The Octagon (film)
Encyclopedia
The Octagon is a 1980
action film
with Chuck Norris
in the leading role. It was directed by Eric Karson and written by Paul Aaron and Leigh Chapman. It was filmed in Los Angeles, California
and released on August 14, 1980. It is notable for its inventive use of 'voice over' effects to portray the inner life of Chuck Norris's character, Scott James. This was actor Richard Norton's film debut.
) must stop a group of terrorists trained in the ninja style by his half-brother (Tadashi Yamashita
).
The film opens with a short scene at a terrorist training camp. The main instructor, Katsumoto (Yuki Shimoda
) tells the graduating class that all of their actions and whereabouts will be known and that if they do anything to expose or harm the group, they and their families will be killed.
The film then cuts to an assassination of a diplomat by members of the group. One of the terrorists is shot by a bodyguard while the others escape.
We then meet Scott James (Chuck Norris
), a retired karate champion, who is at a dance performance. After the performance, he meets one of the dancers named Nancy (Kim Lankford
). He takes her out to dinner because he is interested in how she incorporated the martial arts into her routine. She seems distant during the dinner and is more concerned about a recent assassination that took place abroad. She wonders if “an American was killed.”
Scott takes Nancy home, and he senses that someone is there. The lights don’t work as they enter, and then they are attacked by a group of ninjas. Scott fights them off, but they end up killing Nancy. After he restores power to the house, he notices that the entire family has been killed.
The next day, Scott goes to see an old mercenary friend named McCarn (Lee Van Cleef
). Scott asks him if he knows about any ninja activity. However, McCarn tells him, “If you are seeing ninja, you are seeing ghosts.” McCarn tries to recruit Scott to join his cause in eliminating terrorists, but Scott declines.
On his way back from McCarn’s place, Scott encounters a rich lady named Justine (Karen Carlson
), who managed to get her car stuck on the side of the road. She asks Scott for help, and after he helps her, she takes his keys, forcing him to walk back to her place to get them.
Scott goes back to Justine’s house to get his keys, and she pretends to find them in her purse. She offers to drive him back since “It would be the only decent thing to do.” Scott agrees, only on the condition that this time, he drives.
On their way back, Scott and Justine are chased by two cars. Scott and Justine manage to evade their pursuers. After Scott gets back to his car, Justine identifies one of the cars as being “her bodyguards.” Scott then asks her out to dinner since she has now become “an object of concern.”
Before their date, Scott goes back to McCarn’s and notices that the car that was chasing them belonged to McCarn. He confronts Justine, and she confesses that she hired McCarn to be her bodyguard because McCarn told her that Scott would not accept her offer of employment. She also wants him to kill a man named Seikura (Tadashi Yamashita
). She confesses that her father was killed by terrorists and that she has since been on a crusade to eliminate them. She has managed to help “retire” two of the three main terrorist leaders, but Seikura remains. Scott is insulted by her actions, and he promptly declines her offer and leaves.
Scott’s friend, A.J. (Art Hindle
) is a karate champion and feels frustrated by the recent terrorist attacks that have taken place both abroad and on Nancy. He decides to start going after terrorists himself. He tries to find a German terrorist, but that terrorist gets killed by McCarn’s men before A.J. can catch him. McCarn then fills A.J. in on just who he is and his relationship to Scott. He also tells A.J. that it was Nancy’s brother who was killed in the terrorist attack abroad and that she was killed in retaliation. A. J. decides to join McCarn’s cause.
We see a flashback where Scott remembers training with his half brother Seikura. He and his brother are seen running through an obstacle course to obtain a sword. Scott stumbles at the end but still manages to get the sword. However, his enraged brother grabs the sword and declares it to be his. Scott’s adoptive father (John Fujioka), then berates Seikura and disowns him. He tells Scott that Seikura is now his enemy for life.
The movie cuts to a scene at the Octagon training camp where a new group of recruits has graduated. One recruit, Aura (Carol Bagdasarian) has reservations about what she is doing but leaves the camp to report to a terrorist dispatcher named “Doggo” (Kurt Grayson).
Scott realizes that A.J. and McCarn are right, so he signs up and attends a mercenary recruiting camp in an attempt to be recruited so he can get to Seikura. He gets interviewed at Doggo’s camp, but Doggo knows his true identity, and he refuses his services. Scott then has to fight his way out of Doggo’s facility, defeating “Longlegs” (Richard Norton
) and “Hatband” (Aaron Norris
) and returns to his hotel.
Later that day, Aura grabs Scott’s file and defects from Doggo’s camp. Meanwhile, Justine manages to recruit A.J. to find Seikura. As Scott goes back to his room, he encounters Aura, and she tells him that she regrets what she has done and that she can lead him to Seikura’s camp. Justine then comes by to try once more to get Scott to help her, but she gives up after seeing Aura and decides to get Seikura herself. As she goes out of the hotel with A.J., she is hit with a poisoned dart from one of Doggo’s men and dies. A.J. then leaves to find Seikura’s place while McCarn stays behind to watch Scott.
A few hours later, several ninja are seen scaling the hotel. They attack Scott and Aura but are defeated—the last shot by one of McCarn’s men as he is descending the hotel. A firefight then erupts between McCarn’s men and Doggo’s men, and all of Doggo’s men are killed. Scott and Aura then depart for Seikura’s.
A.J. is then shown finding Seikura’s place the hard way, and he is eventually captured and taken prisoner. Aura gets Scott to the compound, and Scott infiltrates the camp. He is eventually discovered and led to an area known as “The Octagon” (a building filled with treacherous paths and enemies). Scott fights his way through and ends up fighting Seikura’s “enforcer” named “Kyo” (again, played by Richard Norton
). Scott defeats Kyo, and as a result, Seikura kills A.J. by slitting his throat. Scott and Seikura fight, but Seikura escapes the compound. Meanwhile, Aura infiltrates the compound and recruits several of her fellow former trainees to fight back and burn the compound to the ground. They end up destroying the entire camp, but only Aura manages to survive. She then goes after Scott and Seikura. As the sun is coming up, she sees Seikura attack Scott from behind. However, Scott stabs Seikura with his sword and the movie ends with Scott standing over Seikura’s body.
films. However, critics were not so kind, and the film only has a current 20% rating on Rotten Tomatoes
. It has been recommended for "fans of the genre only."
1980 in film
- Events :* May 21 - Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back is released and is the biggest grosser of the year ....
action film
Action film
Action film is a film genre where one or more heroes is thrust into a series of challenges that require physical feats, extended fights and frenetic chases...
with Chuck Norris
Chuck Norris
Carlos Ray "Chuck" Norris is an American martial artist and actor. After serving in the United States Air Force, he began his rise to fame as a martial artist and has since founded his own school, Chun Kuk Do...
in the leading role. It was directed by Eric Karson and written by Paul Aaron and Leigh Chapman. It was filmed in Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
and released on August 14, 1980. It is notable for its inventive use of 'voice over' effects to portray the inner life of Chuck Norris's character, Scott James. This was actor Richard Norton's film debut.
Plot
A martial artist (Chuck NorrisChuck Norris
Carlos Ray "Chuck" Norris is an American martial artist and actor. After serving in the United States Air Force, he began his rise to fame as a martial artist and has since founded his own school, Chun Kuk Do...
) must stop a group of terrorists trained in the ninja style by his half-brother (Tadashi Yamashita
Tadashi Yamashita
is an Japanese American martial arts instructor and actor.- Biography :Yamashita was born in mainland Japan but raised in Okinawa, where he earned a black belt at the age of 16...
).
The film opens with a short scene at a terrorist training camp. The main instructor, Katsumoto (Yuki Shimoda
Yuki Shimoda
Yuki Shimoda was an American actor best known for his starring role as Ko Wakatsuki in the NBC movie of the week, Farewell to Manzanar in 1976. He also co-starred in a 1960s television series, Johnny Midnight , with Edmond O'Brien. He was a star of the silver screen, early television and the stage...
) tells the graduating class that all of their actions and whereabouts will be known and that if they do anything to expose or harm the group, they and their families will be killed.
The film then cuts to an assassination of a diplomat by members of the group. One of the terrorists is shot by a bodyguard while the others escape.
We then meet Scott James (Chuck Norris
Chuck Norris
Carlos Ray "Chuck" Norris is an American martial artist and actor. After serving in the United States Air Force, he began his rise to fame as a martial artist and has since founded his own school, Chun Kuk Do...
), a retired karate champion, who is at a dance performance. After the performance, he meets one of the dancers named Nancy (Kim Lankford
Kim Lankford
Kim Lankford is an American actress and businesswoman.-Personal life:She is an ex-girlfriend of Warren Zevon. Kim Lankford has never been married or had any children.-Acting career:...
). He takes her out to dinner because he is interested in how she incorporated the martial arts into her routine. She seems distant during the dinner and is more concerned about a recent assassination that took place abroad. She wonders if “an American was killed.”
Scott takes Nancy home, and he senses that someone is there. The lights don’t work as they enter, and then they are attacked by a group of ninjas. Scott fights them off, but they end up killing Nancy. After he restores power to the house, he notices that the entire family has been killed.
The next day, Scott goes to see an old mercenary friend named McCarn (Lee Van Cleef
Lee Van Cleef
Lee Van Cleef was an American film actor who appeared mostly in Western and action pictures. His sharp features and piercing eyes led to his being cast as a villain in scores of films such as High Noon, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance and The Good The Bad and the Ugly.-Early life:Van Cleef was...
). Scott asks him if he knows about any ninja activity. However, McCarn tells him, “If you are seeing ninja, you are seeing ghosts.” McCarn tries to recruit Scott to join his cause in eliminating terrorists, but Scott declines.
On his way back from McCarn’s place, Scott encounters a rich lady named Justine (Karen Carlson
Karen Carlson
- Career :Carlson was born in Shreveport, Louisiana. She has appeared in many television series and a few films. Her film credits include Shame, Shame, Everybody Knows Her Name , The Candidate with Robert Redford and The Octagon with Chuck Norris...
), who managed to get her car stuck on the side of the road. She asks Scott for help, and after he helps her, she takes his keys, forcing him to walk back to her place to get them.
Scott goes back to Justine’s house to get his keys, and she pretends to find them in her purse. She offers to drive him back since “It would be the only decent thing to do.” Scott agrees, only on the condition that this time, he drives.
On their way back, Scott and Justine are chased by two cars. Scott and Justine manage to evade their pursuers. After Scott gets back to his car, Justine identifies one of the cars as being “her bodyguards.” Scott then asks her out to dinner since she has now become “an object of concern.”
Before their date, Scott goes back to McCarn’s and notices that the car that was chasing them belonged to McCarn. He confronts Justine, and she confesses that she hired McCarn to be her bodyguard because McCarn told her that Scott would not accept her offer of employment. She also wants him to kill a man named Seikura (Tadashi Yamashita
Tadashi Yamashita
is an Japanese American martial arts instructor and actor.- Biography :Yamashita was born in mainland Japan but raised in Okinawa, where he earned a black belt at the age of 16...
). She confesses that her father was killed by terrorists and that she has since been on a crusade to eliminate them. She has managed to help “retire” two of the three main terrorist leaders, but Seikura remains. Scott is insulted by her actions, and he promptly declines her offer and leaves.
Scott’s friend, A.J. (Art Hindle
Art Hindle
Arthur Hindle is a Canadian actor and director.Hindle was born in Halifax. His family moved to Toronto while he was a child. Although shy as a youngster, he grew to be a rebellious and independent teenager...
) is a karate champion and feels frustrated by the recent terrorist attacks that have taken place both abroad and on Nancy. He decides to start going after terrorists himself. He tries to find a German terrorist, but that terrorist gets killed by McCarn’s men before A.J. can catch him. McCarn then fills A.J. in on just who he is and his relationship to Scott. He also tells A.J. that it was Nancy’s brother who was killed in the terrorist attack abroad and that she was killed in retaliation. A. J. decides to join McCarn’s cause.
We see a flashback where Scott remembers training with his half brother Seikura. He and his brother are seen running through an obstacle course to obtain a sword. Scott stumbles at the end but still manages to get the sword. However, his enraged brother grabs the sword and declares it to be his. Scott’s adoptive father (John Fujioka), then berates Seikura and disowns him. He tells Scott that Seikura is now his enemy for life.
The movie cuts to a scene at the Octagon training camp where a new group of recruits has graduated. One recruit, Aura (Carol Bagdasarian) has reservations about what she is doing but leaves the camp to report to a terrorist dispatcher named “Doggo” (Kurt Grayson).
Scott realizes that A.J. and McCarn are right, so he signs up and attends a mercenary recruiting camp in an attempt to be recruited so he can get to Seikura. He gets interviewed at Doggo’s camp, but Doggo knows his true identity, and he refuses his services. Scott then has to fight his way out of Doggo’s facility, defeating “Longlegs” (Richard Norton
Richard Norton
Richard Norton is a martial artist, action film star, and stuntman. Norton worked as a bodyguard in the entertainment business before pursuing an acting career...
) and “Hatband” (Aaron Norris
Aaron Norris
Aaron Norris is an American film producer, director, and actor.-Personal information:Norris, who is of Irish descent, is the younger brother of Chuck Norris. During the Vietnam war, both Aaron and his older brother Wieland Clyde Norris enlisted in the United States Army...
) and returns to his hotel.
Later that day, Aura grabs Scott’s file and defects from Doggo’s camp. Meanwhile, Justine manages to recruit A.J. to find Seikura. As Scott goes back to his room, he encounters Aura, and she tells him that she regrets what she has done and that she can lead him to Seikura’s camp. Justine then comes by to try once more to get Scott to help her, but she gives up after seeing Aura and decides to get Seikura herself. As she goes out of the hotel with A.J., she is hit with a poisoned dart from one of Doggo’s men and dies. A.J. then leaves to find Seikura’s place while McCarn stays behind to watch Scott.
A few hours later, several ninja are seen scaling the hotel. They attack Scott and Aura but are defeated—the last shot by one of McCarn’s men as he is descending the hotel. A firefight then erupts between McCarn’s men and Doggo’s men, and all of Doggo’s men are killed. Scott and Aura then depart for Seikura’s.
A.J. is then shown finding Seikura’s place the hard way, and he is eventually captured and taken prisoner. Aura gets Scott to the compound, and Scott infiltrates the camp. He is eventually discovered and led to an area known as “The Octagon” (a building filled with treacherous paths and enemies). Scott fights his way through and ends up fighting Seikura’s “enforcer” named “Kyo” (again, played by Richard Norton
Richard Norton
Richard Norton is a martial artist, action film star, and stuntman. Norton worked as a bodyguard in the entertainment business before pursuing an acting career...
). Scott defeats Kyo, and as a result, Seikura kills A.J. by slitting his throat. Scott and Seikura fight, but Seikura escapes the compound. Meanwhile, Aura infiltrates the compound and recruits several of her fellow former trainees to fight back and burn the compound to the ground. They end up destroying the entire camp, but only Aura manages to survive. She then goes after Scott and Seikura. As the sun is coming up, she sees Seikura attack Scott from behind. However, Scott stabs Seikura with his sword and the movie ends with Scott standing over Seikura’s body.
Cast
| Actor | Role |
|---|---|
| Chuck Norris Chuck Norris Carlos Ray "Chuck" Norris is an American martial artist and actor. After serving in the United States Air Force, he began his rise to fame as a martial artist and has since founded his own school, Chun Kuk Do... |
Scott James |
| Karen Carlson Karen Carlson - Career :Carlson was born in Shreveport, Louisiana. She has appeared in many television series and a few films. Her film credits include Shame, Shame, Everybody Knows Her Name , The Candidate with Robert Redford and The Octagon with Chuck Norris... |
Justine Wentworth |
| Lee Van Cleef Lee Van Cleef Lee Van Cleef was an American film actor who appeared mostly in Western and action pictures. His sharp features and piercing eyes led to his being cast as a villain in scores of films such as High Noon, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance and The Good The Bad and the Ugly.-Early life:Van Cleef was... |
McCarn |
| Tadashi Yamashita Tadashi Yamashita is an Japanese American martial arts instructor and actor.- Biography :Yamashita was born in mainland Japan but raised in Okinawa, where he earned a black belt at the age of 16... |
Seikura |
| Carol Bagdasarian | Aura |
| Richard Norton | Kyo/Longlegs |
| Art Hindle Art Hindle Arthur Hindle is a Canadian actor and director.Hindle was born in Halifax. His family moved to Toronto while he was a child. Although shy as a youngster, he grew to be a rebellious and independent teenager... |
A.J. |
| Kim Lankford Kim Lankford Kim Lankford is an American actress and businesswoman.-Personal life:She is an ex-girlfriend of Warren Zevon. Kim Lankford has never been married or had any children.-Acting career:... |
Nancy |
| Kurt Grayson | Doggo |
| Yuki Shimoda Yuki Shimoda Yuki Shimoda was an American actor best known for his starring role as Ko Wakatsuki in the NBC movie of the week, Farewell to Manzanar in 1976. He also co-starred in a 1960s television series, Johnny Midnight , with Edmond O'Brien. He was a star of the silver screen, early television and the stage... |
Katsumoto |
| Jack Carter Jack Carter Jack Carter may refer to:* Jack Carter, fictional character created by Ted Lewis** from the novels Jack's Return Home, Jack Carter's Law, and Jack Carter and the Mafia Pigeon** from the films Get Carter and Get Carter... |
Sharkey |
| Ernie Hudson Ernie Hudson Ernest Lee "Ernie" Hudson is an American actor known for his roles as Winston Zeddemore in the Ghostbusters film series, Sergeant Albrecht in The Crow, and Warden Leo Glynn on HBO's Oz.-Early life:... |
Quinine |
| Larry D. Mann Larry D. Mann Larry D. Mann is a Canadian actor. Prior to his acting career, he was a disk jockey on CHUM 1050 radio in Toronto in 1949. His best-known Canadian television exposure was in a Bell Canada series of commercials called "The Boss" in which he played the title role for ten years beginning in 1981... |
Tibor |
| Aaron Norris Aaron Norris Aaron Norris is an American film producer, director, and actor.-Personal information:Norris, who is of Irish descent, is the younger brother of Chuck Norris. During the Vietnam war, both Aaron and his older brother Wieland Clyde Norris enlisted in the United States Army... |
Hatband |
| John Fujioka | Isawa the Teacher |
| Michael Norris | Scott at eighteen |
| Brian Tochi Brian Tochi Brian Keith Tochihara , better known as Brian Tochi, is a U.S. actor, screen-writer, movie director and producer. He was widely recognized as the most popular East Asian child actor working in U.S. television during the late 1960s through much of the 1970s having appeared in various T.V. series and... |
Seikura at eighteen |
Reception
The Octagon is considered to be a cult favorite for martial arts films' fans of the 1980s. A large number of ninja films soon followed, most notably, the Sho KosugiSho Kosugi
Sho Kosugi is a Japanese martial artist with training in shindō jinen-ryū karate who gained popularity as an actor during the 1980s, usually playing a ninja. He is the father of Kane Kosugi and Shane Kosugi. After taking a hiatus from film, he started a taiko group in California...
films. However, critics were not so kind, and the film only has a current 20% rating on Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
. It has been recommended for "fans of the genre only."