Fist of the North Star (1995 film)
| Fist of the North Star | |
|---|---|
.jpg) | |
| Directed by | Tony Randel |
| Produced by |
Mark Yellen Akihiro Komine |
| Screenplay by |
Peter Atkins Tony Randel |
| Based on |
Fist of the North Star by Buronson & Tetsuo Hara |
| Starring |
Gary Daniels Costas Mandylor Chris Penn |
| Music by | Christopher L. Stone |
| Cinematography | Jacques Haitkin |
| Edited by | Sonny Baskin |
Production company | |
Release dates |
April 21, 1995 (Japan) February 2, 1996 (USA) |
Running time | 103 minutes |
| Country |
United States Japan |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $6.7 million |
Fist of the North Star is a 1995 American straight-to-video live-action martial arts film based on the manga of the same name 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 Malcolm 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 on 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 master 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 Kenshiro.
Cast
- Gary Daniels as Kenshiro
- Costas Mandylor as Lord Shin
- Chris Penn as Jackal
- Isako Washio as Julia
- Melvin Van Peebles as Asher
- Downtown Julie Brown as Charlie
- Dante Basco as Bat
- Tracey Walter as Paul McCarthy
- Clint Howard as Stalin
- Big Van Vader as Goliath
- Paulo Tocha as Stone
- Malcolm 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 Halme 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 French as Old Woman
- Chris DeRose as Oswald
- Darryl Chan as Novack
- Marisa Coughlan as Jenny
- Kate Geer as Mother
- Kevin Arbouet as Raoh
Reception
The film was not reviewed by many mainstream critics, and it got mixed reviews from fans and online critics. Dave Foster 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.[1] 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".
References
- ↑ Dave Foster. "DVD Times - Fist of the North Star". Retrieved 2007-07-30.
External links
- Fist of the North Star at AllMovie
- Fist of the North Star at the Internet Movie Database
- Fist of the North Star (film) at Anime News Network's encyclopedia
- Fist of the North Star at Toei Video (Japanese)
| ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||