Japan Synopsis
空手バカ一代
The last of the Masutatsu Oyama trilogy. Oyama takes a job as a professional wrestler in Okinawa, but when he discovers that he is expected to take a dive, he quits in disgust. However, when a friend finds herself in desperate need of medical supplies, Oyama steps back in the ring to raise the money—but will he be able to follow the script this time?
Titles With Overlapping Themes
Films and series that share thematic tags with Karate for Life. Number on each card indicates how many keywords overlap.
Other Titles From Toei Company
The 1976–1978 Japan Window
Karate for Life holds position #21 of 49 Japan films in the 1976–1978 window, below highlighted by audience rating.
The 1970s Japan Landscape
Karate for Life premiered in 1977 — a quieter year for Japan cinema with only 13 titles in our catalog. The 1970s overall landed 197 films and series across 10 years of activity.
Position in Catalog
Released alongside 12 other Japan films in 1977.
The 477th Japan title from Japan we index (earliest catalogued entry: 1899).
Our Japan catalog contains 4,579 titles in total (2,908 films).
Audience Engagement
11 audience reviews — more than 11% of Japan films in our index.
Popularity sits at the 5th percentile among Japan films.
Reception Benchmarks
Ranked #2,684 of 4,579 Japan films indexed here (41st percentile by TMDB audience score).
Among Japan Action productions specifically: #1,059 of 1,714 (top 62%).
Production Details
| Primary Country | Japan |
|---|---|
| Original Language | Japanese |
| Production Companies | Toei Company |
| Runtime | 1h 31m |
| Release Date | May 14, 1977 |
| IMDb | tt0403524 |