The makers of boxing movies tend to use the sport in the same way as Beethoven used the four-note motif that opens the fifth symphony; as a symbol of the individual's struggle against fate. Such films are, therefore, about much more than the sport itself, which explains why they are often much more interesting than the average sporting film.
"Champion" is a good example. Kirk Douglas plays Midge Kelly, an unemployed drifter, who gets involved in the sport almost by accident. Midge loses his first fight, but quickly proves an adept learner, and is taken up by Tommy Haley, a professional trainer and manager. After a series of impressive victories, Midge is matched against another promising newcomer named Johnny Dunne in an eliminator bout for the right to challenge for the world championship. Unfortunately, the gangsters who control the sport have a lot of money riding on Dunne to win. Ordered to throw the fight, Midge rebels and knocks Dunne out in the first round. Midge is beaten up for his pains, but this only makes him a popular hero with ordinary boxing fans, and he goes on to challenge for, and win, the championship.
Unfortunately, Midge's rise to success causes a deterioration in his character, as he becomes arrogant, selfish and materialistic. Although he has the respect of the man in the street, he alienates those close to him. He separates from his wife Emma and acquires a glamorous blonde mistress. He quarrels with his loyal brother Connie. He abandons Tommy, the man who has guided his career and helped him to his big chance, in favour of Jerry Harris, a more influential manager with underworld connections. He begins an affair with Jerry's wife Palmer, only to abandon her when Jerry offers him money to do so.
The climax of the film comes when Midge faces a challenge from Dunne for his title. Dunne is a much-improved fighter, and Midge realises that this will be a difficult fight to win. He swallows his pride and re-engages Tommy as his coach. In the fight itself Midge regains his self-respect, coming back to win after taking a beating, but pays a terrible price for it.
The film has been compared to two other boxing films, "Raging Bull" and the recent "Million Dollar Baby", but in my view it is better than either. All three films have at their centre a great acting performance, from Kirk Douglas here and from Robert de Niro and Hilary Swank in the other two films, but I rate "Champion" above the others because it is the one that succeeds best in integrating its sporting theme with the emotional and spiritual development of the main character. "Raging Bull" is, technically, a tour de force, but the central figure of Jake La Motta is perhaps too unsympathetic for the audience to identify with. (The look of that film, with its stark, black-and-white photography, seems to owe something to "Champion"). "Million Dollar Baby" goes to the other extreme and becomes too sentimental for my tastes; it is also structurally weak, changing tone abruptly halfway through from a sporting film to an 'issue' movie about euthanasia and failing to unite the two halves together well.
"Champion", by contrast, is a genuinely tragic film, using that word in its true literary sense rather than merely in the sense of a story that ends unhappily. Midge is that classic tragic hero, the great man destroyed by a flaw in his character. (In the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, a sporting champion can be a 'great man' as much as a king or statesman). Boxing allows Midge to rise in the world, not only in that it brings him wealth and fame, but also in that it allows him to develop a sense of self-worth and self-respect. The sport also, however, destroys him, both spiritually as his character suffers when success comes too easily, and also physically as he battles to regain his spiritual integrity. There is a very good supporting performance from Arthur Kennedy as Connie, but the film is dominated by Douglas whose portrayal of the flawed hero is one of the best roles of his career. 9/10
"Champion" is a good example. Kirk Douglas plays Midge Kelly, an unemployed drifter, who gets involved in the sport almost by accident. Midge loses his first fight, but quickly proves an adept learner, and is taken up by Tommy Haley, a professional trainer and manager. After a series of impressive victories, Midge is matched against another promising newcomer named Johnny Dunne in an eliminator bout for the right to challenge for the world championship. Unfortunately, the gangsters who control the sport have a lot of money riding on Dunne to win. Ordered to throw the fight, Midge rebels and knocks Dunne out in the first round. Midge is beaten up for his pains, but this only makes him a popular hero with ordinary boxing fans, and he goes on to challenge for, and win, the championship.
Unfortunately, Midge's rise to success causes a deterioration in his character, as he becomes arrogant, selfish and materialistic. Although he has the respect of the man in the street, he alienates those close to him. He separates from his wife Emma and acquires a glamorous blonde mistress. He quarrels with his loyal brother Connie. He abandons Tommy, the man who has guided his career and helped him to his big chance, in favour of Jerry Harris, a more influential manager with underworld connections. He begins an affair with Jerry's wife Palmer, only to abandon her when Jerry offers him money to do so.
The climax of the film comes when Midge faces a challenge from Dunne for his title. Dunne is a much-improved fighter, and Midge realises that this will be a difficult fight to win. He swallows his pride and re-engages Tommy as his coach. In the fight itself Midge regains his self-respect, coming back to win after taking a beating, but pays a terrible price for it.
The film has been compared to two other boxing films, "Raging Bull" and the recent "Million Dollar Baby", but in my view it is better than either. All three films have at their centre a great acting performance, from Kirk Douglas here and from Robert de Niro and Hilary Swank in the other two films, but I rate "Champion" above the others because it is the one that succeeds best in integrating its sporting theme with the emotional and spiritual development of the main character. "Raging Bull" is, technically, a tour de force, but the central figure of Jake La Motta is perhaps too unsympathetic for the audience to identify with. (The look of that film, with its stark, black-and-white photography, seems to owe something to "Champion"). "Million Dollar Baby" goes to the other extreme and becomes too sentimental for my tastes; it is also structurally weak, changing tone abruptly halfway through from a sporting film to an 'issue' movie about euthanasia and failing to unite the two halves together well.
"Champion", by contrast, is a genuinely tragic film, using that word in its true literary sense rather than merely in the sense of a story that ends unhappily. Midge is that classic tragic hero, the great man destroyed by a flaw in his character. (In the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, a sporting champion can be a 'great man' as much as a king or statesman). Boxing allows Midge to rise in the world, not only in that it brings him wealth and fame, but also in that it allows him to develop a sense of self-worth and self-respect. The sport also, however, destroys him, both spiritually as his character suffers when success comes too easily, and also physically as he battles to regain his spiritual integrity. There is a very good supporting performance from Arthur Kennedy as Connie, but the film is dominated by Douglas whose portrayal of the flawed hero is one of the best roles of his career. 9/10