John G. Avildsen’s martial arts-themed movie, The Karate Kid, became one of the biggest hits of 1984. Starring Ralph Macchio and Pat Morita, The Karate Kid was one of the reasons Karate started gaining rapid popularity in the US.
The storyline centers on Daniel LaRusso, a teenager whose world completely changes after his family shifts to Los Angeles. After being bullied constantly by Johnny Lawrence, Daniel makes himself stronger with the help of Mr. Miyagi, an interesting handyman who lives in his apartment building.
Pat Morita ended up with an Academy Award nomination for his role in The Karate Kid. Its popularity led to a few more exciting sequels being added to this Karate series over the years. The story is lightly based on Robert Mark Kamen’s life, the man who serves as the screenwriter for The Karate Kid.
The Karate Kid: Filming Locations
With principal shooting for The Karate Kid beginning in October of 1983, the major filming spot throughout the movie was Los Angeles, California. The opening scenes of The Karate Kid took place in New Jersey, particularly at Franklin Avenue and Hamilton Street.
Los Angeles, California:
The apartment building that Daniel and his mom moved into is located at 19223 Saticoy Street, in Reseda, LA. Just as the LaRussos prepare to bring in their furniture, Daniel notices that this new place isn’t better than their home back in Newark, New Jersey. However, moving to LA also becomes the reason why LaRusso becomes stronger eventually.
His teacher, Mr. Miyagi’s house, was located at 20924 Gault St., Canoga Park, LA. The house was unfortunately demolished sometime after the movie was filmed. Another place in LA that The Karate Kid features is 5225 Lankershim Boulevard, located in North Hollywood.
This place is the location that was used as a Dojo seen in the film. However, the one we see Johnny practicing at is The Wig Shop, located at 5376 Wilshire Boulevard, LA. It was mostly the exterior of this place that served as a Cobra Kai Karate Dojo.
After Johnny spots Daniel and pushes him off the hill, injuring him, Mr. Miyagi is the one to take him home and treat his injuries. This particular scene took place at 6030 Macadam Court at Laro Drive. Another location featured in this film is the Charles Evans Hughes Jr. High School, which was used as a backdrop for LaRusso’s school in LA.
This High School has also been used in many other films like A Nightmare on Elm Street 2 and Summer School (1987). The lake that we see in some of the scenes of The Karate Kid is the Chatsworth Reservoir of Los Angeles. Chatsworth Reservoir can also be spotted in movies like Sioux City Sue, Susanna Pass, and Home on the Range.
Aside from Los Angeles, The Karate Kid also shifted to Malibu for filming some of the scenes. The place in Malibu that managed to make it into the movie is the Leo Carrillo State Beach at Pacific Coast Highway.
The Calabasas Country Club at 4515 N Park Entrada is the place where scenes involving Encino Oaks Country Club were shot. Some parts of Hyatt Westlake Plaza at 880 South Westlake Boulevard also made up for scenes of the country club.
Daniel LaRusso’s love interest, Ali’s home, is located at 4072 Alonzo Avenue, in Encino. This place has been seen in TV series and Movies like La La Land, Beverly Hills 90210, Scarface, and many others too. Northridge, Oak Creek Canyon in Arizona, Woodland Hills, and Phoenix, Arizona, are some locations that the crew of The Karate Kid had to travel to for the film.
The final climax, where Daniel and Johnny fight each other, was filmed at the Matadome, California State University Northridge. The Karate Kid ends on a happy note here, with Daniel finally defeating Johnny through his impressive martial arts.
At present, The Karate Kid 1984 is available to watch on Netflix.
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