The Challenge (1982 film)

The Challenge is a 1982 American action thriller film directed by John Frankenheimer from a screenplay by John Sayles and Richard Maxwell, and starring Scott Glenn and Toshirō Mifune. The plot follows a down-on-his-luck boxer (Glenn) who is hired to transport a valuable katana to Japan, where he becomes embroiled in a blood feud between two martial artist brothers. It was released by Embassy Pictures on July 23, 1982, and received mixed reviews.

Plot
A katana, one of a pair known as "The Equals", was an heirloom of the Yoshida family, passed down through the generations before being lost during World War II. It was finally tracked down and recovered in California by siblings Toshio and Akiko. Hoping to return the katana to its rightful owner, their father Toru, Toshio hires down-on-his luck prize fighter Rick Murphy to smuggle the sword back to Japan.

Upon their arrival, Murphy and Toshio are captured by thugs working for Toru's estranged brother Hideo, a well-connected kuromaku (or "black curtain" in English, a fixer who works behind the scenes for Yakuza). Toshio is murdered and Murphy is faced with the prospect of being killed by Hideo. Murphy learns that the sword is a fake and himself a decoy, intended to ward off potential thieves.

Murphy escapes Hideo's thugs and awakens in Akiko's family home and after a brief stay departs with his money. Hideo's thugs, led by his interpreter and bodyguard Ando, find Murphy and give him two choices: infiltrate Yoshida's martial arts school and obtain the sword, or be beheaded. He takes the infiltration option, yet finds himself being drawn into the ways of Japanese etiquette and tradition to the point where he returns the sword to Toru after having the perfect opportunity to escape with it. Murphy then humbly asks Toru if he can be forgiven and taken back in because he wants to learn the ways of Bushido. Toru agrees, but only if Murphy follows Toru's conditions.

Murphy continues to bumble his way through life at Toru's school until, after a treacherous and almost fatal attempt by one of the higher members of the school to steal the sword, he leaves and is found in a hotel in Kyoto by Toru's surviving child, his daughter Akiko. Finding romance, they go out to see the sights and sounds of the city, including watching a Shinto ceremony. During the hub-bub of the crowded parade, Murphy and Akiko get separated and Hideo's henchmen kidnap her and deliver her to her uncle. Toru, laden with ancient weaponry, ventures out to Hideo's industrial complex where he is shot and wounded by Ando. Ando is slain by Hideo for this, and Murphy – who has joined him in his quest – opts to fight Hideo to defend his sensei. Murphy manages to kill Hideo and present "The Equals" to Toru.

Writing
Richard Maxwell's original screenplay was set in China. John Sayles was brought in by John Frankenheimer to rework the script in only five days, most of which he spent holed up in the Imperial Hotel in Tokyo with Frankenheimer and Toshiro Mifune.

Casting
Mifune's Shōgun co-star Yoko Shimada was the first choice to play Akiko, but she was rejected by director John Frankenheimer because he wanted an actress fluent in English. The actress they eventually cast, Donna Kei Benz, did not speak Japanese and took a four-month crash course in language, etiquette, and martial arts.

Japanese actor Atsuo Nakamura's English dialogue was dubbed was by an uncredited Paul Frees. Years earlier, Frees had done the same for Toshiro Mifune in the film Grand Prix and Midway.

Steven Seagal (credited as 'Steve Seagal') served as a martial arts coordinator, prior to the start of his own acting career. The sword fight sequences were choreographed by Ryû Kuze, a veteran Japanese swordmaster who had previously worked with Toshiro Mifune on Yojimbo and Sanjuro.

This was the final film of actress Miiko Taka, who worked as Mifune's interpreter.

Filming
The film was shot almost entirely on-location in Osaka and Kyoto, Japan. The Kyoto International Conference Center was used as the location of Hideo's headquarters. The scenes of Yoshida's compound were shot at the Shōkoku-ji Buddhist temple.

Alternate version
A re-edited version of the film entitled Sword of the Ninja was created for television. In this version, about ten minutes of footage are cut, some of the graphic violence of the original version is removed, and "fades" are added to make room for commercial breaks.

Reception
Critic Dennis Schwartz gave the film a C+ grade, calling it a "pointless", "low-level Chuck Norris flick". He enjoyed Frankenheimer's directing and Mifune's performance, questioning why they chose to make such a film. Time Out wrote that the "elaborate combat will please fans", but that The Yakuza was a much better film in the genre. Janet Maslin for The New York Times was unimpressed with the film's "regrettably vicious streak" and wrote that the film had unused potential. However, she praised Toshirō Mifune's performance as adding weight to the film. Adam Lippe, writing for Examiner.com, had a better opinion of the film, calling it "grimy, off-putting, and just right for the moment". On the last "Dogs of the Week" segment that Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert ever did on their TV show, Siskel stated that he went to see the film in expectation that it would be a bad movie, but found it to be a smart and involving action film that he recommended viewers should see.

On Rotten Tomatoes, The Challenge holds a rating of 53% from 17 reviews.