Most people have seen the International, English dubbed, non-restored version. That version is forgettable. But having seen the new bluray of "Karate Warrior," in it's original Italian, (it's intended language), with the beautifully restored, widescreen print, it's quite different. Apparently when North American distributors bought the rights to this movie, they decided American audiences could only be entertained by a comedy. Because of that, the English dubbing, aside from being completely rotten, is also completely inaccurate. They changed what the characters were originally saying, dumbing it down with stupid lines and lame comedy. Seen in the original, the characters sound like real people, You also get to see some great photography of the exotic city of Manila. As a Martial Arts movie this isn't much, as there are barely any actual fight scenes to speak of, and actor Kim Rossi Stuart was obviously hired for his extremely pretty looks, and not his fighting skills. (He is shirtless for 80% of the film.) However, as a picturesque travelog, and as a standard exotic action-adventure film, "Karate Warrior" turns out to be an enjoyable film. It also serves as an example of how different a movie can appear once it has been restored to it's original quality. Sometimes it makes a big difference..
Review of Karate Warrior
