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Only the Strong
Only the Strong
Directed by	Sheldon Lettich
Written by	Sheldon Lettich; Luis Esteban;
Produced by	Samuel Hadida; Stuart S. Shapiro; Steven Menkin
Starring	Mark Dacascos; Stacey Travis; Paco Christian Prieto; Todd Susman; Geoffrey Lewis;
Edited by	Stephen Semel
Music by	Harvey W. Mason
Production; companies	Davis-Films; Freestone Pictures; August Entertainment;
Distributed by	PolyGram Filmed Entertainment (International); Twentieth Century Fox (United States);
Release date	August 27, 1993;
Running time	99 minutes
Language	English
Budget	$6 million
Box office	$3.3 million; (United States)

Only the Strong is a 1993 martial arts film directed by Sheldon Lettich, starring Mark Dacascos. It is considered to be the only Hollywood film that showcases capoeira, an Afro-Brazilian martial art, from beginning to end.

Plot

Former Green Beret Louis Stevens returns to his hometown of Miami after completing military service in Brazil, only to learn that his old high school has become a haven for gangs and drug dealers. After Stevens uses his capoeira skills to kick several drug dealers off the school property, Mr. Kerrigan, one of Stevens' old teachers, sees the impact that Stevens has on the students. Kerrigan gives him the task of teaching capoeira to a handful of the worst at-risk students at the school, giving Stevens an abandoned fire station as their practice area. While doing so, Stevens earns the ire of the local drug lord, Silverio Oliveiras, whose younger cousin, Orlando Oliveiras, is one of Stevens' students. Silverio is also a master of capoeira, and he engages Stevens in combat, beating him viciously. The horrified Orlando resolves to learn everything he can from Stevens. Stevens' class learns quickly, and they become very skilled at capoeira. The principal, delighted, proposes a district-wide capoeira program to the school board. After a field trip with his class, Stevens once again clashes with Silverio, who declares war against him.

Silverio's gang terrorizes the high school and sets fire to Kerrigan's classroom, resulting in the death of one of Stevens' students. As a result of this incident, Stevens is accused at fault, banished from the school grounds and the capoeira program is terminated. In retaliation to the attack, Stevens sneaks into Silverio's chop shop and defeats the workers before setting a cash-filled car on fire. Furious, Silverio orders the gang to bring Stevens to him alive. Orlando flees to get help. After a desperate battle, Stevens is finally captured and brought to a bonfire, where Silverio awaits. However, Stevens' capoeira students bar their path in an attempt to rescue their teacher. Before a brawl can ensue, the exhausted Stevens challenges Silverio to single combat to win back his students. After a grueling battle, Stevens defeats Silverio before the police arrive, sending the gang scattering in all directions. With this defeat, Silverio's reputation as crime lord is gone.

Stevens' capoeira program proves such a success that his students graduate from high school. To celebrate, they join a Brazilian capoeira team to perform for Stevens at the graduation ceremony.

Cast

Mark Dacascos as Louis Stevens
Stacey Travis as Dianna
Paco Christian Prieto as Silverio Oliveiras
Geoffrey Lewis as Mr. Kerrigan
Todd Susman as Mr. Cochran
Jeffrey Anderson-Gunter as Philippe
Richard Coca as Orlando Oliveiras
Roman Cardwell as Shay
Ryan Bollman as Donovan
Christian Klemash as Eddie
John Fionte as Hector Cervantes
John Gregory Kasper as Coach Kasper
Phyllis Sukoff as Mrs. Esposito
Mellow Man Ace as Student Rapper
Stuart S. Shapiro as John
Joselito "Amen" Santo as Javier
Adeniri S. Ajamu as Chief Ajamo
Antoni Corone as Green Beret Sergeant
Saudia Young as Hooker
Sergio Pereira as Silverio's Bodyguard #1
Michael F. Lagapa as Silverio's Bodyguard #2
Sergio Kato as Silverio's Bodyguard #3 (uncredited)
C.C. DeNeira as Hooker (uncredited)

Production

Though Mark Dacascos is a talented martial artist, his background is not initially in capoeira. Just prior to his audition, he received his training from famed capoeirista Amen Santo, who was responsible for much of the fight choreography and has a small role in the film.^[3]

Soundtrack

Only the Strong (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack), composed of eleven hip hop and capoeira music songs, was released in 1993 via Fox Records. It features contributions from Jibril Serapis Bey, Marcel Branch, Patrick McCain, Donna Simon, Mellow Man Ace, Miami Boyz and New Version of Soul, as well as Kao Rossman, Scott G., Iki Levy, Stuart S. Shapiro, Blueblood, DJ Muggs, Kid Fury and LRoc on production duties. The most prominent songs in the film are Serapis Bey's "Paranauȇ" and "Zoom-Zoom-Zoom" - the latter being more well known as the theme song for Mazda's TV commercials.^[4]^[5]^[6]

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"Paranauê" (performed by Jibril Serapis Bey)	Kao Rossman Stuart Shapiro	Kao Rossman Stuart S. Shapiro	3:10
2.	"Miami Boyz" (performed by Miami Boyz)	A. Cuff Brian Graham	Kid Fury of Bass Patrol	3:51
3.	"Zoom-Zoom-Zoom" (performed by Jibril Serapis Bey)	Rossman	Kao Rossman	2:53
4.	"Comin' Together"	Scot Wendell Greene Levy Yizhaq	Scott G. Iki Levy	1:37
5.	"Babalu Bad Boy" (performed by Mellow Man Ace)	Ulpiano Reyes Lawrence Muggerud	DJ Muggs	3:43
6.	"Swang da Funk" (performed by New Version of Soul)	Brion H. Gibson James Elbert Phillips James Ray Hall Michael Bernard Crocker Michael O. Johnson Phillip Madison Jones S. Owings	Blueblood LRoc	4:17
7.	"Donovan's Mix"	Rossman Tony Vargas	Kao Rossman Stuart S. Shapiro	2:55
8.	"Olelê, O'Lalá" (performed by Jibril Serapis Bey)	Vargas	Kao Rossman	3:09
9.	"Enter the Dojo"	Yizhaq	Scott G. Iki Levy	3:22
10.	"Only the Strong" (performed by Marcel Branch, Patrick McCain and Donna Simon)	Marcel Branch Patrick McCain Donna Aileen Simon Yizhaq Greene Rossman Shapiro	Scott G. Iki Levy	4:10
11.	"Only the Strong (Remix)" (performed by Marcel Branch, Patrick McCain and Donna Simon)	Branch McCain Simon Greene Yizhaq Rossman Shapiro	Scott G. Iki Levy The Baka Boyz (add.)	3:04
Total length:				36:11

Box office and reception

Only the Strong earned US$3,273,588 at the U.S. box office, making only more than half of its US$6 million budget.^[2]

The film was universally panned by critics, earning a 13% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on 15 reviews.^[7] Roger Ebert gave the film one out of four stars, saying, "The message of a movie like Only the Strong, building on the fascist undertones of its title, is almost cruel in its stupidity and naivete. It's almost a relief that few people in the audience for such a film ever remember if it even had a message or not".^[8] Joe Brown of The Washington Post also wrote a scathing review, saying it "relies slightly less relentlessly on violence for its own sake than most in this genre, but the film is clumsily assembled and edited, heavy on the slow-mo, and its simplistic story plays like 'The Kids From Fame' armed with very sharp knives".^[9]