The Bad Guys
Zabka, whose only acting experience at the time was in commercials, recalled, “Pat did kind of mentor me … He called me B.Z. from the first day and I called him Uncle Pat. He was a really soothing, funny, generous, genuine guy.”
For a scene where Johnny and his gang attack Daniel, “I wasn’t projecting loud and Pat pulled me aside and said, ‘B.Z., when you do rehearsals, you’ve gotta give 110 percent. That way when the camera’s rolling, it’s like bread and butter.’” Zabka took that advice but went a little too far, accidentally hitting Macchio for real.
Miyagi (Pat Morita) trains Daniel (Ralph Macchio) in a scene from “The Karate Kid.”
Johnny’s sensei, Kreese, reflected Miyagi’s philosophy that there are no bad students, just bad teachers. Zabka said that Kreese encouraged Johnny’s bad behavior because “when you have somebody behind you as a mentor, right or wrong, you get empowered.” Only at the end does Johnny realize that Kreese is leading him down the wrong path.
“The character I created was someone who in high school and college … was a great champion, then when he went to Vietnam, unfortunately he wasn’t allowed to win, like a lot of our boys,” Kove said. “… When he came back, he vowed that he would never lose and none of the Cobra Kai would ever lose under any circumstances. He created the dojo and ultimately that was his motto, that winning and being triumphant was the most important thing in life. Karate was an offensive sport, not a defensive art.”
For the fight scenes, Macchio said, “One thing I will say about John Avildsen is when he wants something, he gets it. He was very steadfast in making sure I looked good at karate … We rehearsed that 10,000 times, but it pays off so well … Pat Johnson, who played the referee in the movie, did all the martial arts choreography and trained all of us. He would train me separately in the Okinawan style.”
Avildsen said of Darryl Vidal, who is credited with creating the movie’s iconic crane kick, “I was looking at a lot of karate tournaments when I was casting for this, and I saw this guy and nobody came close.”
Vidal, who was in the audience, explained, “The writer had this concept where Daniel gets his leg injured, so he has to stand on one leg and do the final kick … In martial arts circles [they say]‘He couldn’t have invented that. That’s an old kick’ … Yes, there’s a kick called a double-jump kick … but what I believe is that this whole part here is something I made upon their request. The other part is a kick that’s in every system.”
Though he is a martial artist and not an actor, “I’m Mr. Miyagi [doing the crane stance]on the beach, and in the tournament you can see me, the only Asian guy, jumping around,” Vidal said.
The movie was supposed to end with a confrontation between Kreese and Miyagi in the parking lot. “But after I shot that moment with Daniel being carried off and the kick being so successful … I said I don’t think we need that scene in the parking lot, it’s not going to top what we just did,” Avildsen said. “I think the movie ought to end with him being carried off.”
The Kreese-Miyagi face-off became the first scene of “The Karate Kid Part II,” also directed by Avildsen.
When it was suggested that Daniel and Miyagi should be seen together at the end, Avildsen compromised with a final shot of Miyagi smiling. “It worked because of Pat’s terrific acting, He was so subtle in this thing. It was so reserved, he held back, he just did a great job.”
Miyagi’s Moment
A key scene is when Daniel finds Miyagi drunk and wearing his old Army uniform. As Miyagi sleeps, Daniel learns from newspaper clippings and a telegram that Miyagi’s family was interned, and that his wife died in childbirth in camp while he was serving with the 442nd.
“One of the other editors said we don’t really need that scene, it slows everything down … I thought it was a pivotal scene, it was the love scene between these two guys,” Avildsen said. “Fortunately, it prevailed and I think that was the scene that caught the Academy’s attention and cinched the nomination for Pat. He was just perfect in that scene. It’s probably the most touching scene in the movie.”
Miyagi and Daniel visit the Cobra Kai dojo and meet with Johnny (Billy Zabka) and his sensei, Kreese (Martin Kove).
Macchio added, “I’m often asked, ‘What is your favorite moment, your favorite line?’ It’s difficult because there so many great moments in the film, but that scene, we knew when we were shooting … that the scene had another level of depth. Watching it as years have gone on, I learn more each time from that scene.”
After making sure Miyagi is safely in bed, Daniel turns and bows before leaving the house. “My eyes are filing with water, it’s such a beautiful moment,” Macchio said. “It takes the movie up to the level where it is renowned for being what it is.”
Aly Morita, who noted that her father was interned at Tule Lake and her mother at Manzanar, agreed: “That scene in particular it gives so much depth to his character. I guess without that scene he could sort of be a caricature, but because of that scene it gives him a past, it gives him a history. He’s a decorated soldier of World War II, he had a family that was in the internment camps … He was channeling again all of those experiences, all the history that he grew up knowing, what he had gone through himself. Certainly he felt like this was a moment that may never come again …
“I think within Japanese American families, it’s something that’s not really talked about. So to be able to see that on the big screen and for all of America to learn about this chapter of our history, it so resonates for me … It’s an important moment in film history, too.”
Although there are many 30th anniversary screenings this year, Macchio said it was important for him to attend the one at JANM. “The way this film takes these two cultures and puts it together and enlightens in such a big way, in such a commercial and a mainstream way — it’s quite beautiful to even witness at this point.”
Regarding his last memories of his mentor, Macchio said, “As the years went by, I learned a little more about who Pat Morita was. Fortunately for me, about a year before he passed he was given a lifetime achievement [award]in New York City … There was a tribute to him at Lincoln Center and he asked that I present the award to him, and I had the opportunity to explore further elements in his life and I also got to say basically anything I would have ever wanted to say to him. It was quite a special moment for me and the audience, so I’m really grateful for having had that.”
At the close of the program, Aly Morita presented the Army uniform that her father wore in the film to JANM President and CEO Greg Kimura, Board of Trustees Vice Chair Wendy Shiba, and New Leadership Advisory Council President Kira Teshima.
“We believe that it deserves a good home and we are entrusting it to the Japanese American National Museum because it doesn’t belong to us, it belongs to everybody,” Morita said.
Kimura pledged to “treasure and steward this as well as steward the story of the 442nd Go For Broke battalion and the story of the unlawful and unjust incarceration of over 120,000 Americans of Japanese descent during World War II.”