Former Green Beret Louis Stevens (Mark Dacascos) returns to his hometown of Miami after completing military service in Brazil, only to learn that his old high school has become a haven for gangs and drug dealers. After Stevens uses his capoeira skills to kick several drug dealers off the school property, Mr. Kerrigan (Geoffrey Lewis), one of Stevens' old teachers, sees the impact that Stevens has on the students. Kerrigan gives him the task of teaching capoeira to a handful of the worst at-risk students at the school, giving Stevens an abandoned fire station as their practice area. While doing so, Stevens earns the ire of the local drug lord, Silverio Aliveres (Paco Christian Prieto), whose younger cousin, Orlando Aliveres (Richard Coca), is one of Stevens' students. Silverio is also a master of capoeira, and he engages Stevens in combat, beating him viciously. The horrified Orlando resolves to learn everything he can from Stevens. Stevens' class learns quickly, and they become very skilled at capoeira. The principal, delighted, proposes a district-wide capoeira program to the school board. After a field trip with his class, Stevens once again clashes with Silverio, who declares war against him.
Silverio's gang terrorizes the high school and sets fire to Kerrigan's classroom, resulting in the death of one of Stevens' students. As a result of this incident, Stevens is accused at fault, banished from the school grounds and the capoeira program is terminated. In retaliation to the attack, Stevens sneaks into Silverio's chop shop and defeats the workers before setting a cash-filled car on fire. Furious, Silverio orders the gang to bring Stevens to him alive. Orlando flees to get help. After a desperate battle, Stevens is finally captured and brought to a bonfire, where Silverio awaits. However, Stevens' capoeira students bar their path in an attempt to rescue their teacher. Before a brawl can ensue, the exhausted Stevens challenges Silverio to single combat to win back his students. After a grueling battle, Stevens defeats Silverio before the police arrive, sending the gang scattering in all directions. With this defeat, Silverio's reputation as crime lord is gone.
Stevens' capoeira program proves such a success that his students graduate from high school. To celebrate, they join a Brazilian capoeira team to perform for Stevens at the graduation ceremony.
Sergio Kato as Silverio's Bodyguard #3 (uncredited)
C.C. DeNeira as Hooker (uncredited)
Production
Though Mark Dacascos is a talented martial artist, his background is not initially in capoeira. Just prior to his audition, he received his training from famed capoeirista Amen Santo, who was responsible for much of the fight choreography and has a small role in the film.[2]
Soundtrack
Only the Strong (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack), composed of eleven hip hop and capoeira music songs, was released in 1993 via Fox Records. It features contributions from Jibril Serapis Bey, Marcel Branch, Patrick McCain, Donna Simon, Mellow Man Ace, Miami Boyz and New Version of Soul, as well as Kao Rossman, Scott G., Iki Levy, Stuart S. Shapiro, Blueblood, DJ Muggs, Kid Fury and LRoc on production duties. The most prominent songs in the film are Serapis Bey's "Paranauȇ" and "Zoom-Zoom-Zoom" - the latter being more well known as the theme song for Mazda's TV commercials.[3][4][5]
Only the Strong earned US$3,273,588 at the U.S. box office, making only more than half of its US$6 million budget.[1]
The film was universally panned by critics, earning an 8% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on 13 reviews.[6]Roger Ebert gave the film one out of four stars, saying, "The message of a movie like Only the Strong, building on the fascist undertones of its title, is almost cruel in its stupidity and naivete. It's almost a relief that few people in the audience for such a film ever remember if it even had a message or not".[7] Joe Brown of The Washington Post also wrote a scathing review, saying it "relies slightly less relentlessly on violence for its own sake than most in this genre, but the film is clumsily assembled and edited, heavy on the slow-mo, and its simplistic story plays like 'The Kids From Fame' armed with very sharp knives".[8]
^Allen, Terence (May 1996). "Five hot martial arts videos: For the action filled films". Black Belt: 86–88.
^Only the Strong (End credits from 1:34:56). Sheldon Lettich. 20th Century Fox. 2003 [1993].{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
^"Only the Strong (Soundtrack)". Amazon. August 10, 1993. Retrieved October 7, 2012.
^"Soundtracks for Only the Strong (1993)". www.imdb.com. Retrieved October 7, 2012.
only, strong, film, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sources, only, strong, film, news, newspapers, books, sch. This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Only the Strong film news newspapers books scholar JSTOR November 2020 Learn how and when to remove this template message Only the Strong is a 1993 martial arts film directed by Sheldon Lettich starring Mark Dacascos It is considered to be the only Hollywood film that showcases capoeira an Afro Brazilian martial art from beginning to end Only the StrongDirected bySheldon LettichWritten bySheldon LettichLuis EstebanProduced bySamuel HadidaStuart S ShapiroSteven MenkinStarringMark Dacascos Stacey Travis Paco Christian Prieto Todd Susman Geoffrey LewisEdited byStephen SemelMusic byHarvey W MasonProductioncompaniesDavis FilmsFreestone PicturesAugust EntertainmentDistributed byPolyGram Filmed Entertainment International Twentieth Century Fox United States Release dateAugust 27 1993 1993 08 27 Running time99 minutesLanguageEnglishBudget 6 000 000 US Box office 3 273 588 US 1 Contents 1 Plot 2 Cast 3 Production 4 Soundtrack 5 Box office and reception 6 References 7 External linksPlot EditFormer Green Beret Louis Stevens Mark Dacascos returns to his hometown of Miami after completing military service in Brazil only to learn that his old high school has become a haven for gangs and drug dealers After Stevens uses his capoeira skills to kick several drug dealers off the school property Mr Kerrigan Geoffrey Lewis one of Stevens old teachers sees the impact that Stevens has on the students Kerrigan gives him the task of teaching capoeira to a handful of the worst at risk students at the school giving Stevens an abandoned fire station as their practice area While doing so Stevens earns the ire of the local drug lord Silverio Aliveres Paco Christian Prieto whose younger cousin Orlando Aliveres Richard Coca is one of Stevens students Silverio is also a master of capoeira and he engages Stevens in combat beating him viciously The horrified Orlando resolves to learn everything he can from Stevens Stevens class learns quickly and they become very skilled at capoeira The principal delighted proposes a district wide capoeira program to the school board After a field trip with his class Stevens once again clashes with Silverio who declares war against him Silverio s gang terrorizes the high school and sets fire to Kerrigan s classroom resulting in the death of one of Stevens students As a result of this incident Stevens is accused at fault banished from the school grounds and the capoeira program is terminated In retaliation to the attack Stevens sneaks into Silverio s chop shop and defeats the workers before setting a cash filled car on fire Furious Silverio orders the gang to bring Stevens to him alive Orlando flees to get help After a desperate battle Stevens is finally captured and brought to a bonfire where Silverio awaits However Stevens capoeira students bar their path in an attempt to rescue their teacher Before a brawl can ensue the exhausted Stevens challenges Silverio to single combat to win back his students After a grueling battle Stevens defeats Silverio before the police arrive sending the gang scattering in all directions With this defeat Silverio s reputation as crime lord is gone Stevens capoeira program proves such a success that his students graduate from high school To celebrate they join a Brazilian capoeira team to perform for Stevens at the graduation ceremony Cast EditMark Dacascos as Louis Stevens Stacey Travis as Dianna Paco Christian Prieto as Silverio Aliveres Geoffrey Lewis as Mr Kerrigan Todd Susman as Mr Cochran Jeffrey Anderson Gunter as Philippe Richard Coca as Orlando Aliveres Roman Cardwell as Shay Ryan Bollman as Donovan Christian Klemash as Eddie John Fionte as Hector Cervantes John Gregory Kasper as Coach Kasper Phyllis Sukoff as Mrs Esposito Mellow Man Ace as Student Rapper Stuart S Shapiro as John Joselito Amen Santo as Javier Adeniri S Ajamu as Chief Ajamo Antoni Corone as Green Beret Sergeant Saudia Young as Hooker Sergio Pereira as Silverio s Bodyguard 1 Michael F Lagapa as Silverio s Bodyguard 2 Sergio Kato as Silverio s Bodyguard 3 uncredited C C DeNeira as Hooker uncredited Production EditThough Mark Dacascos is a talented martial artist his background is not initially in capoeira Just prior to his audition he received his training from famed capoeirista Amen Santo who was responsible for much of the fight choreography and has a small role in the film 2 Soundtrack EditOnly the Strong Original Motion Picture Soundtrack composed of eleven hip hop and capoeira music songs was released in 1993 via Fox Records It features contributions from Jibril Serapis Bey Marcel Branch Patrick McCain Donna Simon Mellow Man Ace Miami Boyz and New Version of Soul as well as Kao Rossman Scott G Iki Levy Stuart S Shapiro Blueblood DJ Muggs Kid Fury and LRoc on production duties The most prominent songs in the film are Serapis Bey s Paranauȇ and Zoom Zoom Zoom the latter being more well known as the theme song for Mazda s TV commercials 3 4 5 No TitleWriter s Producer s Length1 Paranaue performed by Jibril Serapis Bey Kao RossmanStuart ShapiroKao RossmanStuart S Shapiro3 102 Miami Boyz performed by Miami Boyz A CuffBrian GrahamKid Fury of Bass Patrol3 513 Zoom Zoom Zoom performed by Jibril Serapis Bey RossmanKao Rossman2 534 Comin Together Scot Wendell GreeneLevy YizhaqScott G Iki Levy1 375 Babalu Bad Boy performed by Mellow Man Ace Ulpiano ReyesLawrence MuggerudDJ Muggs3 436 Swang da Funk performed by New Version of Soul Brion H GibsonJames Elbert PhillipsJames Ray HallMichael Bernard CrockerMichael O JohnsonPhillip Madison JonesS OwingsBluebloodLRoc4 177 Donovan s Mix RossmanTony VargasKao RossmanStuart S Shapiro2 558 Olele O Lala performed by Jibril Serapis Bey VargasKao Rossman3 099 Enter the Dojo YizhaqScott G Iki Levy3 2210 Only the Strong performed by Marcel Branch Patrick McCain and Donna Simon Marcel BranchPatrick McCainDonna Aileen SimonYizhaqGreeneRossmanShapiroScott G Iki Levy4 1011 Only the Strong Remix performed by Marcel Branch Patrick McCain and Donna Simon BranchMcCainSimonGreeneYizhaqRossmanShapiroScott G Iki LevyThe Baka Boyz add 3 04Total length 36 11Box office and reception EditOnly the Strong earned US 3 273 588 at the U S box office making only more than half of its US 6 million budget 1 The film was universally panned by critics earning an 8 approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on 13 reviews 6 Roger Ebert gave the film one out of four stars saying The message of a movie like Only the Strong building on the fascist undertones of its title is almost cruel in its stupidity and naivete It s almost a relief that few people in the audience for such a film ever remember if it even had a message or not 7 Joe Brown of The Washington Post also wrote a scathing review saying it relies slightly less relentlessly on violence for its own sake than most in this genre but the film is clumsily assembled and edited heavy on the slow mo and its simplistic story plays like The Kids From Fame armed with very sharp knives 8 References Edit a b Box Office Mojo Only the Strong Allen Terence May 1996 Five hot martial arts videos For the action filled films Black Belt 86 88 Only the Strong End credits from 1 34 56 Sheldon Lettich 20th Century Fox 2003 1993 a href Template Cite AV media notes html title Template Cite AV media notes cite AV media notes a CS1 maint others in cite AV media notes link Only the Strong Soundtrack Amazon August 10 1993 Retrieved October 7 2012 Soundtracks for Only the Strong 1993 www imdb com Retrieved October 7 2012 Only the Strong at Rotten Tomatoes Ebert Roger 1993 08 27 Only the Strong Chicago Sun Times Retrieved 2012 01 17 Brown Joe 1993 08 27 Only the Strong The Washington Post Retrieved 2012 01 17 External links EditOnly the Strong at IMDb Only the Strong at Rotten Tomatoes Only the Strong at Box Office Mojo Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Only the Strong film amp oldid 1117586579, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
