| Bloodsport | |
|---|---|
 "The secret contest where the world's greatest warriors fight in a battle to the death." | |
| Directed By | Newt Arnold |
| Screenplay By | Christopher Cosby, Mel Friedman, Sheldon Lettich |
| Cast | Jean-Claude Van Damme, Donald Gibb, Leah Ayres |
| Produced By | Mark DiSalle, Yoram Globus, Menahem Golan |
| Cinematography By | David Worth |
| Film Editing By | Carl Kress |
| Music By | Paul Hertzog |
| Studio | Golan-Globus |
| Distributed By | The Cannon Group, Universal Studios |
| Franchise | Bloodsport Franchise |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Release Date | February 26, 1988 |
| Runtime | 92 Minutes |
| Rating | R |
| Budget | $1,500,000 |
| Gross | $11,800,000 |
Overview[]
Bloodsport is a 1988 American produced action martial arts drama film starring Donald Gibb, Leah Ayres, Bolo Yeung, and Jean-Claude Van Damme in his breakout role. Reputedly, the film was loosely inspired by the real life of Frank Dux but over the years, his claims have been heavily disputed. At the time of its release however, it was touted as a true story and was a major box office success and is credited with launching Van Damme's career as an action film star. It was also recognized as popularizing mixed-martial arts.
Bloodsport resulted in several stand alone sequel films which were released mostly as direct-to-video and failed to equal either the financial success or cult film status of the original.
Every generation, a secret martial arts tournament known as the Kumite is held. It's purpose: to find the best marital artist alive. And this year, the greatest martial artists in the world will gather in Hong Kong to fight for honor. For glory. For victory. For life itself. For the Kumite is a full contact, gladiatorial matches where they will be pitted against one another and death is not unheard of in this underground arena―it's expected in this bloody tournament.
And among its many hopeful participants is Frank Dux who has come to honor his dying sensei by proving his strength in the ultimate fighting tournament. All he has to do is survive in this bloodsport...
Plot[]
Cast[]
- Jean-Claude Van Damme as Frank Dux
- Donald Gibb as Ray Jackson
- Leah Ayres as Janice Kent
- Bolo Yeung as Chong Li
- Forest Whitaker as Rawlins
- Norman Burton as Helmer
- Roy Chiao as Senzo Tanaka
- Michel Qissi as Suan Paredes
- Philip Chan as Inspector Chen
- Pierre Rafini as Young Frank
- Ken Siu as Victor Lin
- Kimo Lai Kwok Ki as Hiro
- Bernard Mariano as Sadiq Hossein
- Bill Yuen Ping Kuen as Oshima
- Lily Leung as Mrs. Tanaka
- Joshua Schroder as Chuck
- Paulo Tocha as Paco
- Dennis Chiu as Chuan Ip Mung
- John Cheung as Toon Wing Sum
- David Ho as Pumola
- Eric Neff as Ricardo Morra
- John Law as Chan Luu
- John Foster as Gustafson
- Lam Shung-Ching as Sen Ling
- Rick Erikson as Marc Cotard
- Samson Li as Budimam Prang
Production[]
Additional/Alternate Movie Taglines[]
- The True Story of an American Ninja.
- The secret contest where the world's greatest warriors fight in a battle to the death.
- Based on the Real Story of the Great White Dragon