THE KARATE KID
From Academy Award®-winning director John G. Avildsen (1976, ROCKY) comes the highly entertaining, coming-of-age classic that will have you cheering! Starring Ralph Macchio and Noriyuki “Pat” Morita in his Academy Award®-nominated performance (Best Supporting Actor, 1984) as Mr. Miyagi.
THE KARATE KID PART II
Returning with Daniel (Ralph Macchio) to his Okinawa home for the first time in 45 years, Miyagi (Noriyuki “Pat” Morita) encounters Yukie (Nobu McCarthy), the woman he left behind when he immigrated to America.
THE KARATE KID PART III
Daniel is in danger of losing it all when he places pride before principle in this powerful sequel to the hit feature films.
For thoughts on The Karate Kid 3-Movie Collection, please see my previous article here.
Video Quality
All the films in The Karate Kid 3-Movie Collection are given a 2160p/Dolby Vision upgrade that serve as a significant step up from their Blu-Ray counterparts. The Karate Kid was available on 4K UHD Blu-Ray previously, but even this new set offers that disc an upgrade in the form of Dolby Vision color grading for more nimble and natural colors. The set also includes Blu-Ray versions of each film which mirror the previous versions that were available separately. The previous top-tier 4K UHD release of The Karate Kid only gets the slightest of upgrades here, but Sony completely obliterates any previous releases of the two sequels with these new 4K UHD Blu-Ray discs. We are talking night and day, can never enjoy the old discs in the same way type of difference. In an effort to not duplicate descriptions, I will group most of these films together while pointing out noticeable differences. The main takeaway for this collection is that all transfers allow these films to look the best they ever have on home entertainment, and they should be considered the best way to enjoy these films. A magnificent effort all around. All three films have been mastered in 4K from the original camera negatives.
These new 4K scans have a lovely amount of natural film grain that allows these movies to shine and gives a lot of pleasing texture and detail to the transfers. For the first time on home entertainment, you can clearly see specific text on some of the items in the convenience store. Grain is organic and mostly holds to a tight grain structure outside of a few fleeting moments where it gets extra dense in low light in Part III. The image presents with a miraculous amount of depth that makes the California landscape feel more three dimensional than ever. The improvements in contrast and overall clarity are outstanding, especially when you look at the interior of the dojo and various settings in Okinawa.
The UHD disc contains very deep colors throughout with bright primaries showing off the wondrous and warm locales. The most impressive moments of HDR implementation are in the film’s environmental elements including the green of the foliage, the blue of the skies, and other pops of color in clothes. And trust us, there is plenty of eye candy to go around. White levels are brighter and offer a greater stability without veering into blooming. Black levels are extremely deep and allow the picture to maintain an excellent amount of depth and detail in darker environments. Skin tones look natural and the clarity of the transfer gives you a great amount of facial detail including the cuts and sweat from being in these fights. These transfers are a knockout effort for fans of the series. The folks at Sony are masters when it comes to their 4K output.
Audio Quality
The 4K UHD Blu-Ray set comes with a lively Dolby Atmos presentation, plus lossless 5.1 and theatrical stereo tracks, which all handle the reserved action of the story incredibly well. These tracks offer expert level immersion into the environment so that even the subtlest elements are represented. The Atmos presentation takes full advantage of the expanded channel allotment. During the scenes at school or attending matches, the din of chatter and announcements from overhead put you right into the setting. Similarly, there are certain moments when it is raining that sound unreal with the height channels. All of the sounds are balanced well during the more kinetic sequences. There are no explosions or all-out brawls, but many punches and kicks in the fight scenes provide a fantastic amount of activity in the low end. Directionality of sound is never an issue with this track, and dialogue is reproduced with supreme clarity. Speakers remain remarkably engaged throughout the film, even during the few quieter moments. These films are classics with a well-rounded sonic presentation. The audio presentation is a wonderful experience from start to finish.
Special Features
The Karate Kid
4K UHD
- Remembering The Karate Kid: A new-ish ten-minute piece in which Ralph Macchio, William Zabka and Martin Kove take a break from filming Cobra Kai to discuss coming to this material back in the day, the themes of the film, memories of Pat Morita, creating the rivalry between Daniel and Johnny, favorite scenes and more
- Deleted Scenes: Four all-new deleted scenes totaling three minutes are provided here featuring Johnny threatening Daniel after handing him a safety waiver, Johnny pranking Daniel, a Cobra Kai member getting disqualified and more. There is some unfinished audio here but the material is mostly in good shape.
- Theatrical Trailer: The two-minute trailer is provided here.
Blu-Ray
- Blu-Pop: An option to watch the film with pop up trivia, interviews with Macchio and Zabka, and more.
- Audio Commentary: Director John G. Avildsen, Writer Robert Mark Kamen, and Actors Pat Marita and Ralph Macchio deliver a very fun and pretty informative commentary track in which they excitedly reflect back upon the movie while trying to convey as much info as possible while having a good time just being around one another.
- The Way Of Karate Kid – Part 1: A 24-minute piece in which the cast and crew discuss the origins of the film, the casting process and finding the chemistry between the leads, elements of the plot and character dynamics, the themes of the story and more.
- The Way Of Karate Kid – Part 2: A nearly 22-minute continuation of the previous piece which delves into the work of Director John G. Avildsen, the process of shooting some iconic scenes, the fight choreography, the film’s legacy and more.
- Beyond The Form: A 13-minute which takes a look at the training the cast had to do for the film, the importance of physical and spiritual balance to the art of karate, how the movie impacted the popularity of karate and more.
- East Meets West – A Composer’s Notebook: An eight-minute interview in which Composer Bill Conti discusses how he came to the right music for each scene in the film.
- Life Of Bonsai: A ten-minute featurette in which Bonsai Master Ben Oki discusses the iconic tree featured in the film.
The Karate Kid Part II
4K UHD
- Audio Commentary: Actors Ralph Macchio and Tamlyn Tomita deliver a recently-recorded commentary track that is so wonderful as they break down the film, recall their experiences during production, experiences with Director John G. Avildsen, the film’s legacy and more. There are some audio drop outs thanks to presumably recording over Zoom, but it is a very entertaining listen.
- Deleted Scene: A quick 30-second unused scene of Daniel fixing up the garden.
- Theatrical Trailer: The minute-and-a-half trailer is provided here.
Blu-Ray
- Blu-Pop: An option to watch the film with pop up trivia.
- The Sequel: A six-minute archival piece in which the cast and crew discuss the film and continuing storyline with some behind-the-scenes video and clips from the film interspersed.
The Karate Kid Part III
4K UHD
- Theatrical Trailer: The minute-and-a-half trailer is provided here.
Blu-Ray
There are no special features provided on this disc.
Final Thoughts
The Karate Kid trilogy of films following Daniel’s journey offer some of the best coming-of-age moments that audiences could want. Ralph Macchio and Pat Morita bring a flawless chemistry to their heartwarming relationship. The sequels do not quite hit the highest highs of the classic original film, but they mostly offer a worthy continuation of the story that stands proudly in the franchise. Sony Pictures Home Entertainment has released a 4K UHD Blu-Ray collection featuring a magnificent A/V presentation and a nice assortment of special features. If you are a fan of these films, this is not to be missed. Highly Recommended
The Karate Kid 3-Movie Collection is currently available to purchase on 4K UHD Blu-Ray and titles are available individually on Digital.
Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the 4K UHD Blu-Ray.
Disclaimer: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment has supplied a copy of this disc free of charge for review purposes. All opinions in this review are the honest reactions of the author.
Dillon is most comfortable sitting around in a theatre all day watching both big budget and independent movies.
