Creed (2015)
I went out on a bit of a limb in proclaimingFruitvale Station the best film of 2013. It was the debut film of previously unknown director Ryan Coogler, and yet, no other film moved me...
Tagged: boxing
The Ring (1927)
The Ring is a silent film from 1927, made by director (and screenwriter here, the only film to give him sole credit) Alfred Hitchcock (The Man Who Knew Too Much, The 39 Steps). It’s a familiar...
Rocky IV (1985)
“I must break you”. At the time wrote the words above are uttered, it’s hard to discern whether writer/director Sylvester Stallone was speaking through Rocky’s fiercest opponent yet, Ivan Drago (Lundgren, Masters of the Universe),...
Rocky III (1982)
Plans for a third Rocky film were underway during Rocky II‘s post-production. Stallone wanted a trilogy and wanted to begin filming within 18 months so he wouldn’t be too old. Bill Conti began composing...
Rocky (1976)
The seed of inspiration for Rocky was planted on March 24, 1975. Sylvester Stallone attended a closed-circuit Los Angeles movie theater presentation of Chuck Wepner fighting Muhammad Ali. Severe underdog Wepner wasn’t expected to...
The Great White Hype (1996)
The Great White Hype is a broad satire of the boxing industry, particularly in how publicity and marketing govern the suitability of one’s rise to the top more so than sheer talent. Spoofing everything from...
Rocky II (1979)
As Sylvester Stallone approached closer to completing production on Rocky, he conceived that he would like to make it a trilogy, if it proved successful. It was too difficult to relate the full story...
Fat City (1972)
The great director John Huston scores again with one of his most understated films, a small-time character study on two boxers on opposite ends of their boxing careers. Keach plays Billy Tully, a former...
Million Dollar Baby (2004)
As a director, Clint Eastwood has sometimes been down, but never for the count, and if you consider the last two films he has directed, Mystic River and Million Dollar Baby, you might even conclude he has hit...
Ali (2001)
Ali is the type of movie that is hard not to disappoint people with, since Ali is a much loved figure around the world, and one of the most popular personalities of the Sixties and...