James Ryan portrays Steve Hunt, a karate expert caught up in a grudge match between two WWII war criminals, Baron von Rudloff (Norman Coombes) and Miyagi (!) (Raymond Ho-Tong). The two men are going to have their teams of martial artists square off in a tournament, with the first team to garner 20 points declared the winner. Steve and his girlfriend Olga (Charlotte Michelle) try a few times to escape, but to no avail. There's no way Steve isn't going to end up participating. Fortunately for the two of them, they have a helping hand in the form of Chico (Daniel DuPlessis), a put-upon little person who is the Barons' associate.Filmed in South Africa in 1976, but not released in North America until 1980, when martial arts mania was then in full swing, "Kill or Be Killed" is on the low-budget and crude side. The 1981 sequel, "Kill and Kill Again", is a little more polished. While the sequel blatantly goes for tongue-in-cheek, this is played somewhat straighter - still, there's plenty of time for some humour, which helps to make the movie very enjoyable. There's lots of fights, lots of action - and lots of fun. Some of the acting is pretty cheesy, especially from hammy villain Coombes. The most appealing performer is diminutive, likeable chap DuPlessis, who figures in one extended, amusing montage where he's recruiting fighters for the Barons' team. The leading lady Michelle is quite gorgeous, the scenery is very striking, and it would be hard not to get into the spirit of "Kill or Be Killed" thanks to that rousing music score (which one has to assume is stock music, given that there's no composer credited).Highly enjoyable for any fan of karate cinema, with engaging heroes and wonderfully despicable antagonists, including one fighter (who kind of resembles Jeff Conaway) constantly making trouble for Steve and Chico.The ultimate resolution, however, falls short of being really satisfying.Eight out of 10.

i liked this movie,mainly just because of its entertainment value.there are some pretty funny moments,most of them unintentional,i imagine.it is also not very politically correct compared to most of todays movies.if you go into this movie expecting good acting,i think you will be disappointed.but,the movie does have some pretty good martial arts fighting scenes,though at times they are ridiculously absurd and unrealistic.i did like the different fighting styles shown in the movie.the sound effects are horrible,yet are great for their comedic value.the movie is very low budget and the plot is almost non existent.but for action and comedy,you can't go wrong with this movie.it is a classic and very hard to find,but if you come across it, you will likely be very amused,at the least.based on the fight scenes and the comedic value,i give "Kill or be Killed" 8/10*

This is a another martial arts movie in my case a true classic. I've always wanted to see this movie when I was younger, but when times have changed, this movie was listed as a "must see" I've looked at video stores in the past, and had no luck until five years later. I've gotten that chance to see it, and it was worth it! It wasn't as violent like most martial arts films, and usually actions are mostly louder than words. The scenes speak for themselves. The weapons scene was a must. I remembered the sword and kama(sickle) fight, at first, I thought they were axes. When I got a closer look, I knew better. It was worth the watch. Then it was the final fight. The most fun scene in my opinion. It was between the hero and the huge guy. The hero was very swift and very cunning. And liked when he laid that flying sidekick on that huge guy. That made the title the way it is; "KILL OR BE KILLED" I rather Kill! If you're slow, you'll be KILLED! Check it out while you still can. It's for the martial arts minded. Rating 2.5 out of 5 stars.

This movie should win the award of the all time so-bad-it's-good Bmovie ever. The plot is so surreal I'm surprised anyone came upwith such ideas. A nazi with a midget (named Chico, not Chino, asthe credits here imply), in a castle in the middle of the desert, hiresan army of karate fighters to prepare a tournament against aJapanese guy that cheated him 40 years earlier! If you can think it can't get any cheesier than that, just watch ascene where a pack of "wolves" are actually German Shepherds!I'm surprised how many so called "comedies" aren't a tenthfunnier than this action flick. The script seems to be improvised asthey were shooting the movie. The star is supposed to be thiskarate, macho star, but the midget has far more screen time thananyone else. If you're a B movie fan, this can't get any better!P.S. If you can, try to get the trailer of this flick. It's hilarious!