By JA Dawson
The title of this post should have ended with According to Ja Dawson. You typically find most disclaimers at the end of an article, but I will let you know now: “this is my personal list and does not express or represent the views of any film rating agency or program.” If you came here looking for Ebert & Roper-like analysis, you came to the wrong place. If you came here to check out the opinion of a fight fan turned neophyte film critic, then this post is for you.
A lot of films came to mind, but I decided to narrow my list to a final four. I ranked the movies based on the: authenticity of the character portrayals, overall storyline, and, last but not least, the realism of the fighting scenes. If you are like me, this last aspect (or lack thereof) can totally ruin a potentially good boxing movie. Now that you know what’s behind my list, check out my favorite boxing films below.
#1 Raging Bull. Some films transcend their genre. Raging Bull did just that. The combination of DeNiro, Moriarity, Pesci and Scorcese produced one of the greatest films ever, period.
#2 When We Were Kings. Next to Hoop Dreams, this is the best sports documentary that I have ever seen. Chants of “Ali bomaye (Ali kill him)” will linger in your head long after watching.
#3 Rocky. Arguably the greatest underdog movie of all-time, Rocky surprised us all. It captured a surprise Oscar and had a surprise, bittersweet ending.
#4 Million Dollar Baby. This is one of those films that is so good, yet disturbing, that you will see it, buy the DVD, but be reluctant to watch it again. It was THAT stirring.
Other boxing films worth noting are: Denzel Washington’s stirring portrayal of Ruben Carter in The Hurricane, Russel Crowe’s convincing depiction of “everyman” heavyweight champion Jim Braddock in Cinderella Man, and Sylvester Stallone’s latest installment in the Rocky saga, Rocky Balboa.
