
From the flickering images of the first boxing match filmed in 1894 to the operatic and uncompromising drama of Scorsese’s Raging Bull, there has been a love affair between boxing and celluloid. The gladiatorial ring mirrors the frame of the big screen, and this symmetry creates the perfect stage for moviemakers to explore the human condition. The raw finality of a boxing match has proven to be a rich seam from which can be mined myriad stories and themes ranging from comedy to tragedy. The drama of two protagonists battling each other symbolises the trials and tribulations that we all go through and can reflect our inner fears, doubts, hopes and dreams. Redemption awaits some while disaster lurks in the shadows for others, but all the while the genre can reveal what it means to be human.
In the early days of Hollywood boxing was the vehicle for the likes of Charlie Chaplin, Laurel and Hardy and Buster Keaton to use comedy as a way of exploring the theme of the little man overcoming the odds and showcasing life’s absurdity. Chaplin’s The Champion (1915) has the little tramp putting a horseshoe into his glove to beat an enormous fighter, refusing to throw a fight and finding love with his trainer’s daughter. In Any Old Port (1932) Hardy arranges for Stan to box for 50 USD against an opponent using a loaded glove. Stan swaps gloves to win the match only to find that Hardy has lost all their money by betting against him. Keaton’s Battling Buster (1926) has the star playing a spoiled millionaire impersonating a down on his luck boxer to try and win the heart of the girl he loves. Even though he wins the fight it is only through admitting his deception that the two lovers are reconciled. The fight scenes are hilarious and ingeniously staged but these movies also explore the absurdities and ironies that life can hold and the frailties we all have inside us.

Redemption is a theme that Directors and writers making boxing movies have investigated to great dramatic effect. John Ford’s The Quiet Man (1952) tells the story of a boxer who after accidently killing a man in the ring leaves America to return to Ireland to try and find some peace from his guilt. After falling in love, he must overcome his fear of his nascent violence to fight his new wife’s brother who has refused to give his sister her dowry. This fight through an Irish village is comically staged and he finds redemption in beating the brother and winning the girl. His reluctance to use aggression, however, underlines his newfound pacifism. Rocky (1976), tells the story of a poor small-time club boxer and loan shark debt collector who gets a chance to fight for the heavyweight title in a gimmick fight against the world champion. Rocky believes himself to be a loser and in the build-up to the fight develops a tentative romance, has a crisis of confidence, and ultimately loses the match. Through his journey Rocky comes to believe in himself and by refusing to go down in the bout no matter the huge number of punches he receives symbolises how if we never give up and face life with determination and pride, inner fulfilment and happiness can be achieved.
Boxing and tragedy are inextricably linked with the inherent danger involved in boxing giving the movies the opportunity to explore the dangerous drama of events in the ring.

The Champ (1979) is a remake of the 1931 Oscar winning film of the same name. In it a former boxer returns to the ring to support his son and reconcile with his ex-wife. Tragedy ensues when the boxer dies after receiving too many blows to the head even though he wins the fight. The final scene with his son, unaware that his father has died, trying to awaken him is heart-breaking. Million Dollar Baby (2004) is a movie about ‘Maggie” a amateur boxer who achieves her dream of becoming a professional with the help of an old cynical trainer played by Clint Eastwood. Tragedy strikes after an illegal punch in a 1 million USD fight leaves Maggie a ventilator dependent quadriplegic. The tears flow as the movie ends with the trainer helping Maggie take her own life when she feels she has achieved what she wanted but can now not go on.
Boxing movies have also been a way to explore masculinity and communication interpersonal problems that many men experience. Raging Bull (1980) tells the true tale of Jake LaMotta whose violence in the ring brings material success only to ruin his life outside of it. Robert De Nero plays the boxer to devasting affect, revealing how LaMotta’s paranoia, rage and jealousy ruined his relationships. His inability to communicate in any other way than with confrontation leaves him with nothing but his masculinity and ultimately, we find him a sad and lonely figure.

Paul Newman in Somebody Up There Likes Me (1956) plays the real-life boxer Rocky Graziano who led a life of crime until he found boxing after being sent to prison. Rocky uses the pugilist art to escape his roots and deprived background to become world champion. This use of boxing as a way of changing your life for good is a classic rag-to-riches genre where the discipline and commitment needed to box are metaphors for the attributes needed to lead a successful and meaningful life. This becomes especially so when the protagonist comes from unpromising and challenging backgrounds. The boxer as a poor man fighting to better himself and his family is a powerfully dramatic theme as the movie Cinderella Man (2005) showed. In it, Russell Crowe plays a former boxer unable to find work during the great depression so fights to provide for his family.
Cinema and boxing are a powerful combination that reveals much more than the narrative of just two people beating each other up in the ring. It provides stories full of symbols and metaphors that show us the highs and lows of the human experience. From comedy to tragedy, boxing movies can be inspirational and entertaining as well as heart-breaking. They show the dark heart of people as well as revealing the noble motives that lie within us. The boxing genre is still alive and well and moviemakers will use it to enthral, move and enlighten us long into the future.
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