American Kickboxer
| American Kickboxer | |
|---|---|
Original Poster
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| Directed by | Frans Nel |
| Produced by | Anant Singh |
| Written by | Emil Kolbe |
| Starring |
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| Music by | Frank Becker |
| Cinematography | Paul Morkel |
| Edited by | Renee Engelbrecht |
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Production
company |
Distant Horizon
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| Distributed by | Cannon Films |
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Release date
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Running time
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92 minutes |
| Country |
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| Language | English |
American Kickboxer (also known as American Kickboxer 1) is a 1991 South African martial arts film directed by Frans Nel and written by Emil Kolbe, based on an original story by the film's lead actor, John Barrett.
B.J. Quinn (John Barrett) is the current middleweight kickboxing champion of the world. His next opponent is Chad Hunter (Keith Vitali). Hunter proves to be quite the opponent with his impressive skills. In the second round, Quinn accidentally hits Chad with an elbow while going for a spinning back fist, causing the doctor to stop the fight. Quinn retains his title.
At a party celebrating a new sponsor to kickboxing, middleweight contender and cocky fighter Jacques Denard (Brad Morris) hits on Quinn's girlfriend Carol (Terry Norton). Quinn, seeing what Denard is doing, begins to confront him. As the two begin to push each other, party goer Ken (Gavin Hood) gets into the mix to split them up. However, Quinn punches Ken so hard that he crashes through a table and ends up dead. At the trial, despite Chad's testimony that Quinn would have needed a reason to kill Ken, Denard's testimony proves enough to get Quinn convicted for twelve months on manslaughter charges. In addition, Quinn is no longer allowed to compete in professional kickboxing.
A year has passed and Quinn has been freed from prison. Upon returning, he is shocked to learn that Denard, the man whose testimony has put him away due to pure hatred of him, has become the middleweight champion. Denard, in all his glory, proves to be a complete showboating type who resorts to using dirty tactics and has felt both the ire of kickboxing promoter Bob Wiser (Len Sparrowhawk) and the heckling of journalist Willard (Ted Le Plat), who had done the same to Quinn during his days as a champion.
Meanwhile, Quinn had learned that Chad Hunter had stood up for him during the trial and has befriended him. Chad is up for a title shot against Denard and asks Quinn to train him. Quinn agrees, but he starts to let his personal demons catch up to him. During a sparring session, Quinn gets too rough with Chad, who confronts him. Quinn knows that Denard has gotten under his skin for a long time and he begins to take his frustrations out on both Chad and Carol. Chad loses badly to Denard in their title fight and is sent to the hospital, where Quinn again trashes Chad. At another party, a drunken Quinn finally confronts Denard and beats him relentlessly using a chair, prompting Carol to leave him.
Depressed and alone, Quinn finds another place to live and slowly begins to realize the mistakes he has made. Chad, who has ultimately forgiven Quinn, asks Quinn to help out at his school. Defusing a situation between two students, Quinn again begins to value what he has and begins a road of redemption for himself through training. Carol returns and she and Quinn rekindle their relationship. Denard, upset from the beating at the party, decides to challenge Quinn to a fight. However, knowing that Quinn cannot fight as a professional, Denard makes the challenge for $100,000.
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