The Octagon (1980)

Director:

Eric Karson

Writers:

Paul Aaron (story)
Leigh Chapman (screenplay)

Release Date:

14 elokuu 1980 (USA)

Genre:

Action

Tagline:

In a world of choices, for one man there is no choice . . . he must face THE OCTAGON

Plot:

A martial artist must defeat a plan by ninjas to create a worldwide training camp for terrorists.

Plot Keywords:

Martial Arts | Ninja | Secret Base | Revenge | Karate

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

Chuck Norris	...	Scott James
Karen Carlson	...	Justine
Lee Van Cleef	...	McCarn
Art Hindle	...	A. J.
Carol Bagdasarian	...	Aura
Tadashi Yamashita	...	Seikura
Kim Lankford	...	Nancy
Larry D. Mann	...	Tibor
Kurt Grayson	...	Doggo
Richard Norton	...	Kyo - Seikura´s Enforcer / Long Legs
Yuki Shimoda	...	Katsumo - Seikura's Aide
Redmond Gleeson	...	Duffy
Alan Chappuis	...	Pierre
Brian Libby	...	Deadwyler
Ken Gibbel	...	Meat

Also Known As:

The Man Without Mercy (Philippines: English title)

Runtime:

103 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Finland:(Banned) (1980) (uncut) | Finland:K-16 (1995) (uncut) | Finland:K-18 (1984) (cut) | Iceland:16 | Germany:16 (DVD rating) | West Germany:16 (nf) | Sweden:15 | Australia:M | France:-12 | Norway:18 | USA:R | Germany:BPjM Restricted

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

American Cinema Productions

Trivia:

When Richard Norton (as "Long Legs", not Kyo) is kicked in the Groin by Chuck Norris, he grabs himself and yelps out "Oh shit... shit!". Norton himself said that when he was assisting with the stunts on the set of "The Blues Brothers" and told John Belushi the fight he'd be in, Belushi was the one who told him to say "Oh shit!" when getting kicked in the groin.

Goofs:

Crew or equipment visible: After the terrorist trainee falls through the trapdoor, a crew person's hand is visible as it closes back up.

Quotes:

Doggo: You want the final say? You got the final say.

Movie Connections:

Featured in How American Cinema Changed Hollywood Forever (2003) (V)

So bad, it's good

The Octagon on the surface is just another in a long line of not-so-great Chuck Norris karate pictures. But wait; there are differences.

Admittedly the quality of production is poor, but the addition of ninja assassins as chief antagonists was interesting. It should have intrigued us, but the film was just not meant to be great. The most entertaining aspect of the film is Chuck Norris' voice over narration of his thoughts. His voice echoes in whisper whenever he thinks of anything. This element may have been meant to be mysterious, but obviously it was just another part of the movie that may have swayed the viewer into thinking this was a comedy. This movie is at best described as a guilty pleasure, or something to watch on a night when you can't get to sleep. But for sarcastically humored people, or just undemanding viewers, The Octagon is fun to watch.