Develiker terrible... so disappointed.

Dotbankey A lot of fun.

Nessieldwi Very interesting film. Was caught on the premise when seeing the trailer but unsure as to what the outcome would be for the showing. As it turns out, it was a very good film.

Lachlan Coulson This is a gorgeous movie made by a gorgeous spirit.

connorbbalboa Outside of the Rocky films and Raging Bull, I will admit that I have not seen many boxing films; they end up being the most popular examples to the extent that I almost completely forget about all the others. Requiem for A Heavyweight was one that was recommended to me and one that I finally got myself to watch. I did like it, but not enough to reach the same levels of greatness of those other films.The film starts with a blurred and slightly disorienting POV shot of 37-year-old boxer "Mountain" Rivera (Anthony Quinn) as he is beaten badly in his latest match by the real Muhammad Ali (back when he was still called Cassius Clay). After the match, he is told that he will go blind if he fights again and should retire. Meanwhile, his manager (Jackie Gleason from Smokey and the Bandit) is in trouble with the mob for making a faulty bet against Rivera and tries to get him to take up phony wrestling to make money. However, Rivera becomes attracted to an employment agency worker named Grace Miller (Julie Harris) who sees the kindness and desperation in him and tries to get him a summer camp job.Anthony Quinn gives the best performance in the film and convinces you that he is a punch-drunk has-been who wants to stay relevant. Gleason is also convincing, taking the opportunity to be as despicable as possible. The black-and-white cinematography helps to make the street settings suitably unpleasant, letting you that this is not a hopeful film. Also, it's a common, but enduring story of a has-been trying to rescue himself from the oblivion of nothingness.There are, however, two major problems I find with this film that tie into each other. The first is that the film is too short. Things like Grace stepping away from Rivera's life after failing to help him and the relationship between Rivera and his manager feel rushed and it feels like this film needed more material to completely get its points through. It would have also helped establish the relationship between Rivera and his manager better. Rivera says that his manager treated him well and was there for him whenever he was badly beaten in his fights, but we don't even see flashbacks to any of those moments, only scenes where his manager tries to sign him up for the phony wrestling, claiming that he's trying to do what's best for Rivera when his real goal is getting the money for the mob. Seeing more of the relationship would have also helped with the climax.In the end, Rivera signs up for the phony wrestling, tries to quit at the last minute, finds out that his manager bet against him in the fight with Ali/Clay, and decides to do the wrestling and make a disgrace of himself anyway after the mob shows up. My first problem with the ending is that Rivera would still wrestle to save his manager even after he had just found out how much his manager had betrayed him. Secondly, it runs the risk of sending the wrong message, that punch-drunk has-been boxers like Rivera who try to make something of their lives afterwards will always end up in dishonor and emotional pain. It is incredibly harsh, even for the type of film this is. It reminds me of what Sylvester Stallone said about changing the ending of the First Blood movie and how the original ending where (spoiler) Rambo kills himself would negatively affect Vietnam veterans. The teleplay that the film is based on had Rivera quit the wrestling and return to his hometown. There, it gives Rivera a second chance and plenty of opportunity to do something with the last years of his life. Why the ending was changed for the film, I don't know.In conclusion, I don't dislike this film; it just seems to go in the wrong direction by the time it ends (for me, at least). There are plenty of good things to say about it, like Rivera's and Gleason's performances. I just think that a longer runtime would have made it better.

SnoopyStyle Aged boxer Luis 'Mountain' Rivera (Anthony Quinn) is knock-outed by Cassius Clay. He is in bad shape and the doctor says he can't fight anymore. The bookie is after his manager Maish Rennick (Jackie Gleason) when Mountain lasted 7 rounds instead of 4. In addition to a $1500 bet, the bookie lost a bundle which he wants paid back. His trainer Army (Mickey Rooney) takes Mountain around trying to get a job. Social worker Grace Miller (Julie Harris) takes pity on the poor sap. Mountain has to swallow his pride and wrestle to save Maish's life. Anthony Quinn is amazing and so is Jackie Gleason. It is an unrelenting sad dark movie. It can also drag at times but the performances are so compelling.

LeonLouisRicci There is not one scene or one piece of dialog or one piece of this production that is nothing less than masterful. A perfect picture that demonstrates the ability and talent of all involved. The cinematography and set design are a norish display of a devilishness that pervades the urban decay and the decline of the species from ape to man to ape-man.All the performances are elegant and the musical score is biting with jazzy tones befitting the multi-cultural sport and the mayhem of the monsters and mobsters who inhabit this asphalt and canvas jungle. It is a riveting recital of the human condition that is part evolution and part separation from the Divine. Dignity and self respect, greed and vice, love and loathing, friendship and betrayal, hope and hopelessness. are all here and much more to contemplate. All from a low budget and high nobility.A survival of the fittest morality tale. Quite quintessentially Rod Serling.

serlingng-2 It's easy to pick out Jack Dempsey and Muhammed Ali, but there are many others in the cast. The movie fades in on a tracking shot running the length of a hotel bar, examining the faces of a bunch of retired boxers watching the Clay-Rivera fight on TV. In order of appearance: Alex Miteff (wearing a beret), Abe Simon (with an eyebrow bandage), Gus Lesnevich (holding a cigarette lighter), Steve Belloise (bald guy; he later plays the hotel bar desk clerk in a short exchange with Mickey Rooney), Rory Calhoun (black guy with a beer), Paolo Rossi (big Italian-looking guy with a beer), Willie Pep (wearing a fedora), and Barney Ross (the older guy in the suit, sweater, and tie).