The Last Dragon

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Berry Gordy's The Last Dragon
DVD cover for The Last Dragon
Directed by	Michael Schultz
Produced by	Rupert Hitzig Berry Gordy Jospeh Caracciolo
Written by	Louis Venosta
Starring	Taimak Julius J. Carry III Christopher Murney Leo O'Brien Faith Prince Glen Eaton Vanity
Music by	Bruce Miller Misha Segal
Cinematography	James A. Contner
Editing by	Christopher Holmes
Distributed by	Tri-Star Pictures
Release date(s)	March 22, 1985
Running time	109 min.
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$10 million
All Movie Guide profile
IMDb profile

For the docudrama of the same name, see The Last Dragon (docudrama)

Berry Gordy's The Last Dragon is a 1985 martial arts parody film, featuring a predominantly Black cast, produced by Rupert Hitzig for Berry Gordy and directed by Michael Schultz. A critical disappointment, yet a financial success, upon its original release, The Last Dragon is now considered a cult classic. The film stars Taimak, Vanity, Julius J. Carry, III, Christopher Murney, and Faith Prince. The film was released in theatres by TriStar Pictures on March 22, 1985.

The plot, set in New York City, follows a black teenage martial arts student named Leroy Green, who is often referred to as "Bruce Leroy" (although he never actually calls himself that). With dreams of becoming a great martial artist like his idol, Bruce Lee, Leroy goes on a quest to achieve the highest level of martial arts accomplishment, known as "The Glow". As its name suggests, it is a mystical energy that can be tapped into by a martial arts master. When a fighter's hands glow, he is one of the best in the world. When his entire body glows, he is the greatest fighter alive. On his journey to find "The Glow", however, Leroy must confront villains such as a crooked arcade mogul Eddie Arcadian (Murney) and the evil Sho'nuff, the Shogun of Harlem, from which he must also protect his younger brother Richie (Leo O'Brien) and his girlfriend, VJ Laura Charles (Vanity).

This was the first acting role for Taimak, a then-20-year-old black belt who learned to act on the set of this picture. Leroy and Richie's younger sister Sophie was portrayed by Cosby Show actress Keshia Knight Pulliam. Ernie Reyes Jr., martial artist and actor, made his film debut at the age of twelve in this film. Leo O'Brien, the actor portraying Bruce Leroy's younger brother Richie, is the younger brother of Guy O'Brien, better known as "Master Gee" from the hip-hop group The Sugarhill Gang. Veteran actor William H. Macy makes a brief appearance as "JJ", the make-up artist.

Featured in this film is a DeBarge song, "Rhythm of the Night", written by Diane Warren. The song reached #3 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #1 on the Billboard R&B charts. The film's Norman Whitfield-produced title theme was nominated for Worst "Original" Song at the 1985 Golden Raspberry Awards, as was Vanity's song "7th Heaven". However, the $10 million production grossed $33 million in the United States, resulting in a profit.

[edit] In pop culture

Busta Rhymes included a nod to Sho'nuff with his music video for the single "Dangerous".
The film is parodied in an episode of The Venture Bros. which sees Hank Venture stabbing his brother Dean in the foot with a pencil during martial arts sparring, then rejoicing and screaming "Sho 'Nuff!".
The theme to The Last Dragon was featured in the second episode of The Sarah Silverman Program, Humanitarian of the Year, when Brian finally displays the karate skills that had been talked about, but not shown, throughout the episode.