Cinderella Man | | Cast : | Russell Crowe, Renée Zellweger, Craig Bierko | | Director : | Ron Howard | | Studio : | | | Format : | | | Released Date : | June 03, 2005 | | DVD Released Date : | May 15, 2001 | | Language : | English (Original Language) | | Audience Rating : | PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested) | | | BUY THIS DVD FROM AMAZON |
Customer Reviews
| Rating |  | | Date | July 31, 2005 | | Summary | WOW! | Content
 | This is a heart warming movie& I loved every minute of it. Rene & Russell were great. It is a great movie for the whole family |
| Rating | | | Date | July 31, 2005 | | Summary | Crowe's Best Film Since Gladiator | Content
| This is a superb film that is clean enough for all but small children to enjoy. Yes, it does have some glaring similarities to other films, Rocky and Seabiscuit. As in Rocky, you see a guy who is headed nowhere, only to make an improbable comeback and surprise everyone. Like Seabiscuit, it is the story of an underdog who "just needs a second chance". Another similarity to Seabiscuit include the fact the the star of the film becomes a ray of hope to all the downtrodden during the Great Depression. In spite of these comparisons, this movie is something special. Ron Howard does a great job of drawing the viewer into the Braddock family's plight. The boxing scenes are exciting and the overall story is fantastic, especially because it is true.
The story makes for a good movie by itself, but the movie is great due to the contributions of the actors, primarily Russell Crowe. He manages to play a humble man who is nonetheless able to punch out just about anyone in America, and do so convincingly. He has a lot of charisma, which attracts the audience to him from the beginning. Renee Zellweger and Paul Giamatti deserve praise, although their performances don't shine like Crowe's does. The guy who plays Max Baer deserves an Academy award, as he even outperformed Crowe. You'll have to see the film to see what I'm talking about.
This has to be one of the top 5 films of 2005. |
| Rating | | | Date | July 29, 2005 | | Summary | A middleweight Champ... | Content
| I've never found the sport of boxing too exciting, never been to or "paused" on a match while switching through the stations. So it seems odd to me that there are so many great boxing films. Too be fair, there are plenty of boxing stinkers as well, but ROCKY, RAGING BULL and MILLION DOLLAR BABY were each top films for their year. And although it is early to say how CINDERELLA MAN will compare with other films for the remainder of the year, it is in itself an excellent entertainment.
Ron Howard (Opie) has proven to be a powerful filmmaker. Even mediocre efforts have had more success than others of their genre. Looking at three of his bests, APOLLO 13, A BEAUTIFUL MIND, and CINDERELLA MAN, it is intriguing to note how his films succeed without resorting to showing the `gritty' stuff that other top filmmakers use to formulate success. Especially strange in the case of Cinderella man, where half of the film is spent in dire poverty. But it is Norman Rockwell-esque poverty, it never becomes ugly and it avoids obvious political leanings.
The story of boxer James J. Braddock is an appropriate vehicle for any successful story. It's got the rags to riches element, overcoming adversity, the supportive wife and even the underdog overcoming insurmountable odds. The boxing scenes are expertly done but don't seem to offer us something we had seen before. But it is scenes like Braddock's appeal to former friends for a financial handout that cement the story for me. And Braddock's driving force to win is ultimately keeping his family out of poverty, or as he puts it to a group of annoying reporters, "Milk!"
Russell Crowe (GLADIATOR, A BEAUTIFUL MIND, L.A. CONFIDENTIAL) gives a performance that has lots to crow about. We can see the soul of this boxer. I cannot testify to his accuracy of imitation, but that would be irrelevant to my take on the film. Renée Zellweger (CHICAGO, JERRY MAGUIRE) is also excellent as the worried wife, always trying to find the best way to support her husband. In the same corner, Paul Giamatti (SIDEWAYS, AMERICAN SPLENDOR) offers some nice support and some necessary comedy in his role as Joe Gould, Braddock's manager. Even the children in much smaller role offer nice subtle performances. And of course Ron's brother Clint and his father Rance make their customary appearances.
The film clocks in at 2 hours 22 minutes so; some of the dramatic stuff may be too slow for younger viewers. But for the over 20 group, this film has a lot to offer and I look forward to its DVD release.
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| Rating | | | Date | July 23, 2005 | | Summary | A Real Life Rocky Story | Content
| This is an excellent and entertaining film that depicts the spirit of sports at its best.
The basic storyline features the fall and rise of former world heavyweight boxing champion James J. Braddock. He went from being a top ranked fighter in the 1920s to a down on his luck fighter struggling to feed his family during the Great Depression. He fought poorly in a series of fights when he had a broken hand just to put food on the table. Eventually he had his boxing license suspended for his poor performances.
Soon he was barely scraping by with day to day work loading and unloading on the docks. He eventually gets an opportunity to have another fight and the movie really gains momentum from there. He keeps winning unexpectedly in bouts against opponents who are likely to whip him.
During this unlikely comeback, he finally gets a title shot against World Heavyweight Champion Max Baer, who has killed two opponents in the ring.
Although the first part of the movie may be a bit slow, it really gains momentum as it goes along. It paints the grimness of the Great Depression in a very depressing and realistic way. Part of the plot is way over the top (as is so typical and predictable in movies). In this one, Max Baer is presented as a killing machine who enjoys hurting people. My brief research of him revealed that he actually gave purses from some of his fights to the family of a fighter he had accidentally killed. I also learned that he had a Star of David embroidered on his trunks when fighting German Max Baer during the Nazi heyday. That didn't make him sound like the rotten scoundrel that Director Ron Howard tried to portray. As is so typical of Hollywood, the ruling elite can't settle on the truth. That isn't interesting enough for them evidently.
Nevertheless, this is a very good film portraying a classic American rags to riches story. I highly recommend it. |
| Rating | | | Date | July 20, 2005 | | Summary | A Pugilist's Parable | Content
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Many boxing films are reputed to be "based on the truth"-based on the lives and careers of real fighters. Fighters Jake La Mota, Joe Louis, Jack Johnson, Mohammad Ali, Rocky Graziano, Rocky Marciano, and Jack Dempsey-all have had films made about their exploits. Juxtaposed to these we have enjoyed divers stalwart champions of fiction-portrayed by Sly Stallone, Wesley Snipes, Ving Rhames, Kirk Douglas, Robert Ryan, John Garfield, Errol Flynn, Jack Palance, and Anthony Quinn-and more, many more. Boxing films can-when they are good-present great drama. CINDERELLA MAN meets that criterion.
It is based on the very true story of unheralded James J. Braddock-the actual heavyweight champion from 1935-1937. He held the title for just over a year. Joe Louis held his title for over 12 years-the longest of any heavyweight. The film gets most of the real history correct-with some exceptions. One plot device had promoter Jimmy Johnston (Bruce McGill) revoking Braddock's license secondary to his poor draw and record in 1930. Then he was given a special chance to have one fight only-with less than one week to train-to fight Corn Griffin in 1934. This led to beating John Henry Louis and Art Lasky-and a title bout with the champ-Max Baer. The truth was that Braddock continued to fight professionally from 1930-34, and he never had his license revoked. He did lose the majority of those fights-and his comeback was miraculous-but between working on the docks in Hoboken (Where ON THE WATERFRONT was filmed), and staying in training for his 30 pro fights-he was physically ready for Corn Griffin. He did go on the dole for a time-but I doubt that he ever went to his Boxing Social Club and begged for a handout to turn his electricity back on.
The film was originally to be directed by Lasse Hallstrom. Later Penny Marshall was slated to helm. It was our good fortune that Ron Howard stepped up and took the reins of command. Howard has always been interested in doing a film about the Depression-and he felt that Braddock's story was a paean to American toughness-despite adversity. It became a very personal and powerful statement in his hands. This might be his best film. Oscar will surely come calling.
Russell Crowe was incredibly good as Braddock-losing 50 pounds in training-sparring with pro fighters and getting injured several times. He found the sweetness and goodness in Braddock-as well as the renewed toughness and resolve. Roger Ebert compared his performance to those of James Stewart and Spencer Tracy. He wrote," Perhaps it takes a tough guy like Crowe to play the goodness of a guy like Jim Braddock."
The cinematography was stunning by new lenser Salvatore Totino. He created living post cards from the the 1930's-icons that smacked of the raw Warner's 1930 look. He had worked with Ron Howard on last years underappreciated THE MISSING (2003). One critic wrote," The film was lit with a poet's eye-".
Renee Zellweger played Mae Braddock-the compassionate, supportive, yet frightened wife. I thought she made some interesting choices-but overall-the role was underwritten. She was not given enough to do-nor enough time to do it. Even so-she probably will be nominated for an Oscar along with several others just for being in this powerhouse of a picture.
The terrifically versatile Paul Giamatti played manager Joe Gould-probably infusing more humanity into the character than actually existed in real life. His Gould knew how to create a buck, but he had a compassionate side too. The Academy is already perking up their ears. Giamatti pulls out all the stops and is flat wonderful in the role.
I really liked this film-perhaps Ron Howard's best directorial effort and Russell Crowe's finest performance. It resonates with truth and beats with a great and tender heart.
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