Movie about James J Braddock due out in March

[CONN CHRIS]

http://www.jamesjbraddock.com/movie/

I am looking forward to this film. Ron Howard is the director, hopefuly it will live up to the quality of his past work.

Has anyone read or heard any early reviews or commentary about "Cinderella Man"?

Chris

[mh2365]

Alot of Academy Award talk surrounding this film ... I've seen a couple of trailers and it looks excellent. Imagine two good boxing films in one year, the other being "Million Dollar Baby"

[CONN CHRIS]

Russell Crow from the set of "Cinderella Man"

Edit - oops, that picture must be copy right protected - go over to jamesjbraddock.com if you want to see shots from the filming. They have a great marquee posted.

[wildhawke11]

Originally Posted by mh2365

Alot of Academy Award talk surrounding this film ... I've seen a couple of trailers and it looks excellent. Imagine two good boxing films in one year, the other being "Million Dollar Baby"

Million Dollar Baby as seen by a Lady Fighter.

(Chicago, Illinois): Rita Figueroa, a fledging professional boxer recently screened Clint Eastwood’s movie entitled, “Million Dollar Baby.” Starring Clint Eastwood, Morgan Freeman and Hillary Swank, this movie impressed her greatly. Here then is her review:

I will tell you right now: if you are going to see a boxing movie, you will be disappointed. Its focus is not about boxing, nor are the fight scenes that of championship caliber fighters. Instead, the boxing serves more as a backdrop to an intense character study; what you will see is a heart and soul movie that looks at the lives of three people.

There are no frills, no big studio special effects. The setting is dark. The narration by Morgan Freeman works perfectly, as it did in Shawshank Redemption. Clint Eastwood and Morgan Freeman play so well off each other onscreen, I only wish that they had collaborated many more times earlier in their careers. They both do great jobs, as does Hillary Swank in her role as Maggie, the female boxer. Swank accurately portrayed how hard a boxer has to work. Clearly, she did her homework in preparing for this role.

That said, as a female fighter, I had mixed reactions, at best, to Maggie’s experience with her coach.

On the down side, in the movie, Maggie’s coach—who is played by Eastwood and whom she refers to as "boss"—initially did not want to work with her, adding that he did not want to train a "girlie". In my case, my coach, Sam Colonna at Windy City Boxing Gym, was very helpful and worked with me from the first day I walked in the gym, and that was about five years ago.

On the plus side, both Eastwood’s fictional character and real life boxing coach Colonna are brutally honest. This rings true to life, as in this game, we can afford no less. Moreover, Maggie was loyal to her coach, as he was to her. In my personal experience, Sam Colonna has been there with me since my first amateur fight; he will be with me for my last pro fight.

Overall, I highly recommend this movie. If you want to see the best movie of 2004, go see " Million Dollar Baby."

[mh2365]

I kinda figure both of them are more character driven movies with boxing as a backdrop ... It's just good to see boxing getting some play time in solid movies, instead of the "action flick" setting it is usually played in

[mking55]

There is no such thing as a 'boxing' movie. There are several excellent films that use boxing to either tell a story or tell about people.

I wouldn't call Raging Bull a boxing movie. I wouldn't even call Body and Soul a boxing movie and that might be the best 'boxing' movie ever made.

I love movies that use boxing to tell their story. The sport makes for a great backdrop to tell a story about character. And I would say that there have been more good movies using boxing than any other sport.

I don't know if anyone has made a list here of great movies that use boxing so if I am repeating anything, I'm sorry. If you can find these, see them. Most can be found on DVD but usually not in your local video store. These are my 10 favorite in random order.

The Set-Up (1949) Robert Ryan stars. It's about a fixed fight. Great.
Body and Soul (1947) John Garfield stars. Slum kid to champion and bucks the mob. Most realistic fight scenes in a movie up to that time.
Champion (1949) Early Kirk Douglas hit. "Fighting or loving he was the champion"--from the poster
Requiem for a Heavyweight (1962) Anthony Quinn and Jackie Gleason. Also has a very young fighter named Cassius Clay in it. It was originally a TV drama written by Rod Serling that was later made into this wonderful film.
Gentleman Jim (1942) The story (Hollywood style) of James Corbett. It stars Errol Flynn and I cry when John L. Sullivan (played by Ward Bond) gives the belt to Corbett.
Raging Bull (1980) Jake LaMotta, Martin Scorcese, and Robert DeNiro. What more could you want.
The Harder they Fall (1956) Humphrey Bogart in his final film as a press agent for a boxer who can't fight. Supposedly based on Primo Carnera and corruption in boxing. (Corruption? Boxing? Who are they kidding).
The Great White Hope (1970) Anything with James Earl Jones is worth seeing. This was the hit movie based on the hit play about Jack Johnson.
Golden Boy (1939) The movie that made William Holden a star. He could box and he could play the violin. He had to choose which to do.
City For Conquest (1940) Jimmy Cagney battles through the fight ranks. Does he make it or does tragedy strike?

I am so excited about going to see Million Dollar Baby this weekend. I hope it ranks with these. But I'm serious. If you want a 'boxing' film and you haven't seen these, do so. You won't be sorry. (Or you might be but then that wouldn't be my problem).

[mking55]

No, this is not a shameless bump so people will look at my list of personal 'boxing' movie favorites.

I went to see Million Dollar Baby yesterday amid great anticipation. Apparently there were a lot of other excited people as the theatre was packed in the middle of the afternoon for showings on 2 screens. Was it the boxing that attracted them? hahahahaha

This movie, while I enjoyed it, does not make my top 10. It had decent acting, humorous parts, was predictable, and quite sappy. I am not a boxing expert and don't care for woman's boxing, but I thought the fight scenes were not very good. There was a certain element of realism missing in the fight scenes and in how the 'champion' conducted herself during fights. Maybe a cheapo club fighter cheats like that, but I don't think a recognized 'champion' would.

If you like watching old geezers interact (Eastwood and Freeman), than you should go. I love watching old geezers interact. Hillary Swank is a major talent and she plays well with Eastwood. However, Raging Bull this is not.

[Cap]

I just heard that former Canadian Olympian Troy Ross plays the part of light heavyweight great John Henry Lewis in Ron Howard's "Cinderella Man".

Cap

[mking55]

Originally Posted by Cap

I just heard that former Canadian Olympian Troy Ross plays the part of light heavyweight great John Henry Lewis in Ron Howard's "Cinderella Man".

Cap

Couldn't they find a part for Willie DeWitt?

Ron Howard's movies are plot driven, whereas Clint Eastwood's are character driven.

Therefore, I expect Cinderella Man will be much more interesting a story and a lot less sappy than Million Dollar Baby. However, since Hollywood loves "deep" movies, Cinderella Man will never get the oscars that Million Dollar Baby will probably get.

[Cap]

Originally Posted by mking55

Couldn't they find a part for Willie DeWitt?

Who do you think is handling all their legal battles?

Cap

[mking55]

Originally Posted by Cap

Who do you think is handling all their legal battles?

Cap

Great comeback. If I was wearing a hat, I'd take it off to you.