Boxing in movies

[DiP]

With so much out there that are available to see, I was wondering what you guys would say are the ideal boxing movies in terms of representing the traits of the combat sport. That is, what movies do you feel showcase real techniques, equality and realism?

[masterofoneinchpunch]

Tough question. While my favorites of the boxing genre cover different time periods, I think any boxing fan can notice realism issues when it deals with the sport portrayed with the camera (especially with older films).

A couple of my favorites The Set-Up (1949) and Raging Bull (1980) cover the characters, behind-the-scenes quite well with The Set-Up being quite good on the realism (for its time) and Raging Bull being quite good for it's dynamic direction (of course whenever you become more dynamic with boxing, it sometimes seems less realistic mainly because of the hours of viewing we have done as boxing fans tend to see only a few set-ups with the camera and continuted action. Directors really hate to keep the action going for too long (with some exceptions).

Have you seen The Set-Up?

Here is a book I've been wanting to get for quite a while: Fight Pictures: A History of Boxing and Early Cinema from 2008

I think a future essay I could do is a good top 10 boxing films but I'll also ponder your above question as well.

[Guest Yi-Long]

I haven't seen that many boxing movies, but I liked Crying Fist (director's cut), which is a korean movie about 2 boxers, one an old retired boxer who's now a bum making a living from letting people in the street 'spar' against him without punching back, and a young up and coming fighter hungry for success. Ofcourse, the old guy makes a comeback, and will face the kid at the end of the movie.

I quite liked Girl Fight as well.