The Octagon (1980)

Director:

Eric Karson

Writers:

Paul Aaron (story)
Leigh Chapman (screenplay)

Release Date:

14 August 1980 (USA)

Genre:

Action

Tagline:

Chuck Norris is Scott James, who must face the Ninja, the unholy masters of terror in . . .

Plot:

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

Plot Keywords:

Terrorism | Death | Karate | Martial Arts | Kung Fu

Cast

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

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

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

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

American Cinema Productions

Trivia:

Fighting Stars Magazine ranked the climactic fight between Chuck Norris and Richard Norton as #13 on their list of the 25 greatest fight scenes of all time.

Goofs:

Continuity: During a car chase sequence, the off-white colored car hits the pursing red vehicle that is parked in its path. The next time we see them, both cars are undamaged and not touching each other.

Quotes:

Scott: Doggo is not the answer... nswer... swer... wer... er... r...

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Aqua Teen Hunger Force: Carl Wash (#5.13)" (2006)

Oh well...

It was one of those nights. I had slept till about...late that day, and thus, my brain was functioning at a very high level, higher than the average 2 in the morning brain at least. I turn to the television for comfort, as i usually do when my friends have all left me, and I'm alone and sad. Amazed I find there's nothing worth watching as I flip through the 4 non-cable-TV channels in my room. The sadness and grudge towards my friends fades away as the opening scenes of The Octagon jump in my face. At this point, I'm wide awake and thrilled. "At least it's good for a few laughs".

And it was. The plot is fascinating:

Chuck's character was adopted by some Ninja master, and a rivalry is born between Chuck and his new fathers son, Seikura. When Seikura cheats in a race between the two, and thus dishonors the whole family, he is vanished by his father.

We meet Chuck's character Scott James, some sort of mercenary. Seikura is now training terrorists in some camp in South-America. And so the plot thickens.

As the end draws near I am vast asleep. The Octagon has served its purpose and dozed me into dreamland. Never mind the sandman. As long as Chuck's around, there's no need to fear insomnia!