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Home >> DVDs >> Suspense >> Requiem For a Heavyweight
Product Information
1334520
Requiem For a Heavyweight
 
 
Features: DVD, Pan and Scan (TV Format), Widescreen, Aspect Ratio 1.85:1, Mono Audio, English, French, Spanish, Subtitled
 
Knockout performances by Anthony Quinn, Jackie Gleason, Mickey Rooney and Julie Harris highlight this hard-hitting drama of corruption in the fight game. After 17 years in the ring, it's the final bell for Mountain Rivera (Quinn). A fight doctor confirms that one more punch for the washed-up heavyweight and he could become permanently disabled. Reluctantly, but with the support of his faithful trainer (Rooney) and a kindly employment counselor (Harris), Rivera tries to land a job outside the ring. But his calculating manager Maish (Gleason) has other plans for Rivera. With the mob closing in on him for the payment of a huge gambling debt, Maish coerces Rivera into returning to the ring for a lucrative yet humiliating career in staged wrestling matches. A heartbreaking lead performance by double Oscar-winner Quinn (Best Supporting Actor, Viva Zapata, 1952 and Lust For Life, 1956), and a triumphant big screen adaptation by writer Rod Serling and director Ralph Nelson of their Emmy Award-wining Playhouse 90 production, Requiem For A Heavyweight packs a devastating punch. Boxing fans should keep an eye out for champs Muhammad Ali (billed as Cassius Clay) in the electrifying opening sequence and Jack Dempsey in a nightclub scene.
 
"...the film's performances are all first-rate."  VideoHound's Golden Movie Retriever
"Tough, effective melodrama, extremely well acted."  Halliwell's Film Guide
"Sure to touch the spectator's heart."  Time Magazine

 


Editor's Note

This big-screen adaptation of Rod Serling's landmark television drama is about an aging boxer whose controlling manager leads him to consider throwing fights instead of retiring. Packing a wallop, primarily as an in-depth character study, this drama is packed with real-life boxers and star power. Julie Harris is undaunted as Grace Miller, a stern yet gentle employment counselor, who hopes to ease the heavy weight's transition. Anthony Quinn is huge in both soul and stature as Mountain Rivera, and Jackie Gleason proves to be an equal match for him as his manager Maish Renick. Renick is both weak and crafty which adequately bolsters our sympathies for Quinn's inarticulate giant fighter. Mickey Rooney tugs heartstrings as Army, Quinn's trainer, and has a particularly memorable moment in a card-playing scene. Full of authenticity and atmosphere, with cameos by Muhammad Ali and Jack Dempsey, and supported with a great script by Rod Serling, this is one of the most moving boxing films ever made.

 
Features
Interactive Menus
Scene Selection
Audio: English Mono
Subtitles: English, French, Spanish, Portuguese
Bonus Trailers
Widescreen & Full Screen Versions
Digitally Mastered Audio & Video
Remastered In High Definition
 
Technical Info

Release Information
Studio: Columbia Tri-Star
Release Date: 5/14/2002
Running Time: 86 minutes
Original Release Date: 1962
Catalog ID: 08338
UPC: 00043396083387
Number of Discs: 1

Audio & Video
Original Language: English
Available Audio Tracks: English [CC], English
Available Subtitles: English, French, Portuguese, Spanish
Video: B&W

Aspect Ratio
1.85:1/4:3

 
Cast & Crew
Anthony Qunn
Herbie Faye
Jackie Gleason
Julie Harris
Madame Spivy
Mickey Rooney
Muhamad Ali
Stanley Adams
Ralph Nelson - Director
Arthur J. Ornitz - Director of Photography
Carl Lerner - Editor
Laurence Rosenthal - Musical Score
David Susskind - Producer
Burr Schmidt - Production Design
Rod Serling - Writer

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