Angelo Dundee Movies

The true story of an athlete who achieved his greatest success against the most daunting odds of his life is brought to the screen in this historical drama. In the 1920s, James Braddock (Russell Crowe) from Bergen, NJ, was a promising contender in professional boxing; he had strength, spirit, and tenacity, but the combination of a serious hand injury and a 1929 defeat in a bout with light heavyweight champ Tommy Loughran sent his career into a serious tailspin. As Braddock's career in the ring dried up, the Great Depression put a stake through the heart of America's economy, and Braddock found himself working at the New York docks for pitiful wages as he tried to support his wife, Mae (Renée Zellweger), and three children. Desperate for money, Braddock turned to his former trainer and manager Joe Gould (Paul Giamatti), who was unexpectedly able to scare up a bout for him, battling John Griffin at Madison Square Garden. While conventional wisdom had it that Braddock was too old, out of shape, and out of practice to have any chance of winning, he defeated Griffin, and continued beating his opponents with a powerful left hook that had been intensified by years of punishing dock work. In a nation desperate for good news, Braddock's surprising comeback became a tonic to struggling workers and unemployed people, and all eyes were on Braddock when in 1935 he took on powerful heavyweight champion Max Baer (Craig Bierko) in what was both literally and figuratively the fight of his life. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

An NCR 315 computer was used for this impressive and extremely realistic film that used the finest state-of-the-art technology that was currently available to create a fantasy bout between legendary boxers Rocky Marciano and Muhammed Ali. Over 70 rounds of fights were used as blueprints for this computer-generated bout, the first ever such production. Both fighters participated in the production, as the dual likenesses were crucial to attain the final results. Rocky Marciano even lost 30 pounds preparing for the camera. From Marciano's high-top shoes of yesteryear, to the crowd noise and announcing of Guy LeBow, the feature looks like an actual championship bout between the two famed heavyweights. Without revealing the winner, the match went the distance and the victor won on points in a close contest, with neither fighter knowing the final outcome until the feature was shown. Released three weeks before Marciano's death in an airplane crash, The Super Fight still lives up to its title nearly 30 years later. ~ Dan Pavlides, Rovi