Awesome Movie

This is a tender, generous movie that likes its characters and presents them as real people, full of flaws and strengths.

It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.

There are moments in this movie where the great movie it could've been peek out... They're fleeting, here, but they're worth savoring, and they happen often enough to make it worth your while.

"Champion" has a satisfyingly gritty, noir-like look, but its style is unfortunately wasted on a story that's pure melodrama.Kirk Douglas plays a boxing phenom, whose meteoric rise is due to his charisma and animal magnetism, and whose fall is due to his hubris. The problem is that you have to find Douglas irresistible in the first place, or at least understand why he might be so irresistible to others, to make his rise make sense, and to make you feel any compassion for his fall. Since I don't particularly like Douglas and never have, the movie left me cold.The sleazy boxing underworld that serves as the film's setting provided ample opportunities to craft a juicy little drama, but instead the movie focuses on the various love interests of Douglas and becomes a parade of scenes featuring women, all interchangeable, suffering over the wrongs done to them. Who cares?This film received an Academy Award for Best Film Editing, which, when taken with the editing awards given to "Body and Soul" and "Rocky" over the years, shows that the Academy really likes to give this particular award to boxing movies. It was also nominated for Best Actor (Douglas), Best Supporting Actor (Arthur Kennedy, as Douglas's brother and the film's conscience), Best Screenplay (Carl Foreman), Best Black and White Cinematography (Frank Planer), and Best Dramatic or Comedy Score (Dimitri Tiomkin).Grade: B-

If the boxing game has its own genre, and the sheer number of them compared to other sports certainly suggests it warrants one, then this is one of the best of them.Boxing has often been used to explore family values, moral disorder and the reality of an American dream that extols social climbing but, in this world at least, bounces you back like a ring rope. Certainly Midge Kelly, one of Kurt Douglas's great characters, finds hitting his opponents far easier than it is to punch through society's ceiling of power and fortune.The film sets itself up as the tale of a poor boy done good; a rags to riches story. Indeed, there are the now all too familiar training and fights' montages as we witness his endeavour and ascent up the middleweight rankings. However, it soon becomes clear that hard work in the ring isn't enough to climb society's own rankings ladder. Kelly ruthlessly turn his back on the people who helped him on his way including his own family, and we see that the higher he climbs the more corruptible he becomes – choosing money, sex and his name in the papers over moral value.The climb to the top has left him at odds to those closest to him, most notably his disabled brother Connie (movingly played by Arthur Kennedy). The film seems to extol the virtues its central protagonist has himself abandoned but at the same time suggests that without his ruthless streak he would have been left in the boxing wilderness without a shot at a title. Ultimately the system portrayed is corrupt and it seems that those trying to play it are destroyed by it. A bleak, dystopian conclusion, in keeping with the film noirs of that time.Champion, both stylistically and thematically, feels like a forerunner to Raging Bull and to a lesser extent, the more recent The Fighter. This alone would make it worth a look, but the film packs enough of a punch through the quality of its performances and style to make it recommendable viewing in its own right.

Due to current technology, last night I was able to watch "Champion" (1949) for the first time, at home, on my schedule, without having to wait for a commercial TV showing. This powerful, independent, black and white film is a credit to the motion picture industry demonstrating how a good story, expert direction, and a riveting lead performance may successfully substitute standard movie making with higher budgets, special effects, and outdoor locations. The world of boxing is painfully presented, and despite the ambiance, and rawness of it all, one cannot stop watching scene by scene, until the powerful, no nonsense end. Special mention goes to Kirk Douglas' outstanding performance as the strong, unlikeable, and cynic box champion. He pours realism and passion. One of his very best. Arthur Kennedy and Paul Stewart add excellent support. This gem is a must film for movie lovers as myself privileged to watch it 62 years after its original release.

A selfish boxer (Kirk Douglas in the title role playing one of his earliest characters as main star) alienates the people around him , his captivating wife (Ruth Roman as the victimized spouse), his loving brother (a restrained Arthur Kennedy) ,trainer (a moderate Paul Stewart) and other women (Marilyn Maxwell, Lola Albright).This interesting movie based on a screenplay by prestigious Carl Foreman is a noir drama about boxing world with an ambitious starring well personified by Kirk Douglas. The violent boxing images shocked audiences of the 40s and still retains quite power nowadays. It's a grueling boxing tale with tough realism full of face-blistering, punch, knocks until ¨Raging Bull¨ surpassed it years later. Top-notch acting by Kirk Douglas as merciless, ruthless boxer in his usual hard-driving style and winning a deservedly best actor Academy Award nomination. Dark cinematography in black and white plenty of of lights and shades by Franz Planer. Atmospheric musical score by the classic Dimitri Tiomkin.The motion picture is well realized by Mark Robson. In the early 40s Robson was much involved with the low-budget terror unit in charge of producer Val Lewton , for whom made ¨Seventh victim¨, ¨The ghost ship¨, and ¨Island of the dead¨. In the late 1940s Robson joined Stanley Kramer's independent company and directed his biggest commercial hit to date with ¨The champion¨. Years later Robson made another good film about corruption in boxing world titled ¨The harder they fall¨ with Humphrey Bogart. In the late 1960s, his work did decline . His last movie was a jinx one titled ¨Avalancha express¨. Robson and his main star, Robert Shaw, died suddenly from heart attacks. Rating : Above average, well worth seeing. This is certainly one of the best movies ever made about boxing world