It’s the first time I’ve ever done a film review and I felt compelled to do so as it was about the heavyweight championship of the World, it’s a title that has many stories behind it and possibly more so than any weight division in our glorious sport that is the noble art!
This film which one an award at the Waterford film festival tells the story of the 1937 heavyweight championship fight between the Cinderella man James J Braddock the unlikely lad who came off of the bread line to win the title worth the most bread, the heavyweight championship of the whole wide World…. the richest prize, and his defence against the first black man to challenge for the title since Jack Johnson over some twenty years previously, Louis had it all to do to help heal the wounds Johnson had inflicted on white America’s face and restore some credibility to the black American, Louis had a task indeed and in finally being able to challenge for the coveted prize had to take a massive pay cut in doing so, taking only ten percent of the purse on offer to finally clinch a challenge at the champion!
However it is in many respects the most important period in the history of the World’s heavyweight championship.
I’m not as I have stated in the first instance a film reviewer as such, so I’m no Barry Norman or Jonathon Ross both respective and respected film reviewers over here in Britain with the t v show that naturally reviews films! funnily enough small World that it is, it’s the aforementioned Ross whose brother Tony who actually directs this very film your about to read about!
Playing the part of Braddock is Tony Longhurst, who pretty much like the man he portrays has had to endure many an hardship in getting this film together, and in many respects as been as Cinderella as Braddock ever was, even having his own two ugly sisters to contend with along the way in the shape of his health and wealth suffering in finally overcoming many an obstacle to realise his goal in getting this originally his idea finished, and unlike Cinderella it’s been far from a fairytale ending!
So to the film…..
Filmed completely in black and white to obviously capture the atmosphere ala Raging Bull of a bygone period, the mood is captured by the various 1930’s musical scores played throughout that compliment the visuals.
The film begins with each fighter being introduced to the crowd and each respective protagonist’s ring walk is filmed separately as though your watching the fight as it would have happened all those years ago, this is cleverly done and gives the viewer the feeling of actually being there in the tunnel leading to the ring….also chucked in with the announcement’s are various radio excerpt’s that have been faithfully reproduced, the action doesn’t just concentrate on the fight, naturally it skip’s back and forth to both fighters before they make that fateful walk to the ring and there own destiny’s and tells the story behind the fight, the deal and the dealing’s behind it for one of the most historic fight’s in the division’s history, taking in the training camps of both men to the bout’s of soul searching between the two and there respective right hand men, ‘you were beautiful Jimmy’ Braddock’s told during one scene of his championship victory over Max Baer, another sees an angered James scream at the equally annoying fight reporter Sam Stone who make’s many an appearance throughout the film, with that most classic of remarks in the fight game ‘what about friendship?’
Longhurst’s portrayal of Braddock is amazing and much better than that of Russell Crowe‘s version of the former champ, he not only look’s like the former champ facially but even talks like him, it’s obvious a lot of attention to detail has been paid in the making of this flick, even to the way each fighter fall’s to the canvas on each knockdown, just has it happened at the time to even the handy patchwork of plaster’s to Braddock’s battered post fight countenance!
The one liner’s are well put together, one time Braddock’s manager tells the champ ‘I wouldn’t be Joe Louis tonight for all the whiskey in Ireland!’ and one such remark ‘the World’s not ready for a black champion’ set’s the scene and of the racial tension still lurking after Jack Johnson’s reign of terror on white America some decades earlier, to Louis mentor who boldly states to the challenger ‘They must be on welfare, Lord knows what all those black people have sacrificed to come see you’ the comment haunt’s Louis during one crisis during the fight and helps spur him on to victory, how very Rocky you might think but this is about real life not reel life!
The fight scenes are nicely choreographed as the crowd can be heard and not seen, it captures the fight through the fighter’s eyes and the loneliness of the ring as both Braddock and Louis square off against each other, it reproduces the feeling of just you and the other guy, it’s very well done and the fight scenes are realistic and faithful to what actually happened that fateful night in June of 37!
I won’t tell you how it end’s, you’ll have to watch it yourself but I can’t recommend this film enough has it is a welcome addition to one’s film library and what with Christmas just around the corner, I’d recommend you buy this film for the fight fan in your life, Ten Percent? Ill give it ten out of ten, however all in all this is a brilliant portrayal of life back in a bygone era to the props, the clobber {cockney idiom for dress} to the clobber {in the ring} the racial tension and the acting more so that of Longhurst who play’s Braddock, to the politics involved all leading to the climax, the fight and of the time a black man regained the heavyweight championship of the World for his race…. the human race.
If your interested in purchasing your copy then if you go to www.amazon.co.uk you can purchase it there or alternatively you can contact Tony Longhurst himself to purchase this film by emailing him at tony_longhurst@hotmail.co.uk or tenpercent@hotmail.co.uk
The film is priced £7.99 plus £2.50 postage and packaging.
