The Challenge (1982) Full Movie

Adam M 28 Feb 2011

Preposterous, from the bland title that studio execs must have chosen -- totally unrelated to the content of the movie -- to the desperate symbolism of the last shot. The Challenge is an improvement on 80s action TV only. Scott Glenn and Calvin Jung, as the two show-off Americans, have some ridiculous dialogue, and Donna Kei Benz has no non-abs-related reason to sleep with Scott Glenn, except that he is a white beer drinker and deserves a reward for race-crossing loyalty and a heart as big as all Texas. The melodrama is almost tongue-in-cheek, especially with the little Japanese kid who washes clothes hoping to be a warrior, battles low self-esteem and speaks English like he was an orphan trying to get couples to take him home. In the end, office furniture is mightier than the sword -- or at least an insidious rival to the sword with its unwieldy symbolism. But Toshiro Mifune is good to see and a few sequences are edited very well.

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Private U 29 May 2008

Such an awesome film. It's unrepentantly a B movie, but it's also very watchable. Like Raiders of the Lost Ark, once I start watching it I can't stop. On location scenes in early 80s Japan (including the Tsukiji fish market), gritty bloody fight scenes, and a classic petitioning the master for training sequence. An underappreciated film.

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Michael T 30 Mar 2012

I just saw this for the first time recently and I was completely blown away by it. A forgotten gem in the 80's action genre, The Challenge is a glorious reminder of how much fun a movie can be despite everything going against it. Starring Scott Glenn and Toshiro Mifune, the movie is filled with bad dialogue, questionable story mechanics and laughable performances, but somehow it all works just perfectly. The score is quite good, coming from Jerry Goldsmith no less, and the action scenes are fantastic. You can tell a lot of choreography was put into the action set pieces, particularly the final showdown. I found myself clapping at the end because I was deliriously entertained by the whole thing. The trouble is that I know most people won't get it or care, but those that do like a couple of friends mine, love it like I do. It's by no means a masterpiece, but I'd love to see it get some love as it's been out of print for years and never been available before on DVD. I'm hoping that it at least gets a release through an MOD program of some kind.

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Kozure O 27 Jul 2008

I LOVE this movie. 1982's The Challenge, not to be criminally confused with the Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen mindrape of the same name, stars Scott Glenn as a down and out American boxer who is thrust in a tug of war against a wise samurai and his evil brother, a samurai turned business tycoon who stole one of two very important swords. Toshiro Mifune is fantastic as always as the disciplined and aged samurai, and his daughter is drop-dead sexy. The training montages and Glenn being buried to his neck in rocks are highlights, but the finale in the boss's headquarters is one of the greatest in memory. Great effort from the always excellent John Frankenheimer

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Tim S 30 Mar 2012

I just saw this for the first time recently and I was completely blown away by it. A forgotten gem in the 80's action genre, The Challenge is a glorious reminder of how much fun a movie can be despite everything going against it. Starring Scott Glenn and Toshiro Mifune, the movie is filled with bad dialogue, questionable story mechanics and laughable performances, but somehow it all works just perfectly. The score is quite good, coming from Jerry Goldsmith no less, and the action scenes are fantastic. You can tell a lot of choreography was put into the action set pieces, particularly the final showdown. I found myself clapping at the end because I was deliriously entertained by the whole thing. The trouble is that I know most people won't get it or care, but those that do like a couple of friends mine, love it like I do. It's by no means a masterpiece, but I'd love to see it get some love as it's been out of print for years and never been available before on DVD. I'm hoping that it at least gets a release through an MOD program of some kind.

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