Rating: 
Summary: On DVD?
Review: The movie is excellent. The fight scenes have incredible fluidity, and the movie in general has a lot of color, light and motion. Some of the scenes in Brazil are just very beautiful to look at in addition to the scenes where people play capoeira. The absolutely best part of the movie besides the visual sequences of capoeira is the music. Once you hear this music you just spontaneously feel like dancing capoeira. The story might be cliche but this is raw action at its best. Does anybody know if it will be published on DVD? If it is I am sure it would be awesome.
Rating: 
Summary: Axe camaradas!
Review: This is a charming movie with a stupid storyline like those seen in most martial arts movies. But hey, the point is to see the hero beat the bad guys with some sweet moves, right? And this movie delivers just that. So why bother analysing it any deeper?Mark Dacascos plays a young capoeirista (a guy who practises capoeira) who gets some misfit students onto the right side of the law by teaching them capoeira. Of course this leads to some showdowns between him and various criminal elements. And that's it, really. But capoeira is a beautiful sport to watch, and the movie is a good teaser for the real thing. But Dacascos isn't really a capoeirista, and the movie misinterprets some of the basic elements of the sport. If you become interested in learning more after watching the movie, look up the nearest capoeira club in the phonebook and try it for yourself. I guarantee it will be an experience well worth your while! I speak from personal experience.
Rating:
Summary: Movie Kicks Ass and Takes Names
Review: This movie is one of the most cheese filled movies of the 90's and yet I had been waiting for it's release on home video for 10yrs. The capoeira moves shown are awesome but probably a pale comparison to real life maestres. If you like your films loaded with cheese and cool martial art moves then this movie if for you.
Rating: 
Summary: Unassuming B-movie, great fun
Review: ONLY THE STRONG (USA 1993): Upon returning home to Miami, a former Green Beret (Mark Dacascos) is employed by his local high school to rehabilitate some of its worst students by teaching them the art of capoeira (a form of martial arts from Brazil, using dance-like moves). But his work brings him into conflict with a local drug lord (Paco Christian Prieto), whose operations are threatened by Dacascos' interference... A predictable B-movie plot is elevated above the routine by virtue of its slick presentation and interesting cast, all of whom turn in creditable performances under the assured direction of Sheldon Lettich (former scriptwriter of RAMBO III who went on to helm some of Jean-Claude Van Damme's most popular entries, including LIONHEART and DOUBLE IMPACT). The script - co-written by Lettich and Luis Esteban - provides a showcase for the visual artistry of capoeira, practised with genuine flair by DTV favorite Dacascos (BROTHERHOOD OF THE WOLF), whose mastery of the form helps to win over some of the most problematic students at his former high school, now a crime-ridden wasteland whose faculty (led by Geoffrey Lewis, acting everyone else off the screen) is clearly at the end of its collective tether. A faint air of camp hangs over the entire enterprise, as ultra-buff Dacascos flaunts his pumped-up torso through a variety of tight-fitting vests (drool! slobber!) while facing off against ultra-butch Prieto (a real life martial arts instructor, making one of his first screen appearances), though ultra-cute Stacey Travis hovers around just long enough to blunt the film's relentless macho swagger and provide a fleeting romantic interest for Dacascos, thereby reassuring the movie's target audience that his character is entirely heterosexual. The film is naive, obvious and predictable, but it moves at a rapid clip and is well-staged thoughout, and the bone-crunching fight scenes manage to live up to every expectation. Good, catchy music score, too. Fox's DVD is a no-frills affair, including both widescreen and fullscreen versions of the film, along with a trailer (curiously framed at 2.35:1, though the main feature is correctly framed at 1.85:1). Sound and picture quality are uniformly fine. 95m 52s
1.85:1 / Anamorphically enhanced
[Fullscreen 1.33:1 version also included]
DVD soundtrack: Dolby Surround 2.0
Theatrical soundtrack: Dolby Stereo SR
Optional English subtitles and closed captions
Region 1
Rating:
Summary: the best movie of all time
Review: Mark Dacascos delivers a performance that could only be described as breathtaking in a movie that delivers the perfect balance of punch and pomp. On the exterior, Only the Strong is the story of a GI who comes home and tries to ressurect the neighborhood through Capoeira, a Brazilian martial art. At the heart of this film lies the story of a man who is lost and searching for redemption. He finds his niche in helping troubled teendage students at a gang-ridden Miami public high school. While the students come around and change their behavior along with their outlook on life, Dacascos meets them halfway and finds his true self and love, too boot. Only the Strong is a scintillating and uplifting drama that teaches us that controlled violence is the best way to solve problems. peace and god bless
a weekend wasted isn't a wasted weekend
Rating:
Summary: Great Introduction
Review: Years ago I woked at a bookstore and had a customer request a book on Capoeira. I was intrigued by what I read, and wanted to see how it was performed. I found info about this DVD online when I looked for an mp3 for the "Mazda" Zoom song & discovered it was a (badly mangled) version of one of the songs from this video. So this is my first time seeing the actual art...the story-line sounds hokey, but it works because everything is beautifully choreographed by Frank Dux. It was a great introduction to an art form that is still little-known in the US. My husband and I have watched it twice already tonight, it's fun,has great music, and made me wish to learn more about Capoeira.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent movie, a must see
Review: This is my favorite Mark Dacascos' film. I been trying to find it on DVD for a long time and I'm so glad it finally was relased on this version. If you're a fan of Dacascos and enjoy to watch martial arts, this is a must, trust me.
Rating:
Summary: No Extras, but still worth it!
Review: Most people who purchase this movie will do so because of the martial arts action and it will be well worth it. Mark Dacascos is highly underrated, perhaps due to some of his choices to star in movies that really don't highlight his abilities both as a martial artist and an actor. On the martial arts side, there's some great displays of Mark's abilities. His kicks are extremely fast and he demonstrates acrobatic abilities that most martial artists wish they had. The only thing you don't get a sense of is the speed of his hands, which is up there with Bruce Lee. You can get some idea of this in Drive and Redline. The thing that elevates Mark above his other action alumni is his acting ability. While he's not going to be mistaken for a Gary Oldman or Tim Curry in true acting ability, he does hold his own against most of the popular actors out there. This movie is pretty watchable even without the martial arts. Although it's not very artistic, it's still watchable and it does have a message. On to the extras. Or, I should say, the complete lack of extras. I have the VHS version which has a video on it but we don't even get that for the DVD. I've also seen some photos of the movie showing Mark doing some high flying kicks against the main villian, which would have been nice to have in a deleted scenes or making of feature. Sadly, these are missing, but still a great movie.
Rating: 
Summary: 4 Star Movie, but the DVD is 2
Review: Where are the special features of this movie? I remember seeing a featurette on TV, why didn't they include that? 20th Fox just slaps the movies on the DVD with no effort and thinks that's ok! Well they are lazy and could have done better. The Reality is we are in the "21st" century and DVD has many capabilities to take advantage of. A documentary about capoeira and interviews could have been nice. I hope to see more Capoeira movies with a good storyline. This is a must for your martial arts collection seeing that there aren't many capoeira movies out there.
Rating:
Summary: teaches real capoeria
Review: Yes , the movie is b rated, but the movie teaches a good lesson that capoeria is all about. This is a game, hits happen, get up and continue playing. This showed good examples of capoeria moves and styles. The hero was using Regional, while the villiean was using Angola. This is a good movie to watch to get a good idea of what capoeria is.
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