Bloodsport (film)

'Bloodsport' is a 1986 American martial-arts film directed by Newt Arnold and starring Jean-Claude Van Damme as Frank Dux, a Western practitioner of the Tanaka clan's secret kumite tournament. The film is presented as a true account of Dux's martial-arts career, although subsequent reporting has cast doubt on many of his claimed records and the existence of the kumite itself. Cannon Films produced the picture for $1.5 million and the box-office success launched Van Damme's Hollywood career; the franchise subsequently produced four direct-to-video sequels — Bloodsport II (1996), Bloodsport III (1997), Bloodsport 4 (1999), and a 2008 remake — none of which involved Van Damme.