No Retreat, No Surrender (also known as Karate Tiger) is a 1986 martial arts film directed by Corey Yuen in his American directorial debut, starring Kurt McKinney and Jean-Claude Van Damme. The film was released in the United States on May 2, 1986. McKinney performs as Jason Stillwell, an American teenager who learns martial arts from the spirit of Bruce Lee. Stillwell uses these lessons to defend his martial arts dojo against Soviet martial artist Ivan Kraschinsky (Van Damme). It is the first film in the No Retreat, No Surrender franchise.
The film was written by Keith W. Strandberg after being contracted by Ng See-yuen, the owner of Seasonal Film Corporation, to write a script for them, despite having never written a script beforehand. Van Damme was cast in the film and caused problems on the set for continually physically contacting other actors and stuntmen during the fight scenes even after director Yuen told him not to. Upon release, the film received negative reviews, focusing on the story which many critics found too similar to the film The Karate Kid.
Plot.
Jason Stillwell is a young karate student and Bruce Lee fanatic who trains in his father Tom’s dojo in Sherman Oaks, California. One night after a training session, the dojo is visited by members of an organized crime syndicate looking to take over all the dojos in the country. After refusing to join the organization, Tom’s leg is broken by a Soviet martial artist named Ivan “The Russian” Krachinsky, one of the boss’ hired thugs. A furious Jason tries to take revenge but is easily subdued by the Soviet. Tom discourages any further effort, telling his son that fighting is not the answer. The Stillwell family relocates to Seattle, where Jason meets R.J. Madison and they become good friends. Jason reunites with his old girlfriend Kelly Riley, who lives in the neighborhood with her brother, Ian ‘Whirlwind’ Riley, the newly crowned U.S. National Karate Champion.
Despite this, Jason has a hard time adjusting, as he and R.J. are constantly beaten and harassed by the local bullies led by an obese boy named Scott and arrogant martial artist Dean ‘Shooting Star’ Ramsay. After getting beaten up and humiliated by Scott and Dean at Kelly’s birthday party, Jason visits the grave of Bruce Lee and beseeches him for aid.
Later that night, Jason and Tom have a heated argument over Jason’s involving himself in fights. When Jason calls his father a coward for running away from the syndicate, Tom destroys some of Jason’s Bruce Lee memorabilia in the garage. Distraught, Jason consults with R.J., who helps him move all of his training gear into an abandoned house nearby. Exhausted from the move, Jason falls asleep at the house, but is suddenly awakened by the soul of Bruce Lee, who appears to Jason and begins to train him.
Under Lee’s tutelage, Jason goes from a below average fighter to a superior martial artist, at one point able to fend off several thugs who ambush his father in a parking lot. In doing so, Jason convinces him that there are times when fighting is necessary.
Later on, Jason, Tom, and R.J. attend an annual full-contact kickboxing tournament between the Seattle Sidekicks and the Manhattan Maulers martial arts teams. Before the contest can get under way, the crime syndicate interrupts and makes a wager that none of the Seattle fighters can defeat Ivan. While Dean and Frank are easily bested by the Soviet, Ivan’s last opponent, Ian, makes an impressive showing,
forcing Ivan to resort to dirty tactics to defeat him. With Ian helplessly entangled in the ring ropes, Scott attempts to bite Ivan in the leg, but the Soviet dispatches him with a headbutt. Kelly tries to stop Ivan by hitting him with a stool, but the Soviet easily disarms her and grabs her by the hair. Angered by this, Jason charges to the ring and attacks Ivan to the delight of the crowd. Utilizing his advanced training, Jason is finally able to conquer his nemesis and earns the respect of his peers and family, who celebrate with him as the frustrated crime syndicate leaves Seattle.
Development and writing.
After living in Taiwan for a year in the early 1980s, screenwriter Keith W. Strandberg became interested in working in martial arts films as an actor. Strandberg moved back to the United States and became a tour director in China, where he continued to stop by in Hong Kong to make contact with producers and screenwriters. After being turned down by several studios including Shaw Brothers, Strandberg read about Seasonal Film Corporation and got in contact with the studio head Ng See-yuen. Ng expressed an interest in making an American film and asked if Strandberg knew anything about screenplays. Strandberg stated that he had despite never seeing one before. A year later, ng See-yuen contacted Strandberg in America stating that he wanted to write a script for them. Strandberg wrote a draft of what would become No Retreat, No Surrender. While production began on the film, Strandberg was on set and spent hours every night changing the script to improve its quality while filming.
Casting.
Jean-Claude van Damme was cast as the Soviet villain Ivan Kraschinsky. On set, Van Damme performed a round house kick on Pete Cunningham which rendered him unconscious. Actor and martial artist Timothy Baker stated that while working with Van Damme during the action scenes on the set, the production manager and director Corey Yuen instructed him to not make contact with the other actors and stuntmen. Despite continuous warnings, Van Damme continued to do so with his kicks to Baker during filming. Other actors and martial artists claimed that Van Damme had not been reckless with his physical contact, including Ron Pohnel, who said, “His control wasn’t such as mine, but I had no complaints.” Van Damme originally had a two picture deal with screenwriter Strandberg but broke his contract. Box office.
No Retreat, No Surrender was released on May 2, 1986. The film was the eleventh highest grossing film on its opening week in the American box office grossing $739,723. The film grossed a total of $4,662,137 in the United States and Canada. The film sold 1.3 million tickets in the United States, and 395,013 tickets in France.Cast:
- Kurt McKinney as Jason Stillwell
- Jean-Claude Van Damme as Ivan
- J.W. Fails as R.J. Madison
- Kathie Sileno as Kelly Riley
- Tai-chung Kim as the ghost of Sensei Bruce Lee
- Kent Lipham as Scott
- Ron Pohnel as Ian “Whirlwind” Riley
- Dale Jacoby as Dean “Shooting Star”
- Peter “Sugarfoot” Cunningham as Frank Peters
- Joe Verroca as New York mobster
- John Andes as New York mob boss
- Farid Panali as Fajad “the Headhunter” Azmand
- Mark Zacharatos as Michael Rocco
- Ty Martinez as John Alvarado
- Timothy D. Baker as Tom Stillwell
- Gloria Marziano as Mrs. Stillwell
- Paul Oswell as Trevor