- User Rating1 votes
- Critics Rating6 critics
- Your Rating
- Release date: 1999
- Runtime: 94 min
- Genre: Documentary, Drama, Sport
- Starring: Sam Doumit, Martin Goldman, Harry Keitt, Randy Little ... See all
- Director: Brett Morgen, Nanette Burstein
- Plot: The story of three young boxers and their coach who is determined to guide them in a positive direction in and out of the ring.
User Reviews
The real deal
Jul 31, 2003
George Parker
Jul 31, 2003George Parker
The award winning, Oscar nominated, and critically acclaimed documentary "On The Ropes" takes the audience into a New York ghetto gym where young boxers trapped in the slums and projects struggle and sweat tirelessly for a shred of hope that... Read more at imdb.com
Critics Reviews
Film Journal International
ON THE ROPES Rated:NR For movie details, please click here .
Other technical credits, including the rap-tinged soundtrack, are impressive.
Foremost is trainer Harry Keitt, whose physical presence and moral strength are immensely appealing.
... Full Review
Chicago Sun-Times
On the Ropes" centers on the New Bed-Stuy Gym in New York, where a wise trainer, himself a survivor of hard times, guides the careers of three boxers.
We learn something about Harry himself, his own past history of drug problems, his homelessness and how the gym represents his own comeback.
... Full Review
| Oct 08, 1999San Francisco Chronicle
George Walton, the most talented of the fighters, starts making a name for himself only to fall out with his managers over money.
Each story is strong, gripping in its own way.
... Full Review
| Oct 08, 1999San Francisco Chronicle
The most skilled boxer, Walton, is good enough to fight as a pro but never sees a dime for all the pain and hard work he puts into each fight.
Keitt sees his role as mentor, teaching not only the pugilist's art but also motivation.
... Full Review
Reel.com
Burstein and Morgen discuss their background in dramatic fiction film and how that influenced On the Ropes they used outdoor shots of homes and buildings to give a narrative feel and they utilized sound effects for more convincing point-of-view shots.
... Full Review
News
Sundance, Stamdance, Rotterdam: Trends point to doc resurgence, but 1999 may be year that escapes definition
moviemaker.com –
1999-04-02
A.G. Basoli | Published April 2, 1999 "It's been 'TheYear of the Documentary' for at least the past two years," quipped Sundance Film Festival Director Geoffrey Gilmore dryly as he dodged a question about the validity of Sundance 1999's muchbandied-about... ... Full Article
From within the Bed-Stu Boxing Center, we watch as the front window cover raises, letting light into this little neighborhood gym that produced boxing superstars Riddick Bowe and other champions. Harry is beginning his daily routine of training young boxers. ... Full Article
A powerful, poignant story by Stephen Wong B oxing has always been portrayed -- especially in the film world -- as a social metaphor for the resiliency of the human spirit, and many times the only chance for poor,... ... Full Article
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