Product Details

• Actors: Kurt Thomas, Tetchie Agbayani, Richard Norton, Edward Bell, John Barrett
• Directors: Robert Clouse
• Writers: Charles Robert Carner, Dan Tyler Moore
• Producers: Fred Weintraub, Rebecca Poole
• Format: Closed-captioned, Color, DVD, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
• Language: French (Dolby Digital 1.0), English (Dolby Digital 1.0)
• Subtitles: English
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rating: R (Restricted)
• Studio: Warner Home Video
• DVD Release Date: January 30, 2007
• Run Time: 90 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (42 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B00005JP3R
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #31,318 in Movies & TV (See Bestsellers in Movies & TV)
• For more information about "Gymkata" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

A camp classic and one-time staple of late-night cable, Gymkata stars former Olympic gymnast Kurt Thomas as a master of Gymkata, a fighting style that blends elements of martial arts and--what else?--gymnastics. Sent to a fictional Middle Eastern country on the Caspian Sea called "Karabal, on the Caspian Sea," Jonathan Cabot (Thomas) must survive a high-stakes competition called the Game that had previously claimed the life of his father. But winning could mean shifting the balance of power in the cold war. (The movie was made in 1985, and Thomas missed out on the 1980 Olympics because of the U.S. boycott.) Fortunately, being a master of Gymkata means that as you run through the village streets with bad guys in hot pursuit, in between the buildings you'll find a conveniently placed high bar from which you can swing and unleash powerful villain-crunching kicks. Moments like that earn Gymkata a 9.5 on the unintentional-comedy scale. With Tetchie Agbayani as the love-interest princess, and Buck Kartalian as a fearsome villain who looks like Mel Brooks. --David Horiuchi

Product Description

Johnathan Cabot (Kurt Thomas) is a champion gymnast. In the tiny, yet savage, country of Parmistan, there is a perfect spot for a "star wars" site. For the US to get this site, they must compete in the brutal "Game". The government calls on Cabot, the son of a former operative, to win the game. Cabot combines his skill at western gymnastics with his fighting secrets of the east and forms Gymkata.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

166 of 192 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Carefuly Scripted & Subtle Cold War Commentary, June 11, 2005

By	Vic G. Sarjoo "VicSarjoo" (New York & New Orleans) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Gymkata [VHS] (VHS Tape)

Extremely reminiscent of cold war sleepers like "Gorky Park" and "Reds", Gymkata is one of the most carefully scripted and brooding commentaries on American foreign policy during the Reagan years. The film is more like a documentary than a work of fiction in its deep attention to historical accuracies and avoidance of hyperbole.

Robert Clouse's directorial adaption of Dan Tyler Moore's Pulitzer-shortlisted novel manages to capture timbre of the times and the voice of the decade in a script of intricate complexity. Kurt Thomas's portrayal of the hero across from Tetchie Agbayani's heroine is one of the most dynamic and surprising chemistries since Bogart and Bergman's 43 years before.

However, where "Casablanca" fell far short of documenting the spirit (and fears) of the times on a granular level, Gymkata and its cast is unafraid to take this plunge.

In characterizations deeply respectful, and yet photo-accurate, regarding world cultures and global motifs, Gymkata manages spell the poly-sided views of complex conflicts that occurred during the final grey gasps of the Cold War.

Amazingly Gymkata manages a foreshadowing the rise of the Neo-Cons some 20 years later in its depictions of the United States use of aggression in strategically important hotspot regions -- and as well -- the film is able to show that the nationalistic concerns of the competing sovreignties (both ally & foe) remain unchanged despite which decade these events play themselves out in.

A timeless film, Gymkata should be a core film study in every graduate level political science class.

34 of 36 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Classic Crud, June 2, 2004

By	Eric Thomson (Montgomery, W.V. United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Gymkata [VHS] (VHS Tape)

When I was growing up, it seemed like every other movie on cable television was either called Iron Eagle or Gymkata. I had no use for Iron Eagle. Sorry. Gymkata, however, was a altogether different story. I must have seen this movie a few hundred times between grades 10-12--generally at three in the morning, stumbling in, stumbling out--less of a choice, more of a compromise. As if the pay channels didn't milk the Gymkata cash cow dry, local stations decided to make it their duty to keep it in heavy rotation on a weekly basis. The only movie that came close in its domination of b-string broadcasting was the 1972 classic, Gargoyles. But I digress. Gymkata is about a martial artist (Kurt Thomas) who loses his military papa (Eric Lawson). He goes to a small fictional nation that encompasses every clich? relating to villains from the 1980's. There's intrigue, a great feast, and more intrigue. There's an exotic princess who, to this day, still looks pretty good. The best part of the movie is the game of death--mostly because there isn't a great deal of dialog. As other reviews have mentioned, the asylum/village has some classic moments (the cackling woman comes to mind). Long story short, an olympic wannabe offers up a textbook example of why his acting career went nowhere. Of course, who am I to judge? I have yet to make a single movie about ninjas or good cops gone bad.

One last question: Why isn't this movie on DVD?

25 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars IT DON'T GET ANY BETTER THAN THIS!, January 9, 2007

By	M. E Grant "MacGyver of the Books" (Clinton Twp., Michigan) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

YAKMALA! And with that one echoing word we're off and running through the streets of crazy town (complete with the palma horse at it's center) in the non-stop action fest that is Gymkata!

This film has it all...
Ninjas!
Terrorists!
Barbarians!
Boat chases!
Pre-chalked surfaces for our hero to spin around on!
Bad acting!
A dead pig!
A cackling old lady!
Punches!
Kicks!
A subtle plotline about the development and installation of an important American satellite (that is so subtle it needs to be addressed in a caption at the closing seconds of the movie)!
Flips!
Death sports!
Cliff-diving!
The answer to the age old question: What if a world class gymnast was also skilled in the ancient fighting arts?!
80's hair!

I could just go on-and-on but why bother! Why aren't you watching this movie by now? IT'S ON DVD FOR GOD'S SAKE!