With Southpaw being released this weekend, I thought it would be fitting to give you my top 10 favorite boxing films of all-time. So without further ado...
10. Rocky Balboa
This was a great reintroduction to the franchise after the disappointing 5th film in the franchise. Sixteen years have passed since his final fight with his former protege, Tommy "The Machine" Gunn. Long retired boxer Rocky Balboa (played by Sylvester Stallone) still staggers around an ever-changing world; his son is grown and distant, Paulie (played by Burt Young) is working back at the meat plant and Rocky's wife Adrian has died. Rocky has opened a restaurant named after his wife, which he stocks with mementos of his prime as he tells his old fighting stories to the customers. But when a computer simulated fight on ESPN depicting a bout between a young Rocky Balboa and the current champion, Mason Dixon (played by real-life boxer Antonio Tarver) reignites interest in the faded boxer, Rocky discovers he has not lost his fighting spirit and considers an opportunity to prove himself in the ring again. Rocky Balboa has a rating of 76% on rottentomatoes.com.
9. Cinderella Man
This is such an amazing, powerful and emotional film. The true story of an athlete who achieved his greatest success against the most daunting odds of his life is brought to the screen in this historical drama. In the 1920s, James Braddock (played by Russell Crowe) from Bergen, NJ, was a promising contender in professional boxing; he had strength, spirit, and tenacity, but the combination of a serious hand injury and a 1929 defeat in a bout with light heavyweight champ Tommy Loughran sent his career into a serious tailspin. As Braddock's career in the ring dried up, the Great Depression put a stake through the heart of America's economy, and Braddock found himself working at the New York docks for pitiful wages as he tried to support his wife, Mae (played by Renée Zellweger), and three children. Desperate for money, Braddock turned to his former trainer and manager Joe Gould (played by Paul Giamatti), who was unexpectedly able to scare up a bout for him, battling John Griffin at Madison Square Garden. While conventional wisdom had it that Braddock was too old, out of shape, and out of practice to have any chance of winning, he defeated Griffin, and continued beating his opponents with a powerful left hook that had been intensified by years of punishing dock work. In a nation desperate for good news, Braddock's surprising comeback became a tonic to struggling workers and unemployed people, and all eyes were on Braddock when in 1935 he took on powerful heavyweight champion Max Baer (played by Craig Bierko) in what was both literally and figuratively the fight of his life. Cinderella Man was nominated for 3 Academy Awards including Best Supporting Actor, Best Film Editing and Best Makeup and it has a rating of 80% on rottentomatoes.com.
8. Ali
This is one of the best portrayals in a bio-pic and the film itself is an amazing bio-pic. This biography of boxing great Muhammad Ali (played by Will Smith), which focuses on the ten-year period of 1964-1974. In that time, the brash, motor-mouthed athlete quickly dominates his sport, meets and marries his first wife (played by Jada Pinkett-Smith), converts to Islam (changing his name from Cassius Clay), and defies the United States government by refusing to submit to military conscription for duty in Vietnam. His world heavyweight champion title thus stripped from him entirely for political reasons, the champ sets about to win back his crown, culminating in a legendary unification bout against George Foreman (played by Charles Shufford) in Zaire, dubbed the "Rumble in the Jungle." In his travels, Ali becomes a symbol of power to disenfranchised African-Americans everywhere and meets such luminaries as Malcolm X (played by Mario Van Peebles), Martin Luther King Jr. (played by LeVar Burton) and Maya Angelou (played by Martha Edgerton). Ali was nominated for 2 Academy Awards including Best Actor and Best Supporting Actor and it has a rating of 67% on rottentomatoes.com.
7. The Fighter
This is a fantastic film and it has one of the most incredible physical transformations in film history. "Irish" Micky Ward (played by Mark Wahlberg) is a determined pugilist whose career in the ring was shepherded by his loyal half-brother, Dicky (played by Christian Bale) -- a hard-living boxer-turned-trainer whose own career in the ring was nearly sent down for the count due to drugs and crime -- perennial underdog Irish Micky rebounded from a disheartening series of defeats to win both the WBU Intercontinental Lightweight title and the WBU Light Welterweight title thanks to a fierce combination of determination and hard work. The Fighter was nominated for 7 Academy Awards including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Supporting Actor, 2 nominations for Best Supporting Actress, Best Original Screenplay and Best Film Editing while winning 2 (Best Supporting Actor and Best Supporting Actress) and it has a rating of 91% on rottentomatoes.com.
6. The Hurricane
This is an amazing and heart-breaking film. In 1966, Rubin "Hurricane" Carter (played By Denzel Washington) was a top-ranked middleweight boxer whom many fight fans expected to become world champion. When three people were shot to death in a bar in Paterson, New Jersey, Carter and his friend John Artis, driving home from another club in Paterson, were stopped and questioned by police. Although the police asserted that Carter and Artis "were never suspects," a man named Alfred Bello (played by Vincent Pastore), himself a suspect in the killings, claimed that Carter and Artis were present at the time of the murders. On the basis of Bello's testimony, Carter and Artis were convicted of murder, and Carter was given three consecutive life sentences. Throughout the trial, Carter proclaimed his innocence, saying that his African-American race and work as a civil rights activist were the real reasons for his conviction. In 1974, Bello and Arthur Bradley, who also claimed that Carter was present at the scene of the crimes, recanted their testimony, but Carter and Artis were reconvicted. In the early 1980s, Brooklyn teenager Lesra Martin (played by Deborah Kara Unger) worked with a trio of Canadian activists to push the State of New Jersey to reinvestigate Carter's case; in 1985, a Federal District Court ruled that the prosecution in Carter's second trial committed "grave constitutional violations" and that his conviction was based on racism rather than facts. Carter was finally freed, and he summed up his story by saying, "Hate got me into this place, love got me out." The Hurricane was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor and it has a rating of 83% on rottentomatoes.com.
5. Rocky II
This is a not only a great movie, but a great sequel as well. Soon after proving himself, even with a split decision loss to Apollo Creed, Rocky (played by Sylvester Stallone) expects the good life to follow. He marries Adrian (played by Talia Shire) and begins spending the money he earned from the match. But after he fails at both endorsements and a series of low-wage jobs, Rocky realizes the only way he can survive is to begin boxing again. Creed (played by Carl Weathers), on the other hand, faces criticism from fans to overcome the fight. As a result, he taunts Rocky through publicity into a rematch, for which Rocky trains himself once again with Mickey (played by Burgess Meredith). Rocky II has a rating of 72% on rottentomatoes.com.
4. Rocky IV
This film has a lot of 80's nostalgia and it has one of the corniest but best endings to a movie of all-time. After winning back the title from Clubber Lang, Rocky (played by Sylvester Stallone) decides to spend some time with his family. However, destiny has some new plans for which doesn't allow him to leave the ring. A new fighter from the USSR, Ivan Drago (played by Dolph Lundgren) has emerged, and challenges Rocky to an exhibition match. Apollo (played by Carl Weathers) fights instead and the beating he takes from Drago ends with him dying in Rocky's arms, still in the ring as Drago coldly watches. To avenge Apollo and fight for his country, Rocky challenges Drago to a fight, which is to be held on Christmas Day in Moscow. Rocky IV has a rating of 38% on rottentomatoes.com.
3. Raging Bull
This film is easily one of the greatest films of all-time. The story of Jake LaMotta (played by Robert DeNiro), a former middleweight boxing champion, whose reputation for tenacity and success in the ring was offset by his troubled domestic life: full of rage, jealousy, and suspicion--particularly towards his wife (played by Cathy Moriarty) and manager/brother (played by Joe Pesci)--which, in the end, left him destitute, alone, and seeking redemption. Raging Bull was nominated for 8 Academy Awards including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Supporting Actor, Best Supporting Actress, Best Sound, Best Cinematography, and Best Film Editing, while wining two (Best Actor and Best Film Editing) and it has a rating of 98% on rottentomatoes.com.
2. Million Dollar Baby
This is an amazing film and the controversy that the film caused was utterly ridiculous. Frankie Dunn (played by Clint Eastwood) is a veteran boxing trainer who has devoted his life to the ring and has precious little to show for it; his daughter never answers his letters, and a fighter he's groomed into contender status has paid him back by signing with another manager, leaving Frankie high and dry. His best friend and faithful employee Eddie Dupris (played by Morgan Freeman) is a former fighter who Frankie trained. In his last fight, Eddie suffered a severe injury, a fact that brings Frankie great guilt. One day, Maggie Fitzgerald (played by Hilary Swank) enters Frankie's life, as well as his gym, and announces she needs a trainer. Frankie regards her as a dubious prospect, and isn't afraid to tell her why: he doesn't think much of women boxing, she's too old at 31, she lacks experience, and has no technique. However, Maggie sees boxing as the one part of her life that gives her meaning and won't give up easily. Finally won over by her determination, Frankie takes on Maggie, and as she slowly grows into a viable fighter, an emotional bond develops between them. When a tragedy befalls one of the three characters, each comes to a decision that shows how the relationships in the film have changed them. Million Dollar Baby was nominated for 7 Academy Awards including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Supporting Actor, Best Film Editing, and Best Adapted Screenplay, while winning four (Best Picture, Best Director, Best Supporting Actor, and Best Actress) and it has a rating of 91% on rottentomatoes.com.
1. Rocky
I absolutely love this film and it is an incredible underdog story. A slightly dimwitted amateur boxer (played by Sylvester Stallone) from Philadelphia's tough neighborhood gets a surprise shot at fighting for the heavyweight championship, while at the same time he finds love in the arms of a shy, reclusive girl (played by Talia Shire) who works in the local pet store. Rocky was nominated for 10 Academy Awards including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Original Screenplay, 2 nominations for Best Supporting Actor, Best Film Editing, Best Original Song and Best Sound Mixing while winning 3 (Best Picture, Best Director and Best Original Song) and it has a rating of 92% on rottentomatoes.com.
So ladies and gentlemen what are some of your favorite boxing films are you excited for Southpaw and what do you think of my list? Let me know in the comments section below and let your voice be heard.
Jonah Sparks
10. Rocky Balboa
This was a great reintroduction to the franchise after the disappointing 5th film in the franchise. Sixteen years have passed since his final fight with his former protege, Tommy "The Machine" Gunn. Long retired boxer Rocky Balboa (played by Sylvester Stallone) still staggers around an ever-changing world; his son is grown and distant, Paulie (played by Burt Young) is working back at the meat plant and Rocky's wife Adrian has died. Rocky has opened a restaurant named after his wife, which he stocks with mementos of his prime as he tells his old fighting stories to the customers. But when a computer simulated fight on ESPN depicting a bout between a young Rocky Balboa and the current champion, Mason Dixon (played by real-life boxer Antonio Tarver) reignites interest in the faded boxer, Rocky discovers he has not lost his fighting spirit and considers an opportunity to prove himself in the ring again. Rocky Balboa has a rating of 76% on rottentomatoes.com.
9. Cinderella Man
This is such an amazing, powerful and emotional film. The true story of an athlete who achieved his greatest success against the most daunting odds of his life is brought to the screen in this historical drama. In the 1920s, James Braddock (played by Russell Crowe) from Bergen, NJ, was a promising contender in professional boxing; he had strength, spirit, and tenacity, but the combination of a serious hand injury and a 1929 defeat in a bout with light heavyweight champ Tommy Loughran sent his career into a serious tailspin. As Braddock's career in the ring dried up, the Great Depression put a stake through the heart of America's economy, and Braddock found himself working at the New York docks for pitiful wages as he tried to support his wife, Mae (played by Renée Zellweger), and three children. Desperate for money, Braddock turned to his former trainer and manager Joe Gould (played by Paul Giamatti), who was unexpectedly able to scare up a bout for him, battling John Griffin at Madison Square Garden. While conventional wisdom had it that Braddock was too old, out of shape, and out of practice to have any chance of winning, he defeated Griffin, and continued beating his opponents with a powerful left hook that had been intensified by years of punishing dock work. In a nation desperate for good news, Braddock's surprising comeback became a tonic to struggling workers and unemployed people, and all eyes were on Braddock when in 1935 he took on powerful heavyweight champion Max Baer (played by Craig Bierko) in what was both literally and figuratively the fight of his life. Cinderella Man was nominated for 3 Academy Awards including Best Supporting Actor, Best Film Editing and Best Makeup and it has a rating of 80% on rottentomatoes.com.
8. Ali
This is one of the best portrayals in a bio-pic and the film itself is an amazing bio-pic. This biography of boxing great Muhammad Ali (played by Will Smith), which focuses on the ten-year period of 1964-1974. In that time, the brash, motor-mouthed athlete quickly dominates his sport, meets and marries his first wife (played by Jada Pinkett-Smith), converts to Islam (changing his name from Cassius Clay), and defies the United States government by refusing to submit to military conscription for duty in Vietnam. His world heavyweight champion title thus stripped from him entirely for political reasons, the champ sets about to win back his crown, culminating in a legendary unification bout against George Foreman (played by Charles Shufford) in Zaire, dubbed the "Rumble in the Jungle." In his travels, Ali becomes a symbol of power to disenfranchised African-Americans everywhere and meets such luminaries as Malcolm X (played by Mario Van Peebles), Martin Luther King Jr. (played by LeVar Burton) and Maya Angelou (played by Martha Edgerton). Ali was nominated for 2 Academy Awards including Best Actor and Best Supporting Actor and it has a rating of 67% on rottentomatoes.com.
7. The Fighter
This is a fantastic film and it has one of the most incredible physical transformations in film history. "Irish" Micky Ward (played by Mark Wahlberg) is a determined pugilist whose career in the ring was shepherded by his loyal half-brother, Dicky (played by Christian Bale) -- a hard-living boxer-turned-trainer whose own career in the ring was nearly sent down for the count due to drugs and crime -- perennial underdog Irish Micky rebounded from a disheartening series of defeats to win both the WBU Intercontinental Lightweight title and the WBU Light Welterweight title thanks to a fierce combination of determination and hard work. The Fighter was nominated for 7 Academy Awards including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Supporting Actor, 2 nominations for Best Supporting Actress, Best Original Screenplay and Best Film Editing while winning 2 (Best Supporting Actor and Best Supporting Actress) and it has a rating of 91% on rottentomatoes.com.
6. The Hurricane
This is an amazing and heart-breaking film. In 1966, Rubin "Hurricane" Carter (played By Denzel Washington) was a top-ranked middleweight boxer whom many fight fans expected to become world champion. When three people were shot to death in a bar in Paterson, New Jersey, Carter and his friend John Artis, driving home from another club in Paterson, were stopped and questioned by police. Although the police asserted that Carter and Artis "were never suspects," a man named Alfred Bello (played by Vincent Pastore), himself a suspect in the killings, claimed that Carter and Artis were present at the time of the murders. On the basis of Bello's testimony, Carter and Artis were convicted of murder, and Carter was given three consecutive life sentences. Throughout the trial, Carter proclaimed his innocence, saying that his African-American race and work as a civil rights activist were the real reasons for his conviction. In 1974, Bello and Arthur Bradley, who also claimed that Carter was present at the scene of the crimes, recanted their testimony, but Carter and Artis were reconvicted. In the early 1980s, Brooklyn teenager Lesra Martin (played by Deborah Kara Unger) worked with a trio of Canadian activists to push the State of New Jersey to reinvestigate Carter's case; in 1985, a Federal District Court ruled that the prosecution in Carter's second trial committed "grave constitutional violations" and that his conviction was based on racism rather than facts. Carter was finally freed, and he summed up his story by saying, "Hate got me into this place, love got me out." The Hurricane was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor and it has a rating of 83% on rottentomatoes.com.
5. Rocky II
This is a not only a great movie, but a great sequel as well. Soon after proving himself, even with a split decision loss to Apollo Creed, Rocky (played by Sylvester Stallone) expects the good life to follow. He marries Adrian (played by Talia Shire) and begins spending the money he earned from the match. But after he fails at both endorsements and a series of low-wage jobs, Rocky realizes the only way he can survive is to begin boxing again. Creed (played by Carl Weathers), on the other hand, faces criticism from fans to overcome the fight. As a result, he taunts Rocky through publicity into a rematch, for which Rocky trains himself once again with Mickey (played by Burgess Meredith). Rocky II has a rating of 72% on rottentomatoes.com.
4. Rocky IV
This film has a lot of 80's nostalgia and it has one of the corniest but best endings to a movie of all-time. After winning back the title from Clubber Lang, Rocky (played by Sylvester Stallone) decides to spend some time with his family. However, destiny has some new plans for which doesn't allow him to leave the ring. A new fighter from the USSR, Ivan Drago (played by Dolph Lundgren) has emerged, and challenges Rocky to an exhibition match. Apollo (played by Carl Weathers) fights instead and the beating he takes from Drago ends with him dying in Rocky's arms, still in the ring as Drago coldly watches. To avenge Apollo and fight for his country, Rocky challenges Drago to a fight, which is to be held on Christmas Day in Moscow. Rocky IV has a rating of 38% on rottentomatoes.com.
3. Raging Bull
This film is easily one of the greatest films of all-time. The story of Jake LaMotta (played by Robert DeNiro), a former middleweight boxing champion, whose reputation for tenacity and success in the ring was offset by his troubled domestic life: full of rage, jealousy, and suspicion--particularly towards his wife (played by Cathy Moriarty) and manager/brother (played by Joe Pesci)--which, in the end, left him destitute, alone, and seeking redemption. Raging Bull was nominated for 8 Academy Awards including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Supporting Actor, Best Supporting Actress, Best Sound, Best Cinematography, and Best Film Editing, while wining two (Best Actor and Best Film Editing) and it has a rating of 98% on rottentomatoes.com.
2. Million Dollar Baby
This is an amazing film and the controversy that the film caused was utterly ridiculous. Frankie Dunn (played by Clint Eastwood) is a veteran boxing trainer who has devoted his life to the ring and has precious little to show for it; his daughter never answers his letters, and a fighter he's groomed into contender status has paid him back by signing with another manager, leaving Frankie high and dry. His best friend and faithful employee Eddie Dupris (played by Morgan Freeman) is a former fighter who Frankie trained. In his last fight, Eddie suffered a severe injury, a fact that brings Frankie great guilt. One day, Maggie Fitzgerald (played by Hilary Swank) enters Frankie's life, as well as his gym, and announces she needs a trainer. Frankie regards her as a dubious prospect, and isn't afraid to tell her why: he doesn't think much of women boxing, she's too old at 31, she lacks experience, and has no technique. However, Maggie sees boxing as the one part of her life that gives her meaning and won't give up easily. Finally won over by her determination, Frankie takes on Maggie, and as she slowly grows into a viable fighter, an emotional bond develops between them. When a tragedy befalls one of the three characters, each comes to a decision that shows how the relationships in the film have changed them. Million Dollar Baby was nominated for 7 Academy Awards including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Supporting Actor, Best Film Editing, and Best Adapted Screenplay, while winning four (Best Picture, Best Director, Best Supporting Actor, and Best Actress) and it has a rating of 91% on rottentomatoes.com.
1. Rocky
I absolutely love this film and it is an incredible underdog story. A slightly dimwitted amateur boxer (played by Sylvester Stallone) from Philadelphia's tough neighborhood gets a surprise shot at fighting for the heavyweight championship, while at the same time he finds love in the arms of a shy, reclusive girl (played by Talia Shire) who works in the local pet store. Rocky was nominated for 10 Academy Awards including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Original Screenplay, 2 nominations for Best Supporting Actor, Best Film Editing, Best Original Song and Best Sound Mixing while winning 3 (Best Picture, Best Director and Best Original Song) and it has a rating of 92% on rottentomatoes.com.
So ladies and gentlemen what are some of your favorite boxing films are you excited for Southpaw and what do you think of my list? Let me know in the comments section below and let your voice be heard.
Jonah Sparks
No comments:
Post a Comment