boxing movies that should be made

[rightsideup]

That was "The Great White Hope". I saw I when it came out. Not much of a boxing movie, tbh.

Was that the one with James Earl Jones?

[Scott9945]

Was that the one with James Earl Jones?

Yeah. As a movie it was entertaining enough, but as a bio it was highly fictional.

[The Old LefHook]

Fat City is unheralded but one of the greatest boxing movies.

[rightsideup]

Fat City is unheralded but one of the greatest boxing movies.

yes both keach and bridges played there roles well

[rightsideup]

Yeah. As a movie it was entertaining enough, but as a bio it was highly fictional.

thats how i recall it

[Sugar Adam Ali]

Those would be very interesting to me. There is an older film based on the life of Jack Johnson played by James Earl Jones.

Do you know the name,, I might have to check it out

[rightsideup]

Do you know the name,, I might have to check it out

it is the great white hopereleased in 1970 jane alexander and hal holbrick are the only names of the cast that i recognize . he also did a play with the same title

[The Old LefHook]

yes both keach and bridges played there roles well

They were perfect. You could say that about the movie too. This is the story of a movie that should have been made and was made. As time goes on I have every confidence we will be glad it was made just as it was. A minimalist sound score a far cry from the melodramitc heights of cymbals and timpanis fits the realism present every moment. Just two pop classics and instrumental variations on them quietly make the statement that not much more is needed for a great film. This one reaches into its characters with a wrench.

From the beginning you feel Stockton, California inside you. During the period the movie was made I lived in that wide central valley myself in Modesto, another tough town about thirty miles south. Stockton is still the biggest thing in the north valley except for Sacramento, and that valley is still one of the food baskets of the world, despite many acres per day being newly paved over for shopping marts, housing developments, freeways and parking lots et al, continuously.

The film is not typical of boxing movies. It is a drama with quite a lot of well choreographed boxing minutes but no heroic figures on a meteoric rise for the familiar Hollywood touch. Even though boxing is central to it, it refuses to leave life for a second. You know everything is real, from the auditoriums where they fight to the racial mix of the crowds.

The vulturous Ruben shows his incompetence early when he puts green Ernie in the ring to spar without warmup. In Billy's backstory more emerges about Ruben. But much later we see Ruben victimized by the king of vultures the promoter.

Eerie echoes of Billy's own backstory as his opponent from Mexico City steps off a bus alone in Stockton and carries his suitcase along broken sidewalks to a beat up hotel where he pisses blood in the toilet. It's a tough world and a tougher game.

Anyone who can adjust away from the usual hyperbolic beatings and heroics of the typical boxing movie will probably love this one. The film was never a big hit. Mass audiences respond to sports movies where great odds are overcome. But in real life the odds usually win. And this is not a sports movie. Those are two reasons this film is built to last.

[stephenmc]

i think a film should be made about a journeyman...one that has more losses than wins...theirs a book that came out a year ago or so, il look for it their in a min.
a film based on that book would be great!!!

[stephenmc]

that is the book if anyone is intrested.
its called joureymen: the other side of boxing

Journeymen tells a story that is often purposely ignored - that of the modern-day boxers who lose for a living. Far from huge purses and pay-per-view hype, the book lays bare the reality of the boxing business and the way it works in small-hall venues countrywide. October 2013 saw the 100th and final fight in the career of East London's Johnny Greaves, remarkable in that he won only four contests. He took fights at short notice, facing young prospects with the implicit understanding that he was not there to win. Journeymen features in-depth interviews with Greaves and other men who have similarly served the fight game, including Kristian Laight (180 defeats), Jason Nesbitt (178) and Daniel Thorpe (113). Though sometimes dark, their tales reveal humour, wisdom and sporting pride: the journeymen eschew glamour, make the best of what they have and face the world with a smile and a wink.


a film based on one of these guys would be great....like a cinderela man type story