''American Kickboxer'' (also known as ''American Kickboxer 1'') is a 1991

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

martial arts Martial arts are codified systems and traditions of combat practiced for a number of reasons such as self-defence; military and law enforcement applications; combat sport, competition; physical, mental, and spiritual development; entertainment; ...

action film The action film is a film genre that predominantly features chase sequences, fights, shootouts, explosions, and stunt work. The specifics of what constitutes an action film has been in scholarly debate since the 1980s. While some scholars such as D ...

directed by Frans Nel and written by Emil Kolbe, based on an original story by the film's lead actor, John Barrett.

Plot

Robert James "B.J." Quinn (John Barrett) is the current middleweight

kickboxing Kickboxing ( ) is a full-contact hybrid Martial arts, martial art and Boxing (disambiguation), boxing type based on punch (combat), punching and kicking. Kickboxing originated in the 1950s to 1970s. The fight takes place in a boxing ring, norma ...

champion of the world ready to face his next opponent, Chad Hunter (

Keith Vitali Keith Vitali * (Born December 24th, 1951 ) is an American karate master, former number one ranked full-contact fight champion, martial artist, actor, producer, author and child activist, best known for films such as '' Revenge of the Ninja'' ...

). Hunter proves to be quite the opponent with his impressive skills but in the second round Quinn accidentally hits Chad with an elbow while going for a spinning back fist, causing the doctor to stop the fight. Quinn retains his title. At a party celebrating a new sponsor to kickboxing, middleweight contender and cocky fighter Jacques Denard (Brad Morris) hits on Quinn's girlfriend Carol (Terry Norton). Quinn confronts him and as the two begin to push each other, party-goer Ken (

Gavin Hood Gavin Hood (born 12 May 1963) is a South African filmmaker, and actor, best known for writing and directing '' Tsotsi'' (2005), which won the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film. He also directed the films '' X-Men Origins: Wolver ...

) tries to split them up. Quinn punches Ken so hard that he crashes through a table and dies. At the trial, despite Chad's

testimony Testimony is a solemn attestation as to the truth of a matter. Etymology The words "testimony" and "testify" both derive from the Latin word ''testis'', referring to the notion of a disinterested third-party witness. Law In the law, testimon ...

that Quinn would have needed a reason to kill Ken, Denard's testimony proves enough to get Quinn convicted for twelve months on manslaughter charges and is no longer allowed to compete in professional kickboxing. A year later Quinn is released from prison. Upon returning, he is shocked to learn that Denard has become the middleweight champion. Denard proves to be a complete showboating type who resorts to using dirty tactics and has felt both the

ire Ire or IRE may refer to: Ire * Extreme anger; intense fury * Irē, the Livonian name for Mazirbe, Latvia * A town in Oye, Nigeria * ''Ire'' (album), a 2015 album by the Australian metalcore band Parkway Drive * Ire (Iliad), a town mentioned in ...

of kickboxing promoter Bob Wiser (Len Sparrowhawk) and the heckling of journalist Willard (Ted Le Plat), who did the same to Quinn during his days as a champion. Meanwhile, Quinn learns that Chad Hunter had stood up for him during the trial and befriends him. Chad is up for a title shot against Denard and asks Quinn to train him and Quinn agrees. During a sparring session Quinn gets too rough with Chad, who confronts him. Quinn, harboring anger towards Denard, begins to take his frustrations out on both Chad and Carol. Chad loses badly to Denard in their title fight and is sent to the hospital, where Quinn again fights with Chad. At another party, Quinn drunkenly confronts Denard and beats him relentlessly using a chair, prompting Carol to leave him. Depressed and alone, Quinn finds another place to live and slowly begins to realize his mistakes. Chad, who has ultimately forgiven Quinn, asks Quinn to help out at his school. On Quinn's first day he witnesses an older and more skilled student send a less skilled students hard to the mat, resulting in a pushing and shoving match which Quinn breaks up. Quinn teaches the less skilled student to counter side kick, and after defusing the situation between the two students, Quinn again begins to value what he has and begins a road of redemption for himself through training. Carol returns and she and Quinn rekindle their relationship. Denard, upset from the beating at the party, decides to challenge Quinn to a fight. However, knowing that Quinn cannot fight as a professional, Denard makes the challenge for $100,000. Carol tells Quinn she will help him through the challenge, and Chad offers to become Quinn's trainer. With the help of Chad and former trainer Howard (

Roger Yuan Roger Winston Tzi-Chun Yuan (born January 25, 1961) is an American martial artist, stuntman, actor, and fight choreographer. Early life Yuan was born in Carbondale, Illinois, to Taiwanese parents Theresa and Joseph Yuan, who were in the United S ...

), Quinn prepares for the big fight. At the fight, Denard's dirty tactics begin to take its toll on Quinn. When Quinn goes down during one of the later rounds, he gets up at a nine-count. Showing he isn't holding back anymore, he surprises Denard with his punches and kicks. When he lands a haymaker, Denard is sent flying to the corner. Quinn unleashes a flurry of kicks to Denard and ends it with a tornado kick, sending Denard to the ground for the ten-count. As Chad, Howard, Carol, and others gather to congratulate Quinn, Willard makes one more heckle towards Denard before Denard's cornerman knocks him out with a punch.

Cast

* John Barrett as Robert James "B.J." Quinn *

as Chad Hunter * Terry Norton as Carol Quinn * Brad Morris as Jacques Denard *

as Howard * Ted Le Plat as Willard * Len Sparrowhawk as Bob Wiser *

as Ken * Patrick Lyster as Prosecutor * Larry Martin as Judge Rivers * Gary Chalmers as Attorney * Jeff Fannell as Dick * Alex von Reumont as Jerry * Tom Agnew as Adrian Holligan Sr. * Judd Lasarow as Adrian Holligan Jr. * Zia Garfield as Daley Adams * Graham Clarke as Alex Bone * Caroline Smart as Doreen * Mark Mulder as Eugene *

Deon Stewardson Deon Stewardson (11 October 1951 – 27 October 2017) was a British-South African actor best known for his role as Anders "Dup" Du Plessis in the ITV Drama series '' Wild at Heart''. The seven series were popular in the United Kingdom with tel ...

as Jim, Sports Editor

Production

The film was shot in South Africa in late 1990 when martial arts films were becoming popular to shoot there for budgetary reasons. It is believed that the film is set in

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

, despite its

n location and supporting cast.

Sequels

In 1993, two sequels to the film were released. '' American Kickboxer 2'' was shot on location in the Philippines and starred another former kickboxing champion, Dale 'Apollo' Cook. It was a sequel in name only and featured Cook as a cop who is forced to team up with his ex-wife's former boyfriend, a martial arts instructor, to save his ex-wife's daughter. However, the true sequel to this film is entitled '' To the Death''. It was directed by

Darrell Roodt Darrell James Roodt (born in Johannesburg, 28 April 1962) is a South African film director, screenwriter and producer. He is probably most well known for his 1992 film '' Sarafina!'' which starred actress Whoopi Goldberg. Roodt has worked with ...

and featured John Barrett as the newly titled "Rick Quinn" and Michel Qissi replacing Brad Morris as Jacques Denard, who starts out as Quinn's rival but ultimately becomes his ally when he is forced into a series of fights to the death by a ruthless promoter.

Release

The film was released theatrically in South Africa on March 1, 1991. The film never received a theatrical release in the United States, but

Cannon Films The Cannon Group, Inc. was an American group of companies, including Cannon Films, which produced films from 1967 to 1994. The extensive group also owned, amongst others, a large international cinema chain and a video film company that investe ...

released the film on home video on July 24, 1991. In 2022, the streaming service Swissx TV offered

NFT A non-fungible token (NFT) is a unique digital identifier that is recorded on a blockchain and is used to certify ownership and authenticity. It cannot be copied, substituted, or subdivided. The ownership of an NFT is recorded in the blockchai ...

ownership of ''American Kickboxer'' to commemorate its 30th anniversary.

References

External links

* {{IMDb title, tt0101325, American Kickboxer 1991 films 1991 action films 1991 martial arts films American martial arts films American action films English-language South African films South African action films Golan-Globus films Martial arts tournament films 1990s English-language films 1990s American films English-language action films 1990s South African films