South African chop-socky alert!
KARATE OLYMPIA/KILL OR BE KILLED (1976) IVAN HALL
Another first for both South Africa and Africa ~ the first martial arts film produced on this continent. Far from featuring a few Oriental gentlemen beating most honourable seven colours of
sh*t out of most honourable opponent because of the dishonour of most honourable family and terrible dubbing in which mouth movements come three hours before the sounds, this is a very competent film which features a Nazi still living Hitler’s dream in the then South West Africa.
Baron von Rudloff (SS dress uniform, Iron Cross, swastika, Luger pistol and all) is a disgraced Olympic karate coach whose team loses to a Japanese team during the 1936 Berlin Olympic Games ~ years later, he organizes a contest to the death in his castle’s arena, between a team of his choosing and one chosen by Hiro Miyagi, the winning Japanese coach and his sworn enemy.
Another international box-office success for South Africa, starring James Ryan, Charlotte Prout Jones, Norman Coombes as the mad Nazi and featuring guest appearances by a host of local martial arts experts, including senseis Stan Schmidt and Norman Robinson, who were also credited as fight arrangers. Followed by
Kill and Kill Again, an even more successful sequel.
Useless trivia: also known as the first Afrikaans language martial arts film.
