae Lew is an American martial arts actor. He has made 80 on screen film and television appearances and 46 more as a stunt coordinator or stunt double. He has done choreography for movies like Get Smart and Double Impact as well as television shows such as, Discovery Channel's Fight...
as Sae Jin Kwon - Ken Nagayama as Yung Kim
- Ahmad Rashad as Broadcaster
Soundtrack
Originally released as a vinyl record album, cassette and CD, re-released on CD in 2004.- Tales of Power - Jim CapaldiJim CapaldiNicola James "Jim" Capaldi was an English musician and songwriter. His musical career lasted more than four decades. He co-founded Traffic in Birmingham with Steve Winwood, and the band's psychedelic rock was influential in Britain and the United States...
(3:32) - Best of the Best- Stubblefield & Hall (4:12)
- American Hotel - Kirsten Nash (4:14)
- Something so Strong - Jim Capaldi (4:34)
- The Devil Made Me Do ItThe Devil Made Me Do ItThe Devil Made Me Do It was the 1990 debut album of militant Black nationalist rapper Paris. MTV banned the title track. The 13-track vinyl record version of The Devil Made Me Do It was released in Spring 1988 on Tommy Boy Records. Paris toured the USA and Europe that year to promote the record...
- Golden EarringGolden EarringGolden Earring are a Dutch rock band, founded in 1961 in The Hague as the Golden Earrings . They had international chart success with the songs "Radar Love" in 1973, "Twilight Zone" in 1982, and "When the Lady Smiles" in 1984. In their home country, they had over 40 hits and made over 30 gold and...
(3:18) - Radar LoveRadar Love"Radar Love" is a song by the Dutch rock band Golden Earring. Music critic Bill Lamb rates this among his "top 10 driving songs" due to its lyrics about driving all night and its pulse-quickening, up-tempo beat. The single version of "Radar Love" reached #13 in the US...
(live) - Golden Earring (4:00) - Backroads - Charlie MajorCharlie MajorCharlie Major is a Canadian country music artist. He has recorded six studio albums and released more than twenty singles....
(4:03) - Original Score Medley - Paul Gilman (4:11)
- Someday I'm Gonna Ride in a Cadillac - Charlie Major (3:36)
Reception
Critics were universally negative about the film. In his book Iceman: My Fighting Life, UFC champion Chuck LiddellChuck Liddell
Charles David "Chuck" Liddell is a retired American mixed martial artist and former Ultimate Fighting Championship light heavyweight champion. Liddell has an extensive striking background in Kempo, Koei-Kan karate and kickboxing, as well as a grappling background in collegiate wrestling.As of his...
cites Best of the Best as his personal favorite martial arts film.