À armes égales

Original title: The Challenge

IMDb RATING

6.2/10

2.9K

YOUR RATING

A down-and-out American boxer becomes involved in a feud between two Japanese brothers.

Play trailer2:14

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Action Drama

A down-and-out American boxer becomes involved in a feud between two Japanese brothers.A down-and-out American boxer becomes involved in a feud between two Japanese brothers.A down-and-out American boxer becomes involved in a feud between two Japanese brothers.

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

6.2/10

2.9K

YOUR RATING

See production info at IMDbPro

Videos1

Trailer 2:14

Trailer

Photos24

+ 19

User reviews42

6.22.9K

Featured reviews

EL BUNCHO

A SADLY UNDERAPPRECIATED CLASSIC

What seems to be just another "east meets west" actioner is given the John Frankenheimer treatment and comes up a winner. Scott Glenn is fantastic as a loser boxer recruited to help escort a priceless family heirloom back to Japan, and by the end o f the film he rediscovers his worth as a human being and man. Frankenheimer has always dealt extremely well with themes of "manliness" and this one is no exception. For a good companion piece, check out his even better "round-eye on the loose in Japan" flick THE YAKUZA.

7gavin6942

A True Gem

A down-and-out American boxer (Scott Glenn) becomes involved in a feud between two Japanese brothers.

This is one of those hidden gems you never hear about. A great blend of American and Japanese cinema, some action and some grit. The film really ought to be a cult classic, and yet I feel like very few people have ever heard of it. Most surprising to me is how the film did not seem to get a bump after the Netflix series "Daredevil" took off. In some ways, Scott Glenn's character on that show is very much a continuation of his character here.

Thanks to Kino, the film is available on Blu-ray though it does not seem to have any features. That is too bad. I am always ready for an audio commentary.

Skip McCoy

This film is waiting to be appreciated....

Wow, it's a crying shame that more people haven't seen this one. It's really a lot of fun to watch. Frankenheimer's direction is sharp (as always) and the performances from Glenn and Mifune are pretty okay. The fact that John Sayles worked on the screenplay is what first drew me to it. My expectations were definitively on the lower end (I mean Alligator, Battle Beyond the Stars and Piranha are fun, but.....). So I was pleasantly surprised to find a film that I ended up really enjoying. It's not as good as Sidney Pollack's somewhat similar Yakuza, but they'd make an interesting double feature. The final raid on Mifune's brother's complex is a nice finale.

Gislef

Bottom 100?

Geez, I kinda like this one. It's an interesting look at Japanese culture from an outsider's viewpoint (compare it to The Hunted, with Christopher Lambert and Joan Chen). It makes good use of the same hotel as the one used for the Tyrell Corporation in Blade Runner, and the office/swordfight at the end is a hoot as Scott Glenn turns mere office equipment into deadly kung fu weaponry! Glenn's always worth seeing, even in this, one of his earlier works.

8coolkycouple2004

Great 80's action

I saw this under the title "Sword of the Ninja" back in the 80's and not being a huge fan of martial arts movies, found it very enjoyable. I didn't expect the movie to be so deep...it really has a great story of two Japanese brothers, one traditional and one a powerful businessman, fighting over a set of ancient family swords. The American is brought in as a courrier(and planted thief)and becomes embroiled in the battle.

The amount of action and gore in this movie is unbelievable, and the story even has room for a young boy training to become a warrior and a great scene where the American is introduced to fine Japanese food thats still alive.Moving at a brisk pace, this movie flows well from beginning to end..and what an ending it has!

My rating....7 out of 10

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Storyline

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Did you know

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Trivia
According to Scott Glenn, the original script was about a ruthless club fighter from California with no family and no real background who gets involved in bringing a sword to Japan, and through a lot of crazy adventures he winds up with a martial arts sensei. The core of the movie would have been about father and son finding each other from completely different cultures. After shooting started, Glenn became aware very quickly that all those character-driven scenes were either being cut or shortened to almost non-existence, and that he was doing a martial arts movie. Toshirô Mifune came to him and told him: "Look, this is what's happening. I'm disappointed, and I know you are, but this is what it is. So you can either have your heart broken every day, or you can use this experience as an opportunity to be spending an interesting time in Japan with me as your tour guide." Glenn accepted Mifune's offer.

Goofs
After Akiko disappears at the street festival, Rick runs into a guy with a walkie-talkie. As they're talking, people passing in the background look at the camera, duck, and run out of frame.

Quotes
Rick: Any rules?
Yoshida: One fights to survive.

Alternate versions
The movie was renamed "Sword of the Ninja" for the U.S. Television version shown and was drastically reedited by about ten minutes due to it's graphic violence (decapitations, gun play, etc.) It also features commercial interludes that go into a silver portrait that would stop the film where the commercial break would begin and then return to the film after the commercial with the same interlude fading back into the film. This version of the film has rarely been seen since the late 90's and has been shown it's original 108 min. uncut version on cable networks since then.