Similarly to his portrayal of protagonist Rocky Balboa, Stallone’s journey to bringing the film to life (based on his spec script and demands to star in it-despite being completely unknown at the time) are pure filmmaking folklore, at this point. What’s greater than a four-time Academy Award-winning boxing film, you ask? Well, that would, of course, be another Oscar-winning breakout film that’s become a worldwide phenomenon and media franchise, and spawned eight sequels (with more still to come).įamous for launching the career of the aspiring writer, filmmaker, and star Sylvester Stallone, the original Rocky film is truly the underdog of underdog films. However, there are certainly plenty of other outstanding, drama-filled films like Champion (1949), The Harder They Fall (1956), and The Hurricane(1999) to check out.Īlso, while it’s not on our list because it doesn’t contain any boxing scenes, one could even argue that one of the best films of all time- Marlon Brando‘s On the Waterfront-could be the original blueprint for the boxing narrative used throughout the genre’s history. Many boxing films fit in a standard bio-pic formula. Most boxing films are pure drama that focuses both on foes in the ring and enemies (and relationships) outside of it.Ĭonsider Will Smith‘s iconic portrayal of Muhammed Ali and Russell Crowe‘s powerful performance as James J. There aren’t many boxing comedies or boxing rom-coms, or boxing sci-fi films. However, one odd thing about boxing films compared to other sports sub-genres is that most of the movies are actually quite similar, which should be undoubtedly helpful for filmmakers looking to work within this genre. We have a lot to mention before diving into our actual list. To answer these questions and further explore what makes these boxing film classics tick, let’s explore our list of the best boxing movies of all time to see what we can learn from them. Or, is there something more profound and inherently cinematic about the sport that pits man-vs-man in the most literal of senses? With movies directed by the likes of Martin Scorsese, starring the likes of Kirk Douglas, Russell Crowe, and Will Smith, and launching the careers of cinema stars like Sylvester Stallone, this sub-genre of the sports film is about as deep and decorated as they come.īut, what makes these boxing films stand out? Is it something practical about how the sparse setting of a boxing ring in the middle of a dark auditorium makes for easy production? In doing research for this series on the different sports genres in film, there was one sport that seemed to be considered the greatest consistently-boxing. From Raging Bull to Rocky IV to Million Dollar Baby, let’s explore what makes boxing movies quintessentially cinematic.
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