Best of the Best (1989)
1989 film by Bob Radler
- Released
- 1989
- Country
- United States
- Language
- English
- Genre
- Martial arts film
- Director
- Robert Radler
- Screenplay
- Phillip Rhee
- Producer
- Phillip Rhee, Peter Strauss
- Editing
- William Hoy
- Starring
- Eric Roberts, James Earl Jones, Chris Penn, Phillip Rhee, Sally Kirkland, John Dye, Louise Fletcher, James Lew
- Running time
- 93 minutes
- Distributor
- Netflix
- Set in
- Los Angeles, South Korea
Best of the Best is a 1989 American sports film directed by Robert 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. The film explores themes such as moral conflicts, the power of the human spirit triumphing over adversity and the meaning of life.
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.
Cast
- Eric Roberts
- James Earl Jones
- Chris Penn
- Phillip Rhee
- Sally Kirkland
- John Dye
- Louise Fletcher
- James Lew
- Edward Bunker
- Kane Hodder
- Tom Everett
- John P. Ryan
More films directed by Robert Radler
- Showdown 1993
- Best of the Best 2 1993
External links
Facts from Wikidata Q1467897 (CC0); quoted introduction from English Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Data retrieved 2026-10-22.
Data: Wikidata (CC0 1.0); Wikipedia (English) (CC BY-SA 4.0). Retrieved 2026-10-22.