Joe Frazier Movies

This release documents some of the most famous rivalries in the history of boxing including Muhammad Ali vs. Joe Frazier, and the legendary series of fights between middleweights Sugar Ray Robinson and Jake LaMotta. ~ Perry Seibert, Rovi

Spike Lee's documentary on the football star, movie actor, and social activist is a no-frills examination of a man who has rarely been out of the public spotlight for over 45 years. Jim Brown talks about the various phases of his life, from his boyhood in the all-black community of St. Simons Island, GA; to his adolescence on Long Island, where he became a multi-sport star athlete; to his college days at Syracuse University; to his nine-year career as the NFL's leading running back with the Cleveland Browns; to his days as an action star in Hollywood films; to his work with various social programs, many designed to help inner city youth. Among the many interview subjects are Art Modell, the onetime owner of the Browns; former Cleveland Brown teammates Dick Schafrath, John Wooten, Bobby Mitchell, Paul Warfield, and Walter Beach; filmmaking colleagues Fred Williamson and Bernie Casey (both football players turned actors), Raquel Welch, Oliver Stone, James Toback, Melvin Van Peebles, and Stella Stevens; Kim Brown and James Brown Jr., two of Brown's children from his first marriage; and Rockhead Johnson, a former Los Angeles gang leader and officer of Brown's Amer-I-Can organization. Lee does address Brown's ongoing legal problems over various assault charges, many of them involving women, and he tracks down a onetime Brown lover who in the mid-'60s wound up in the hospital after an incident at his Los Angeles home. Brown appeared in a supporting role in Lee's film He Got Game. This film, co-produced by HBO's sports division, was released theatrically for a limited run; a version running 114 minutes premiered on HBO several months later. ~ Tom Wiener, Rovi

Gary Starke (Andy Garcia) was an orphan living on the streets at 13 who grew up to preside over a crew of street hustlers as the grand master of ticket scalpers. Charming, savvy, and honorable, Gary seems beloved by everyone until Linda (Andie MacDowell), the love of his life, dumps him. Tired of Gary's unreliability after eight years, Linda takes a scholarship to the Cordon Bleu in Paris to fulfill her dream of becoming a master chef. Gary, in a tailspin, is determined to win Linda back. However, his hated rival, Casino, chooses this moment of weakness to move in on Gary's position on the streets. Gary wants to fight, but Linda may never return to him if he continues scalping. A surprise announcement is made. Pope John Paul II will come to New York to perform Easter Mass at Yankee Stadium. It's Gary's big chance. With one last big score, he can quit scalping and win Linda back. Yet Casino (and the law) still stands in his way. Gary turns to his mentor, Benny (Richard Bradford), for guidance. With his help, Gary may find a different path around his desperation and win back the woman he loves. ~ Ron Wells, Rovi

In this slapstick horror comedy, two goofy African-American cops are sent to a rundown, lonely Southern plantation to evict the residents so the mansion can be razed and a freeway erected in its stead. Unfortunately, the "residents" are all ghosts, who have been there since the Civil War, and they are not about to leave. When the film was distributed, director Lee Madden billed himself on the credits as Alan Smithee, the approved pseudonym of the Directors Guild of America that has been used since 1967 by directors not wanting to give their real names on certain films. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

Rocky Balboa (Sylvester Stallone), a Philadelphia boxer, is but one step removed from total bum-hood. A once-promising pugilist, Rocky is now taking nickel-and-dime bouts and running strongarm errands for local loan sharks to survive. Even his supportive trainer, Mickey (Burgess Meredith), has given up on Rocky. All this changes thanks to Muhammad Ali-like super-boxer Apollo Creed (Carl Weathers). With the Bicentennial celebration coming up, Creed must find a "Cinderella" opponent for the big July 4th bout -- some unknown whom Creed can "glorify" for a few minutes before knocking him cold. Rocky Balboa was not the only Cinderella involved here: writer/director Sylvester Stallone, himself a virtual unknown, managed to sell his Rocky script (one of 35 that he'd written over the years) on the proviso that he be given the starring role. Since the film was to be made on a shoestring and marketed on a low-level basis, the risk factor to United Artists was small. For Stallone, this was a make-or-break opportunity -- just like Rocky's million-to-one shot with Apollo Creed. Costing under a million dollars, Rocky managed to register with audiences everywhere, earning back 60 times its cost. The film won several Academy Awards, including Best Picture. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi