Fist of the North Star (1995 film)
Encyclopedia
Fist of the North Star is a 1995 American straight-to-video
live-action film based on the eponymous manga
by Buronson and Tetsuo Hara
. The film was directed by Tony Randel
, who also co-wrote the script with Peter Akins, and stars Gary Daniels
, Costas Mandylor
, Chris Penn
, Isako Washio
, and Malcom McDowell. A Japanese
dub
of the film was produced by Toei Video which featured the cast of the 1980s anime TV series reprising their roles.
The film, which loosely adapts the first story arc of the original manga, centers around Ken
(Daniels), the lone master of the "North Star
" martial art school, who wanders the post-apocalyptic Earth in search of his nemesis Lord Shin (Mandylor), the man who killed his sensei and kidnapped his fiancee. Meanwhile, Shin rules as dictator of the city of Southern Cross with his personal army known as the Crossmen, who are given orders to hunt down to Kenshiro.
of DVD Times panned the movie as a poor adaptation and commented that Kenshiro's pressure point techniques "look rather tame" in comparison to the way depicted in the manga and anime series. A reviewer from eFilmCritic remarked that Kenshiro's defeat at the hands of Shin "comes off as standard" and "unbelievably goofy" compared to the 1986 animated movie version. However, Video World gave a much more positive review, calling it "First rate".
Direct-to-video
Direct-to-video is a term used to describe a film that has been released to the public on home video formats without being released in film theaters or broadcast on television...
live-action film based on the eponymous manga
Fist of the North Star
is a Japanese manga series written by Buronson and drawn by Tetsuo Hara that was serialized in Weekly Shōnen Jump from 1983 to 1988, spanning 245 chapters, which were initially collected in a 27-volume tankōbon edition by Shueisha...
by Buronson and Tetsuo Hara
Tetsuo Hara
is a Japanese manga artist famous for drawing the series Fist of the North Star , which he co-authored with Buronson...
. The film was directed by Tony Randel
Tony Randel
Tony Randel is an American film director and screenwriter.-Film career:Randel's breakthrough into the film scene was when Clive Barker entrusted Randel with Hellbound: Hellraiser II, the 1988 sequel to the 1987 horror film Hellraiser...
, who also co-wrote the script with Peter Akins, and stars Gary Daniels
Gary Daniels
Gary Edward Daniels is a British kickboxer and martial arts actor. Daniels appears mostly in action-oriented B-movies. Daniels has been in over 50 films since his start as an extra in an episode of the 1980s television series Miami Vice. He is best known for playing Kenshiro in the live-action...
, Costas Mandylor
Costas Mandylor
Costas Mandylor is a Greek Australian actor. He is perhaps best known for his role as Kenny in Picket Fences, and for portraying Mark Hoffman in the Saw films.-Early life:...
, 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,...
, Isako Washio
Isako Washio
is a Japanese actress. She won the award for Best Actress at the 15th Yokohama Film Festival for Bloom in the Moonlight.-Filmography:*Bloom in the Moonlight Fist of the North Star -External links:...
, and Malcom McDowell. A Japanese
Japanese language
is a language spoken by over 130 million people in Japan and in Japanese emigrant communities. It is a member of the Japonic language family, which has a number of proposed relationships with other languages, none of which has gained wide acceptance among historical linguists .Japanese is an...
dub
Dubbing (filmmaking)
Dubbing is the post-production process of recording and replacing voices on a motion picture or television soundtrack subsequent to the original shooting. The term most commonly refers to the substitution of the voices of the actors shown on the screen by those of different performers, who may be...
of the film was produced by Toei Video which featured the cast of the 1980s anime TV series reprising their roles.
The film, which loosely adapts the first story arc of the original manga, centers around Ken
Kenshiro
is the main protagonist of the manga franchise Fist of the North Star by Buronson and Tetsuo Hara. According to Buronson, Kenshiro's character design was inspired by the character of Max Rockatansky from the Mad Max film series and martial artist Bruce Lee.In the story, Kenshiro is the rightful...
(Daniels), the lone master of the "North Star
Hokuto Shinken
is a fictional two thousand year old martial art that is shrouded in mystery, from the eponymous manga and anime franchise, Fist of the North Star. Hokuto Shinken is based loosely on Dim Mak kung fu, but very few conventional martial arts compare to it....
" martial art school, who wanders the post-apocalyptic Earth in search of his nemesis Lord Shin (Mandylor), the man who killed his sensei and kidnapped his fiancee. Meanwhile, Shin rules as dictator of the city of Southern Cross with his personal army known as the Crossmen, who are given orders to hunt down to Kenshiro.
Cast
- Gary DanielsGary DanielsGary Edward Daniels is a British kickboxer and martial arts actor. Daniels appears mostly in action-oriented B-movies. Daniels has been in over 50 films since his start as an extra in an episode of the 1980s television series Miami Vice. He is best known for playing Kenshiro in the live-action...
as KenshiroKenshirois the main protagonist of the manga franchise Fist of the North Star by Buronson and Tetsuo Hara. According to Buronson, Kenshiro's character design was inspired by the character of Max Rockatansky from the Mad Max film series and martial artist Bruce Lee.In the story, Kenshiro is the rightful... - Costas MandylorCostas MandylorCostas Mandylor is a Greek Australian actor. He is perhaps best known for his role as Kenny in Picket Fences, and for portraying Mark Hoffman in the Saw films.-Early life:...
as Lord Shin - Chris PennChris PennChristopher 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,...
as Jackal - Isako WashioIsako Washiois a Japanese actress. She won the award for Best Actress at the 15th Yokohama Film Festival for Bloom in the Moonlight.-Filmography:*Bloom in the Moonlight Fist of the North Star -External links:...
as Julia - Melvin Van PeeblesMelvin Van PeeblesMelvin "Block" Van Peebles is an American actor, director, screenwriter, playwright, novelist and composer.He is most famous for creating the acclaimed film, Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song, which heralded a new era of African American focused films...
as Asher - Downtown Julie BrownDowntown Julie BrownJulie Dorne Brown, also known as Downtown Julie Brown , is an English actress and former MTV VJ.Of mixed race, Brown's father, Valentine Brown, was Jamaican and her mother, Doreen, is white...
as Charlie - Dante BascoDante BascoDanté Basco is an American actor, voice actor, poet, and dancer. He is best known for playing Rufio in the 1991 live-action Peter Pan film Hook...
as Bat - Tracey WalterTracey WalterTracey Walter is an American character actor. He has appeared in over 100 films and television shows.-Life and career:Walter was born in Jersey City, New Jersey, the son of a truck driver....
as Paul McCarthy - Clint HowardClint HowardClinton "Clint" Howard is an American film and television actor. He is a character actor with numerous brief appearances on television and films. He has played many bit parts in movies directed by his brother, actor-turned-director Ron Howard. He is also the uncle of actress Bryce Dallas Howard...
as Stalin - Big Van Vader as Goliath
- Paulo TochaPaulo TochaPaulo Tocha is a martial artist, actor and fight choreographer.-Biography:Tocha was born in Africa, he's Portuguese/Italian and he grew up in Mozambique and Johannesburg, South Africa . He moved to Thailand because he wanted to learn "real" Muay Thai boxing...
as Stone - Malcom McDowell as Ryuken
- Nalona Herron as Lynn
- Bill Nagel as Miner
- Andre Rosey Brown as Sandman
- Rowena Guinness as Jill McCarthy
- Michael Charles Friedman as Neuter
- Nils Allen Stewart as Zeed
- Tony HalmeTony HalmeTony Christian Halme was a member of the Finnish Parliament, representing the True Finns party. He was also known by the pseudonym Viikinki he used while appearing in the Finnish version of the TV game show Gladiators in the 1990s...
as Kemp - David "Shark" Fralick as Man at Palace
- George Kee Cheung as Neville
- Michael Franco as AWOL Crossman A
- David Loo as AWOL Crossman B
- Susan FrenchSusan FrenchSusan French was an American stage, television and film actress.French appeared in the TV movie People Like Us . She also played the role of Mrs. Shaw in the TV movie Captain America and its sequel, Captain America II: Death Too Soon. French acted in the soap opera Bare Essence...
as Old Woman - Chris DeRoseChris DeRoseChris DeRose is an animal rights activist, recipient of the 1977 ‘Courage of Conscience’ International Peace Award and a former actor. He appeared on General Hospital, Cagney and Lacey, CHiPs, The Rockford Files and Baretta. He was an on-camera reporter for the television shows Hard Copy and...
as Oswald - Darryl ChanDarryl ChanDarryl M. Chan is an accomplished Hollywood stuntman and actor. He grew up in San Francisco as the second of four boys. His career spans from the early 1980s to the present. Chan has worked with virtually all the leading Asian actors and filmmakers, and counts the late Brandon Lee as his closest...
as Novack - Marisa Coughlan as Jenny
- Kate Geer as Mother
- Kevin ArbouetKevin ArbouetKevin Daniel Arbouet is an Award-winning director, writer and producer. He was born May 29, 1977 in Brooklyn, New York. He and his partner Larry Strong directed the viral video, "I Got a Crush.....
as Rao
Reception
The film was not reviewed by many mainstream critics, and it got mixed reviews from fans and online critics. Dave FosterDave Foster
Dave Foster is an American musician who was the third drummer for the grunge rock band Nirvana. He was fired after playing only a couple of performances with the band, mostly because of his inability to attend rehearsal sessions regularly...
of DVD Times panned the movie as a poor adaptation and commented that Kenshiro's pressure point techniques "look rather tame" in comparison to the way depicted in the manga and anime series. A reviewer from eFilmCritic remarked that Kenshiro's defeat at the hands of Shin "comes off as standard" and "unbelievably goofy" compared to the 1986 animated movie version. However, Video World gave a much more positive review, calling it "First rate".