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Jean-Claude van Damme: Karate King

70 %|Mar 17, 2023|Documentary, TV Movie

An American low-budget action film celebrated an unexpected worldwide success in 1988: "Bloodsport". With its, the world of film fans and martial arts cinema discovered a new idol: Jean-Claude Van Damme. In the 1970s there was Bruce Lee, but at the end of the 1980s a Belgian won the day. Van Damme was a karate master and had unparalleled strength and flexibility. For ten years he was one of Hollywood's hottest action stars. But excessive overconfidence and drugs bring him down again. At home in Europe he becomes a laughing stock on talk shows. Only with "JCVD" does he manage to get back on his feet, playing his character with perspective and self-irony, but without ever giving up the reputation that his action films brought him and which has been a cult for several generations. The highs and lows of his eventful life are told through archive footage and contributions from people close to the popular Belgian actor.

Featured Crew

Benjamin Schoos
Original Music Composer
Guillaume Tunzini
Director of Photography
Thomas Labourasse
Director of Photography
Denis Dufays
Director of Photography
François Roland
Director of Photography
Marie Pannetrat
Director of Photography
Laure Berthold
Makeup Designer
Thierry Braemer
Sound Re-Recording Mixer

Cast

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Jean-Claude Van Damme
Self - Portait Subject & Interviewee (archive)
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Claude Goetz
Self - Interviewee
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Philippe Graton
Self - Interviewee
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Michel Qissi
Self - Interviewee
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Monette Loza
Self - Interviewee
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Marc Duvinage
Self - Interviewee
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Vincent Fannoy
Self - Interviewee
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Sheldon Lettich
Self - Interviewee
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Cédric Delelée
Self - Interviewee
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David Worth
Self - Interviewee
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Ally Walker
Self - Interviewee
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Mabrouk El Mechri
Self - Interviewee
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Terry Crews
Self (archive footage)
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Bolo Yeung
Self (archive footage)
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Darcy LaPier
Self (archive footage)
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Jay Leno
Self (archive footage)
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Frank Dux
Self (archive footage)
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Olivier Monssens
Self - Narrator (voice)
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Jason Statham
Self (archive footage)
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Dolph Lundgren
Self (archive footage)
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Chuck Norris
Self (archive footage)
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Sylvester Stallone
Self (archive footage)
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Arnold Schwarzenegger
Self (archive footage)