Great Boxing Movies

Although known as "The Sweet Science," nothing can mask the ultimate brutality of boxing, the one sport whose intent is to knock your opponent senseless. Norman Mailer once said that boxers are violent people who learn to discipline themselves. In these three great movies, we meet men who rise to the top with the power and violence of their fists. The only discipline they will accept is that of superior power.

The Joe Louis Story (1953)
This is the biographical drama of the ´Brown Bomber´s´ rise from his impoverished childhood to his incredible rematch with Schmeling, when Louis won the Wrorld Heavyweight Championship. The title fight was more than a boxing match. Lasting a mere 124 seconds, its outcome would live forever and is remembered as one of the major sports events of the 20th century. As the United States inched closer toward World War II, the 1938 rematch between Louis and Schmeling had worldwide implications. Hitler preached the racial superiority of Aryans and conveniently pointed to Schmeling as proof. Louis ended, once and for all, the myth of that superiority.

The Fighter (1952)
An absorbing story set in Mexico where a violent boxer becomes involved in the struggle to overthrow the dictator responsible for his family´s death. Now he pummels his competition in order to win a huge purse which will buy guns for the revolutionaries. Based on the Jack London story, "The Mexican."

Fight For The Title (1957)
Boxer Benny Leonard does his best to deflect a punch-drunk young man (Michael Landon) from wasting his life in the boxing ring. Winning the Lightweight Championship just as WWII is declared, Benny chooses to give up his lucrative career and enlist in the armed services.