1 / 5
RUNTIME
Did you know
Tight 77-minute runtime — shorter than most television pilots.
MoodPlayr · trivia#01
The Deadly Art of Survival
1979 1h 17m EN
😐
6.3
MID
★6.3TMDB · 6
Action
Synopsis
Spoiler shield
Real-life kung fu master Nathan Ingram stars in this gritty, low-budget martial arts epic as a local karate school owner who clashes with a gang of drug traffickers posing as the owners of a rival dojo. Director Charlie Ahearn (who helmed the landmark hip-hop film Wild Style) used the housing projects next to his New York Lower East Side apartment as his central location in this 1979 classic, shot on a vintage Super 8 camera.
“Some stories are better left unspoiled.”
Cast
Nathan Ingram
George David Gonzalez
Miguel Villanueva
Gerard Hovagimyan
Kiki Smith
Freddy Rivera
Arthur Abrams
Paula Humphrey
Credits
Behind the camera
- Director
- Charlie Ahearn
- Writers
- Charlie Ahearn
- Languages
- English
- Countries
- United States of America
Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.
Did you know?
Fun facts 🍿
2 / 5
ERA
Did you know
47 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
MoodPlayr · trivia#02
3 / 5
CAST
Did you know
Nathan Ingram and George David Gonzalez and Miguel Villanueva carry the top of the cast.
MoodPlayr · trivia#03
4 / 5
WILD
Did you know
IMDB entry: tt1091994 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
MoodPlayr · trivia#04
5 / 5
WILD
Did you know
Only 6 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.
MoodPlayr · trivia#05
Cinephile deep dive
The take
Charlie Ahearn directs. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.
Trivia
Things worth knowing
- 1Tight 77-minute runtime — shorter than most television pilots.
- 247 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
- 3Nathan Ingram and George David Gonzalez and Miguel Villanueva carry the top of the cast.
- 4IMDB entry: tt1091994 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
- 5Only 6 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.
- 6Classified under 23 themes, including "drug dealer", "new york city", "martial arts", "hip-hop".
The technical file
- Runtime
- 77 min · 1h 17m
- Aspect ratio (typical)
- 1.37:1 (Academy)
- Status
- Released
- Original language
- EN
Also by
Charlie Ahearn
Stills · wallpapers
Selected frames
Full-resolution frames — open one to save it as a wallpaper.
Key crew
- Production AssistantSly Abrams
- Production AssistantJohn Ahearn
- Production AssistantScott B
- Production AssistantBeth B
- Production AssistantBecky High
- Production AssistantPeter Hutton
- Production AssistantKiki Smith
- Production AssistantSteve Brown
- Production AssistantWolfgang Stahl
- Production AssistantVolker Tannert
- Production AssistantHarry Spitz
- Production AssistantJudith Aminoff
- Production AssistantBecky Howland
- Production AssistantVirginia Piersol
- Production AssistantJane Dickson
- Camera OperatorJohn Ahearn
- Camera OperatorCharlie Ahearn
- Camera OperatorBeth B
- Martial Arts ChoreographerNathan Ingram
Themes & keywords
What it's about, really
- drug dealer
- new york city
- martial arts
- hip-hop
- gang war
- ghetto
- karate
- revenge
- ninja
- dojo
- karate kick
- disco
- brooklyn bridge
- housing project
- street fight
- downtown
- african american
- old school
- lower east side
- jumped
- low budget
- east river
- puerto rican
Release history · US
When it landed
- Theatrical1979-01-01
