Boxing movies worth checking out

Expug · Post by **Expug** » 06 Jan 2006, 20:15

There are definitely some good ones out there. I havent seen cinderela man yet but boxbuzz gives it an excellent recomendation in another post.My favorite is Fat City. Movie came out in 1972. Does a great job capturing the fight scene in Stockton Calif. The movie does a good job portraying the depressing life of an alcoholic washed up former contender. Great acting though Stacey Keach cant box,there are some fighters in the movie as well. Lets here some others worth seeing.

silkov · Post by **silkov** » 07 Jan 2006, 10:50

Have to say I agree with you about Fat City, the best boxing film I've seen by quite a long way really... great performances from all the actors, even the boxers act well, Curtis Cokes was very good in his role as Keatches love rival I think. Other good fight films are 'Sqaure Ring' 'the Set up' and 'Somebody up there likes me'.... I like Raging Bull but its a little too over wrought for me, still a great film though but Fat City beats it hands down for its subtlety.... Fat City was a great novel too, well worth reading!...

KOJOE90 · Post by **KOJOE90** » 07 Jan 2006, 13:08

To be honest I have never seen a Boxing film I have REALLY enjoyed.

The best by far in my opinion was TwentyFourSeven which wasn't a Boxing film as such, more a film that just happened to have some Boxing in it, either way it's an oustanding film.

jimglen · Post by **jimglen** » 07 Jan 2006, 16:41

"the Thistle in the Rose!"

Though it hasn't been made yet, but with the right people it will be the best yet! A peoples story, a Human Interest story as they say, not a done to death story about fighters we can't possibly learn anymore about! But rather the exploitation of a great fighter who automatically becomes the Hero and a Boxing personel that automatically become the enemy and "rotters".

And it's British, never done before, the American public would eat up such a story, and from the Golden age when fighters were fighters and greats!

silkov · Post by **silkov** » 07 Jan 2006, 16:46

I forgot to mention 'the crying fist' which I saw recently and which is undoubtedly the best boxing film I've seen since Raging Bull.... sort of a mix between Raging Bull and FatCity in that it has moments of great drama but also at times is very subtle... this is a Korean film which I don't think many will have seen but is a great film....

Ambling Alp · Post by **Ambling Alp** » 07 Jan 2006, 19:01

Requiem for A Heavyweight was a great movie. It didn't have a lot of boxing action it, if that is what you are looking for. The story and the acting was very good. Plus there is the scene where Jackie Gleason actually runs.

I liked the first two "Rocky" Movies, although they seemed to get worse as they went along. Rocky V was almost unwatchable.

Most recently, "Cinderella Man" was very good.

I always thought that "Raging Bull" was overrated. It was so boring. Just went on and on with very little happening.

silkov · Post by **silkov** » 08 Jan 2006, 11:36

Ambling Alp wrote:Requiem for A Heavyweight was a great movie. It didn't have a lot of boxing action it, if that is what you are looking for. The story and the acting was very good. Plus there is the scene where Jackie Gleason actually runs.

I liked the first two "Rocky" Movies, although they seemed to get worse as they went along. Rocky V was almost unwatchable.

Most recently, "Cinderella Man" was very good.

I always thought that "Raging Bull" was overrated. It was so boring. Just went on and on with very little happening.

I've been looking for a copy of Requiem for a heavyweight for ages!... have you got a copy of the film?... 8)

BoxBuzz · Post by **BoxBuzz** » 08 Jan 2006, 12:33

I havnt thought about Fat City for years! I was playing in Stockton Calif as the Cosmopolitan Hotel when I saw that movie and I thought it was great! Anthony Quinn starred in Requiem if I recall it was also pretty good.

Twilight Zone had an episode called Requiem for a Heavyweight if I recall, it was worth the 30 minutes to watch.

Autobarn · Post by **Autobarn** » 09 Jan 2006, 03:52

have to agree about FAT CITY. great adaptation of leonard Gardner's book. what distinguishes that film from the usual narcissistic crap is that it's not an underdog-pulls-himself up-by-the-bootstrings-and-becomes-worldwide-hero fantasy. it's a film about failure & disappointment. great film that really captures the poetry of life near the gutter.

THE SET-UP is also great, with that age-old story of being forced to throw a fight. it's a striking film in the murky world of film noir, definitely inspired one of the sub plots in Pulp Fiction

one of my faves is TOKYO FIST, a really frenetic, aggressive film that might be too much for those not accustomed to director Shinya Tsukamoto

barry · Post by **barry** » 09 Jan 2006, 04:04

I just watched Million Dollar Baby last night and have to say that I was pretty disappointed from the hype that I have heard about it. There was solid acting, but the story was very unrealistic, as were the fighting scenes, especially the fight with Lucia Riker, which has crap that you wouldn't see in a toughman competition.

There are several boxing movies that I have enjoyed though. I really liked Diggstown and Play it to the Bone, but Raging Bull is about the best in my opinion...Fat City was really good too!

kidlefty · Post by **kidlefty** » 09 Jan 2006, 04:56

Good to see FAT CITY gettin' all this love. It's a great movie and it's the best role of Stacy Keach's career. THE SET UP I think has some of the best black & white smoky boxing club scenes ever put on film. I don't think anyone's mentioned HARD TIMES yet, with Charles Bronson as a bare knuckle fighter in New Orleans. For anyone into the 42nd Street grindhouse stuff, there's PENITENTARY, PENITENTARY II and PENTITENTARY III- three of the most f'ed up pieces of celuloid ever concieved (I recommend the second- Mr. T, Rudy Ray Moore, Ernie "Half Dead" Hudson AND a crazy midget).

Some others I'd recommend (if you'll take any of my recommendations after watching Penitentary III) are CHAMPION with Kirk Douglas, and Errol Flynn as James J. Corbett in GENTLEMAN JIM ... I've never seen THE GREAT JOHN L. (1945), but I wish someone would make a really good movie about the last bare-knuckle days.

And let's hear it for Ving Rhames in DON KING: ONLY IN AMERICA! For a long time, there have been rumors about him in THE DEVIL AND SONNY LISTON, but I have no idea if that's ever going to happen.

I'm just not a fan of any of the recent boxing films. I think that MILLION DOLLAR BABY is incredibly overrated, Will Smith in ALI gets worse and worse with each viewing, and I still haven't seen CINDERELLA MAN- Ron Howard, Rene Zellwiger and Russell Crowe are three sure-fire ways to keep me out of the theater, so putting them all together,... forget about it! Can't possibly be good. Braddock is a bore anyway, a Max Baer movie woulda been more like it!

-KOKid- · Post by **-KOKid-** » 09 Jan 2006, 07:15

My favorite boxing films is "Gentleman Jim" from 1942, starring Errol Flynn.
"The Harder They Fall" is also a very good film with performances from Max Baer and Jersey Joe Walcott.
Of course "Raging Bull" is decent too. I believe Eddie Mustafa Muhammad, then known as Eddie Gregory plays the part of Billy Fox in it.
"Only in America", "Requeim for a Heavyweight" and "Cinderella Man" are also good.

Other films which are said to be good but I have not yet seen; "Somebody Up there Likes Me", based on Rocky Graziano's life and starring Paul Newman, "Monkey on My Back", about Barney Ross and "The Great John L." which is supposedly very good but very hard to find.

Crap boxing movies in my opinion are the Rocky series and Ali. The Rocky films I never liked, even as a kid, and Ali is the most disapointing piece of crap I have ever seen. Boring throughout.

-KOKid-

silkov · Post by **silkov** » 09 Jan 2006, 07:31

The trouble with ALI is why watch the annoying Will Smith when you can see the real man in action!. I haven't seen Cinderalla Man yet... seems too Hollywoody for my taste and I can't stand Crowe. Million Dollar Baby was very good with some great acting but what badly let it down I think was the boxing scenes which were very poor and unbelivable.
I liked Rocky and rOCKY 2 and even Rocky 3 was pretty good but they are all written to nearly the same plotline and after 3 it was all down hill.... I dread to think what Rocky 6 will be like!....
Stacy Keatch was great in Fat City... thats probably his best performance, though 'the long riders' was an excellent film too...

silkov · Post by **silkov** » 09 Jan 2006, 07:38

Has anyone seen the film on Bruce 'The Mouse' Strouss?.... I can't remember what it was called... Strouss was a colourful journeyman of the 80s who fought almost every week and was famed for chasing the rounds card girls during the one minute break between rounds!...

8)

barry · Post by **barry** » 09 Jan 2006, 08:19

It was called "The Mouse" put out in 1996, but I haven't seen it either.

There was supposed to be a movie about Benny Lynch with Robert Carlyle playing Lynch though I don't know if it has been filmed, canceled, or what.

silkov · Post by **silkov** » 09 Jan 2006, 11:50

Lynch's story would make a good film if done right. I think another film on Jack Johnson would be a good idea too, 'The great white hope' was a little too sanitized I think. Arron Pryors life would make a great film I think...

BoxBuzz · Post by **BoxBuzz** » 09 Jan 2006, 12:48

Pryor's would only be good for the expose aspect. Good title for that film would be "Let the truth be known".

barry · Post by **barry** » 09 Jan 2006, 12:57

A film about Harry Greb would be great, as would one on Max Baer. Hell, there are so many characters that would make for a good film. Joe Grim, Wolgast, Langford, Dempsey, Ketchel, Armstrong. I could go on and on.

Boxscribe · Post by **Boxscribe** » 09 Jan 2006, 15:31

barry wrote:There was supposed to be a movie about Benny Lynch with Robert Carlyle playing Lynch though I don't know if it has been filmed, canceled, or what.

According tot he Internet Movie Database the Lynch movie was completed in 2005.

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001015/

Ric · Post by **Ric** » 09 Jan 2006, 16:36

If you know of any boxing-related movies not on this list, please let me know. (We have omitted such movies as "Pulp Fiction," which, although it had a boxer character, was not really a boxing-related movie. There are other movies having boxer characters, but don't really qualify as "boxing" movies.)

http://www.boxrec.com/media/index.php/Category:Cinema

Ric · Post by **Ric** » 09 Jan 2006, 16:39

Decagon wrote:
BoxBuzz wrote:Twilight Zone had an episode called Requiem for a Heavyweight if I recall, it was worth the 30 minutes to watch.
Actually, Requiem for a Heavyweight was written by Rod Sterling.

I believe Serling (of "Twlight Zone" fame) wrote it, and it was first made as a television drama starring Jack Palance. It was popular enough to then become a feature film.

silkov · Post by **silkov** » 09 Jan 2006, 16:44

Ric wrote:
Decagon wrote:
BoxBuzz wrote:Twilight Zone had an episode called Requiem for a Heavyweight if I recall, it was worth the 30 minutes to watch.
Actually, Requiem for a Heavyweight was written by Rod Sterling.
I believe Serling (of "Twlight Zone" fame) wrote it, and it was first made as a television drama starring Jack Palance. It was popular enough to then become a feature film.

I've actually ordered the film version on Amazon... can't wait to see it...

silkov · Post by **silkov** » 09 Jan 2006, 16:46

Ric wrote:
Decagon wrote:
BoxBuzz wrote:Twilight Zone had an episode called Requiem for a Heavyweight if I recall, it was worth the 30 minutes to watch.
Actually, Requiem for a Heavyweight was written by Rod Sterling.
I believe Serling (of "Twlight Zone" fame) wrote it, and it was first made as a television drama starring Jack Palance. It was popular enough to then become a feature film.

I think I remember reading somewhere that 'Requiem...' was one of Quinns favourite films that he had made...

THE DANCING MASTER · Post by **THE DANCING MASTER** » 09 Jan 2006, 16:55

All of the good ones have already been mentioned, but here are a couple more that are worth seeing: Iron Man with Jeff Chandler. Haven't seen it in years, but it used to be on tv a lot back in the 60's. Another one is called The Square Circle with Tony Curtis.

Have to agree that Fat City is at the top of the boxing films heap. I first saw it at an art house in Cleveland years ago. It is out on dvd now. The book is also a great read.

Another film that gives a rather bleak picture of boxing is The Ring with Rita Moreno done in 1952.

Has anyone mentioned The Great WHite Hope with James Earl Jones?

Ric · Post by **Ric** » 09 Jan 2006, 17:39

THE DANCING MASTER wrote: Another one is called The Square Circle with Tony Curtis.

"The Square Jungle"
http://www.boxrec.com/media/index.php/The_Square_Jungle

Boxing movies worth checking out

Boxing movies worth checking out

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List of Boxing Movies