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| Dvdivas
was founded by John Gabbard in 2000. It's purpose has been and
remains to be to provide you, the entertainment community with
the latest dvds and movie reviews. It will continue to be your
link to the most popular dvd movies. |
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“Against the Ropes”
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Reviewed
by: |
Wayne A. Klein |
| Genre: |
Drama |
| Video: |
2.40:1 |
| Audio: |
Dolby Digital
Surround 5.1 |
| Languages |
English |
| Subtitles |
English |
| Length |
110 minutes |
| Rating |
PG-13 |
| Release Date |
7/13/04 |
| Studio |
Paramount
Home Video |
| Commentary:
|
None |
| Documentaries:
|
None |
| Featurettes:
|
“A Ringside Seat”, “Queen
of the Ring” |
| Filmography/Biography:
|
None |
|
Interviews: |
None |
| Trailers/TV
Spots: |
Trailer, previews |
| Alternate/Deleted
Scenes: |
None |
| Music
Video: |
None |
| Other:
|
None |
| Cast
and Crew: |
Meg Ryan,
Omar Epps, Tony Shalhoub, Tim Daly, Kerry Washington, Joe Cortese,
Charles S. Dutton |
| Written
By: |
Cheryl Edwards
|
| Produced
By: |
Robert W.
Cort and David Madden |
| Directed
By: |
Charles S.
Dutton |
| Music:
|
Michael Kamen
|
| The
Review: |
Inspired by the life of boxing manager
Jackie Kallen, “Against the Ropes” got hammered by many critics
when it was first released to theaters. Meg Ryan’s feisty
performance stops the film from going down for the count.
I hate to say its spunky but, well, it is. With strong performances
from Tony Shalhoub, Tim Daly, Charles Dutton and Omar Epps
“Against the Ropes” comes out swinging. Charles Dutton’s knock
out direction keeps the film moving and interesting and, more
importantly, he focuses just as much on character development
as he does the sports action. Kudos to him for a great job
with a film that could have easily fallen into being just
another boxing film. The late Michael Kamen’s marvelous and
witty score brings out the best in the film highlighting performances
without boldly underlining them. ---
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| Image
and Sound: |
With clarity
and sharpness good enough to see the sweat on the tip of Omar
Epps’ nose, “Against the Ropes” looks very nice. Granted, a
boxing ring isn’t the most colorful environment but the DVD
does capture the browns, reds, whites and creamy blacks very
well. The color gets punched up when colorful characters with
unusual wardrobe choices show up on the sidelines. The 5.1 DDS
mix surrounds you with the action making you feel as if you’re
both in the audience and in the ring at various points in the
movie. Nobody could ask for more from a state of the art disc.
--- |
| The
Extras: |
Extras
are confined to two featurettes. The first focuses on the
making of the film from the story pitch by the executive producers
where they threw Jackie Kallen’s life story into the ring
through the selection process for directors and actors. While
the story has bit too much of the “Rocky” underdog flavor
to it, it does make it attractive and popular and that’s discussed
here, too. The featurette makes it clear the approach to the
material was no accident they wanted the one-two punch generated
by those popular films with a script clever enough to stand
on its own. ---
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| Commentary:
|
No commentary
track. Having a sports pro or boxing icon do the play by play
on the encounters in the ring and how realistic they are pulled
off would have been interesting. --- |
| Final
Words: |
An enjoyable
dramatic sports film with great performances by a stellar cast,
“Against the Ropes” may throw clichés at you like a one-two
punch but it also inverts many of those clichés and has fun
with them as well. It creates as many memorable moments as it
borrows from other sports films. Charles Dutton’s tight fisted
direction keeps the action moving and he invigorates the film
with great energy. |
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