The Valley as Seen in The Karate Kid — Then and Now

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Monday, June 16, 2014 at 4 a.m.

Daniel LaRusso's apartment building, the South Seas at 19223 Saticoy St. in Reseda. After driving around the Valley for a couple of days, director John G. Avildsen and location manager Richard Davis Jr. found the perfect building for Daniel and his mom. "It was the exterior feel [Avildsen] was after; sort of the bleakness," Davis says. 1/86

"The owner of the building couldn’t believe we actually wanted to make a movie there," Davis says of the South Seas. 2/86

A still from the film — the half-full pool of green water is an image many of the cast members and filmmakers recalled about the South Seas. 3/86

"I wanted a pool in the center so I could have dirty water in it and half full with the same swan that I used in Save the Tiger," Avildsen says, referring to his 1973 film starring Jack Lemmon, which also featured a pool with an inflatable swan. 4/86

The south side of Leo Carrillo Beach in Malibu was used for all of the beach party scenes in The Karate Kid. This is where Daniel first meets love interest Ali, played by Elisabeth Shue. 12/86

Not only was this scene at Leo Carrillo Beach William Zabka’s first appearance in The Karate Kid (he played Daniel's nemesis, Johnny) but it also was the first scene he shot for the film, and was the first time he appeared on screen in either a movie or TV show. 13/86

The Cobra Kai make their entrance in the film at the top of this hill next to lifeguard tower No. 2. 14/86

"No mercy, man." Elisabeth Shue recalls filming the night scene at Leo Carrillo Beach where Johnny breaks Ali’s radio. "I do remember hitting [Zabka] really hard," she says of the beach confrontation. "I felt like it was all real because I was so new to it ... the way [the Cobra Kai] treated [Daniel] really made me angry, personally, all the time." 17/86

In the parking lot at the north end of Leo Carrillo Beach is where Miyagi, using his hand, slices off beer bottle tops. 19/86

"Every take, they had to keep slowing down the Cobra Kai," says star Ralph Macchio of running across this field near the South Seas apartment building. "[William] Zabka [who played nemesis Johnny] could catch me in 10 seconds. I was a tortoise and he was a cheetah." 20/86

Located to the east of the South Seas apartment building is the field where Daniel is chased by the Cobra Kai. 21/86

"Johnny, leave him alone, man, he’s had enough!" Miyagi takes on Johnny outside the South Seas apartment building. 22/86

The location of the skeleton fight. Hardly any injuries occurred while shooting The Karate Kid, but while filming this scene, Macchio was accidentally hit in the face by a front round kick delivered by Zabka. Macchio says he and Zabka talk about the kick to this day. Zabka says he still feels bad about it. 23/86

"First learn stand, then learn fly. Nature rule Daniel-san." Macchio performing the crane kick at the north end of Leo Carrillo Beach. 24/86

The first time we see Miyagi doing the crane kick on the wooden stump was at the north end of Leo Carrillo Beach. Daniel also practices the technique on the beach later in the film. Macchio did his own crane kicks, but Morita had a stunt double. 25/86

It’s a cruel, cruel, cruel summer." Daniel rounds the corner on his first day of school in the Valley. 26/86

In that first day of school scene, Daniel rounded the corner at Capistrano Avenue and Philiprimm Street in Woodland Hills on his Mongoose 24 BMX bike. Mongoose bikes were first manufactured in Chatsworth. 27/86

The plaque at the front entrance of Charles Evans Hughes Junior High School is prominently featured in the film. The program coordinator at the school says that fans often come to take photos of the plaque. Avildsen, upon seeing it at the location, thought it perfectly related to the circumstances of the film. 28/86

Charles Evans Hughes Junior High School, located at 5607 Capistrano Ave. in Woodland Hills, was used for Daniel's school. It was built in the early '60s and it closed in the early '80s before filming of The Karate Kid. The school also was used in Carl Reiner’s 1987 film Summer School. 29/86

The playing field at Charles Evans Junior High is now leased by the West Valley Girls Softball league. In the film, Daniel is playing soccer and Ali is at cheerleading practice on this field. 32/86

As seen in The Karate Kid, the Halloween dance in the gym at Charles Evans Hughes Junior High School 33/86

The gymnasium where the Halloween dance was filmed houses supplies for LAUSD youth programs. Today, the school is used as office space for multiple LAUSD youth enrichment programs and it supports about 150 area schools. 34/86

Macchio did most of his own stunts and all of his own fighting, but one stunt he didn’t do was when Daniel jumped up on a car as he ran down this street in his shower costume. 36/86

Today, the main difference in the dojo space is that the room by the front door, which was Sensei Kreese's office, is no longer there. Kove has the original cardboard cutout of Kreese, which stood by the office. 40/86

"Fear does not exist in this dojo, does it?!" "No, sensei!" Sensei John Kreese, played with intense ferocity by Martin Kove, with the Cobra Kai in the North Hollywood dojo. 41/86

Kreese was based on a couple of karate instructors writer Robert Mark Kamen knew. "My first karate teacher was very much like John Kreese. He was a Marine ... tough as nails." The second teacher Kamen almost worked with would tell his students to break people’s noses. "He thought that in combat only one person should be left standing and the other person should be hurt," Kamen says of this instructor. 42/86

"A man confronts you, he is the enemy. An enemy deserves no mercy," said Martin Kove's character, Cobra Kai sensei John Kreese. Kove says, "The whole dojo was magic. ... Even today, [the Cobra Kai cast] call me sensei and I call them my Cobra Kai." 43/86

The exterior of what was the Cobra Kai dojo, located at 5223 Lankershim Blvd. in North Hollywood. The building is now a workout gym called Body Theory. 45/86

This space at the corner of Wilshire Boulevard and Cloverdale Avenue was used as the Orient Express restaurant where Daniel talks to his mother about Ali. 46/86

"There’s an interesting juxtaposition," location manager Davis says. "[His mom's] restaurant was supposed to have a view of [the dojo]." In reality there was a restaurant across the street from the dojo in North Hollywood, but the restaurant didn’t have a view of the dojo. Production ended up shooting in a restaurant on Wilshire Boulevard and re-creating the exterior of the dojo on the next corner. 48/86

Daniel, while riding his bike, is run off the road by Johnny and the Cobra Kai. Macchio's stunt double takes the fall in Agoura Hills. 50/86

Just north of the 101 freeway, off of Kanan Road in Agoura Hills, is the location of the bike fall. Ironically Zabka, who grew up in the Valley, recalls getting pushed off his bike the first day of elementary school after moving from New York to L.A. 51/86

"Whole life have balance, everything be better." "Miyagi’s house was an absolute gem to find," says location manager Richard Davis Jr. 52/86

The block in Canoga Park where Mr. Miyagi's Asian-inspired home was located. At the time of shooting, there were hardly any other houses surrounding it. Today, the same street is fully developed and there is no trace of Miyagi's house, which then stood out from the monotony of Valley architecture. 53/86

This driveway was the entrance into the junkyard near Miyagi’s house. "The [original] concept," says Davis, "was to find the junkyard and build the house." However, after finding this "gem" of a structure, train tracks, a junkyard and a garden were created around the house for filming. The house was torn down sometime after filming the first sequel and it was re-created on the Warner Bros. Ranch for part three. 54/86

"The house was picked, pretty much, because it had sort of a tacky, pretentious look," says Davis of the Encino hills house where Shue’s character, Ali, lived. 55/86

Shue recalls the actress who showed up at the house to play her mom came to the set in her own Rolls Royce, and the car then was used in the scene. 56/86

Macchio says, "I remember the brick that I [accidentally] kick off [the wall] in Encino ... at Ali’s house. We just noticed that during rehearsal and then we put that into the film." There’s the reality Avildsen was going for. 57/86

Although the blue signage is different — the sign in the film is red — the actual curved frame is the same. The production shot at Golf N' Stuff, located at 10555 E. Firestone Blvd. in Norwalk, for three days, doing interior and exterior scenes. 60/86

Some of the original signs seen in the film, like this one from the arcade, are still up at Golf N' Stuff. 61/86

Date night at Golf N' Stuff. Shue fondly remembers shooting there and says those were among her favorite days on The Karate Kid. 62/86

Golf N' Stuff is proud of the fact that The Karate Kid was filmed there. This collage of images from the film can be found hanging in the snack bar. Davis says of Golf N' Stuff, "Their attendance went through the roof after the movie came out. They used to send me free tickets." 63/86

These bumper cars weren't at Golf N' Stuff during the filming of The Karate Kid. This area held trampolines, on which you can see Macchio and Shue jumping in the film. 64/86

"Balance good, karate good, everything good. Balance bad? Better pack up and go home." Miyagi and Daniel at the Chatsworth Nature Preserve 68/86

Off limits to the public, the Chatsworth Nature Preserve — originally the Chatsworth Reservoir — was used for training scenes in The Karate Kid. In this pond on the north side of the preserve, Miyagi fishes and Daniel practices his balance on the bow of Miyagi’s boat. 69/86

Daniel practices his punching technique with Miyagi on the shore of the Ecology pond at the Chatsworth Nature Preserve. 70/86

The Grand Plaza Ballroom at the Hyatt Westlake Plaza hotel in Thousand Oaks was the location of the Encino Oaks Country Club ballroom in The Karate Kid. 71/86

While laughing about the slap he got from Shue at this location, Zabka says, "The way it looks [in the film] is I’m laughing at [Daniel] with spaghetti on him. What my laugh is really saying is, 'She hit me again. I can’t believe she really hit me again.'" 72/86

Daniel waits for Ali at the main entrance of the Encino Oaks Country Club — really the Hyatt Westlake Plaza Hotel in Thousand Oaks. 73/86

Miyagi and Daniel check in for the All Valley Karate Championship in the corridor outside the Matadome at Cal State Northridge. 75/86

The Matadome at Cal State Northridge has been substantially upgraded since the production shot there. However, the west side entrance looks virtually unchanged. 76/86

"You know, points or no points, you’re dead meat." Daniel gets dressed for the tournament in a locker room at Cal State Northridge. Notice the CSUN letters on the floor. 77/86

While we couldn’t find the exact Matadome location where Daniel dressed for the tournament, the current facilities coordinator, who was present at the Matadome during filming of The Karate Kid, remembers the production using this locker room. 78/86

You’re the best around, nothing’s gonna ever keep you down." Where Miyagi, Daniel and Ali enter the Matadome for the All Valley Karate Tournament 79/86

The Matadome's wooden bleachers are original, but the chairs are recent additions. Zabka attended Cal State Northridge as a film major before getting cast in The Karate Kid. 81/86

"Finish him!" Bill Conti’s score crescendos as Daniel delivers the iconic crane kick and wins the All Valley Karate Championship in the Matadome. 82/86

Macchio says many angles, along with slow motion, were shot for the final kick, but in the end one simple shot worked best: low and wide. "To credit Billy Zabka, [who] took an amazing hit, the kick is great, but the hit was even better," Macchio says. 83/86

"Hey, Mr. Miyagi, we did it!" Avildsen says The Karate Kid originally was supposed to end in the parking lot after the tournament. (This is where the 1986 sequel picks up.) However, after the crowd carries Daniel off, Avildsen knew there couldn’t be a better ending. "Well, how can I top this? I don’t need the scene in the parking lot," Avildsen remembers thinking at the time. "How can the audience feel better than at that moment? And I feel that's when you always turn on the lights." 84/86

Macchio says that many angles, along with slow motion, were shot for the final kick, but in the end one simple shot worked best: low and wide. "To credit Billy Zabka [who] took an amazing hit, the kick is great, but the hit was even better," says Macchio. 85/86

"Hey, Mr. Miyagi, we did it!" Avildsen says The Karate Kid was originally supposed to end in the parking lot after the tournament. (This is where the 1986 sequel picks up.) However, after the crowd carries Daniel off, Avildsen knew there couldn’t be a better ending. "Well how can I top this? I don’t need the scene in the parking lot," Avildsen remembers thinking at the time. "How can the audience feel better than at that moment? And I feel that's when you always turn on the lights." 86/86

The Valley as Seen in The Karate Kid — Then and Now

The Karate Kid shot for 45 days in the fall of 1983 in Los Angeles, primarily on location in the San Fernando Valley. It was the perfect setting for a suburban-based film dealing with the class divide. The 1980s Valley receives a rich and detailed portrayal in the film, and it successfully conveys a strong sense of place. Referring to the locations, William Zabka, who played villain Johnny Lawrence in the film, says, "When you get on a set, all that you did in rehearsal, and all that you do to prep, takes on a new life because that location is almost a character itself and it adds to the energy of the scene, and you feed off that."

To commemorate the 30th anniversary of The Karate Kid, we visited the original L.A. filming locations to see how they look in 2014.

Special thanks to The Karate Kid's executive producer, R.J. Louis, and location manager Richard Davis Jr., as well as Chas Demster of ItsFilmedThere.com and Nick Alaway of Fast-Rewind.com, for providing information and addresses for The Karate Kid filming locations.

All original photos by Jared Cowan.

See the full story: How a Movie Shot in the San Fernando Valley Made Us All The Karate Kid