10 Things You Didn’t Know About Kickboxer
2024 marked the 35th Anniversary of the release of the Jean-Claude Van Damme classic, Kickboxer!
To celebrate this milestone anniversary, Lionsgate has gone all out with a 4K Steelbook release, and it is a thing of beauty and a must for all Jean-Claude Van Damme physical media enthusiasts.
The set comes in a holographic slip cover and the Steelbook itself features some eye popping artwork that pays tribute to Kurt Sloane (Jean-Claude Van Damme) and Tong Po (Michel Qissi).
The release contains three discs. Disc 1 is the 4K Ultra HD version, while Disc 2 is the standard Blu-ray version. Disc 3 is the bonus disc, featuring the international cut of the movie. Disc 1 and Disc 2 also contain the Special Features which include interviews with Jean-Claude Van Damme, Michel Qissi, Dennis Chan and Director of Photography Jon Kranhouse.
There are also two commentary tracks included in the release. One with Producer-Director Mark DiSalle and Action Film Historian Mike Leer, the other with Director David Worth, Haskell Anderson and Film Historian James Bennett.
The special features were the source material for this post as I present 10 Things You Didn’t Know About Kickboxer…
1. Mark DiSalle got the idea for Kickboxer after reading a Wall Street Journal article on Muay Thai fighting. The article described how fighters used to use resin and broken glass for gloves and that was the spark that created the story.
2. One of the early drafts of the Kickboxer script had Tong Po coming to Los Angeles for an exhibition fight against Kurt Sloane. The fight ends when Tong Po is disqualified. An angry Tong Po then decides to track down Kurt at his home and it’s there Tong Po inadvertently kills Kurt’s mother, which then prompts Kurt to go to Thailand to avenge his mother.
3. There wasn’t enough money in the budget to pay for the thousands of extras that were needed to fill the seats for the fight scenes filmed at “Bangkok Stadium”. But, loaning out one Rolls Royce (that belonged to Producer Charles Wang) to the right General, and suddenly Mark DiSalle had thousands of enthusiastic solders to serve as extras. Problem solved.
4. According to Michel Qissi, Harold Diamond (Rambo III) was originally signed to play Tong Po. At the last minute that fell through, and that’s when Jean-Claude Van Damme pushed for Michel Qissi to play Tong Po instead. To help seal, makeup effects man Earl Ellis was called upon to transform the Moroccan Michel Qissi into Thailand’s own, Tong Po!
5. The only note that the studio gave DiSalle concerned the title of the movie. They believed it should be titled The Kickboxer, instead of Kickboxer.
6. Stone City is an actual site with great religious significance in Thai culture, because of that the Thailand government never allowed anyone to shoot there before. However, Charles Wang came through once again and pulled some strings and got them permission to shoot there.
7. The scene where Xian (Dennis Chan) ties a piece of meat to Kurt Sloane’s leg to get him to run faster, was based on Jean-Claude Van Damme’s actual experience training under his sensei, Claude Goetz.
8. The shot of Kurt training underwater was shot in a pool with a painted canvas background. It was the same pool that Tao Liu is relaxing by when Freddie Li comes to place his big bet on the Tong Po vs. Kurt Sloane fight.
9. The famous dancing scene is a result of Mark DiSalle and his wife marveling at Jean-Claude Van Damme’s dancing skills at a post-Bloodsport party. DiSalle knew right then and there, that they needed to work Van Damme dancing into Kickboxer.
10. Shooting on location proved to be challenging thanks to the heat, humidity and the bugs! Once again, it was Charles Wang to the rescue as he provided Mark DiSalle with a beeper like gadget that kept the bugs away. Goodbye to Bugs, indeed!
