Best of the Best (1989 film)

Best of the Best
Original theatrical poster
Directed by	Bob Radler
Written by	Paul Levine
Story by	Phillip Rhee Paul Levine
Produced by	Phillip Rhee Peter E. Strauss
Starring	Eric Roberts James Earl Jones Sally Kirkland Phillip Rhee John P. Ryan John Dye David Agresta Tom Everett Louise Fletcher Simon Rhee Christopher Penn
Cinematography	Douglas Ryan
Edited by	William Hoy
Music by	Paul Gilman
Production companies	The Movie Group SVS Company, Inc. Kuys Entertainment
Distributed by	Taurus Entertainment
Release date	November 10, 1989 (1989-11-10)
Running time	97 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$5 million[1]
Box office	$1.7 million (US)[2]

Best of the Best is a 1989 American Sports film directed by Bob Radler, and produced by Phillip Rhee, who also co-wrote the story and co-stars in the film. The film starred Eric Roberts, James Earl Jones, Sally Kirkland, Simon Rhee and Chris Penn.

The plot revolves around a team of American martial artists facing a team of South Korean martial artists in a tournament.^[3] Several subplots pop up in the story — moral conflicts, the power of the human spirit triumphing over adversity and the meaning of life are some themes.

Set and filmed in Los Angeles, California, and Seoul, South Korea, between February 13 and April 6, 1989, Best of the Best was released on November 10, 1989.

The film has spawned three sequels: Best of the Best II (1993), Best of the Best 3: No Turning Back (1995), and Best of the Best 4: Without Warning (1998). Phillip Rhee portrays Tommy Lee in all four films, produced all of them, directed the third and fourth films, and co-wrote the first and fourth films.