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I like the storyline of this show,it attract me so much

Excellent but underrated film

Better Late Then Never

I like movies that are aware of what they are selling... without [any] greater aspirations than to make people laugh and that's it.

Rick, a down-and-out boxer, is hired to transport a sword to Japan, unaware that the whole thing is a set up in a bitter feud between two brothers, one who follows the traditional path of the samurai and the other a businessman. Rick undertakes samurai training from the other brother, and joins his cause. He also becomes romantically involved with the samurai's daughter.When you watch this, for some reason you cannot help but think about The Last Samurai. A 'foreigner' joins a group, shut out from the world, and learns and gradually respects their ways.Other than that, its a fairly brutal movie, but unfortunately, due to Glenn being miscast, the film fails on many levels. Glenn is a great actor, but an action star he is not, and when you see him running during set pieces, its laughable.Mifune is their because he adds a little gravitas, and the other brother wears a suit because hey! It's a sign of the times.Many have stated that this is a fantastic movie, and it appears to have a cult following, it a decapitation cannot justify this status.And the supposedly powerful death with the chap in the wheelchair, is sadly hilarious.Watch Enter The Ninja instead, at least its a little tongue in cheek.

This is a captivating picture that is deeper that your average martial arts picture. This is a story of honor and culture that takes no prisoners.Scott Glenn starts out as a down and out boxing trainer who gets caught up in a plot to smuggle a samurai sword into Japan. During this film he goes from a washed up slob to an warrior steeped with honor.Toshiro Mifune is such a presence here, simply riveting performance as the teacher who turns Scot Glen into the warrior.The film has such a minimal feeling, filmed in quieter parts of Japan, not in the glitz of the Ginza. The only extravagance it the ultra modern office building where the final scenes take place.There is violence, lots of it, but none of it is gratuitous. It is part of the story. From the beginning with the hijacking of the handicapped van (where they throw one of the couriers out of the back to the office scene at the end...and what a scene it is. Scot Glen and his nemesis (Mifune's evil brother) go at it with two samurai swords. In a large office suite they slash and pummel each other like you can't believe, including usage of staple gun into one's forehead, the knocking down of a very large wall unit, and electrocution via a power cord ripped out of a computer terminal. And of course the final devastating blow at the end where Scot Glen kills his opponent by splitting his head in half.The final scene where Scott Glen emerges from the office bloodied and battered presents the two swords (finally united as a pair)to Mifune, who nods in recognition - talk about saying a million things without saying a word - such power! I first saw this on cable in 1983 and have loved it ever since. It is compact, taught and unflinching. We learn about Japanese culture regarding honor and tradition and how one can redeem themselves and earn honor and respect. A great piece of film making especially the Stephen Segal martial arts choreography.

I wish it was on DVD. As noted by another reviewer, the martial arts scenes are skillfully done. The basic story is that an upstart American (Scott Glenn) is hired to smuggle an historic Japanese sword *back* into Japan. Naturally there are bad guys trying to prevent this sword from making it to it's intended recipient (Mifune). The bad guys are funded and led by a rich Japanese industrialist who wants the sword for himself, but there's more also, which I will not mention here. Scott Glenn is beaten by the bad guys, eventually decides he likes the honor of the good guys group, and trains to become a ninja/samurai type. The movie culminates with a martial arts vs. gun-fu battle not to be missed. The director and cast make this movie: Frankenheimer is a very skilled director and it shows here. Ad to that the location shooting in Japan, and Scott Glenn and Mifune as student and teacher, and this movie is an absolute winner.

The Challenge is one of those genre movies that is so good that it not only breaks the genre mold but gets lost in the shuffle, hidden by lots of other movies not nearly as good.Scott Glenn and Toshiro Mifune give excellent and their usual intense performances as a budding samurai cum boxer and his instructor, bonding as the instructor is caught up in a clan feud with his brother.This movie is good for three reasons. One reason is the normal steadfast performances of its stars. The second is the keen, insightful direction of John Frankenheimer, a grossly underrated director who helmed such classics as The Train, Ronin, and The Manchurian Candidate. And the third is the able kenjutsu (swordfighting)and aikido of a then unknown American martial arts instructor based in Japan who at the time was going by Steve Seagal. I guess I don't have to tell you who he grew up to be.