The eighth episode of our season on the awesome movie year of 1984 features Jason’s personal pick, John G. Avildsen’s The Karate Kid. Directed by John G. Avildsen from a script by Robert Mark Kamen and starring Ralph Macchio, Noriyuki “Pat” Morita, Elisabeth Shue, William Zabka, Martin Kove and Randee Heller, The Karate Kid was a box-office hit that launched a long-running franchise.

The contemporary reviews quoted in this episode come from Roger Ebert (https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/the-karate-kid-1984), Janet Maslin in the New York Times (https://www.nytimes.com/1984/06/22/movies/screen-karate-kid-bane-of-bullies.html), and Richard Schickel in Time Magazine (http://content.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,926687-2,00.html).

Our special guest in this episode is singer, songwriter and musician Joe Esposito. Find him on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/JoeBeanEsposito/ and be sure to check out his new album, coming soon.

Please like, share, rate and comment on the show and this episode, and tune in for the next 1984 installment featuring the Sundance Film Festival Grand Jury Prize winner, Marisa Silver’s Old Enough.