"Champion" caught my attention because of two Oscar Award statuettes at once. The film was the winner in the Best Actor and Best Story category. The viewing was interesting, but looking ahead, I can say that I did not see a strong drama in the picture and could not feel it.
The picture tells about an incomplete family, where the father, who was once a boxing champion Andy Purcell, is trying to live, and sometimes survive with his son Dink. The glorious past of the main character played by Wallace Beery has long gone, and the man periodically dreams of returning to the ring. These dreams are intertwined with gambling and alcoholic gatherings. A rather meager existence, but it has become the rule of life for a former boxer. However, a man tries to raise his son, to give him something that will make him a man, in general, to raise a real man. And everything is gradually getting better, until the mother who abandoned the family appears on the horizon.
The picture is not bad. The script is sound, but the director does not very skillfully place accents in his picture. It is not very good to show the complexity and inconsistency of the existence of father and son. On the screen we see a grayness that causes apathy. It seems to be the right move, but there is not enough drama.
Personally, I remember the film with the performance of Wallace Beery. The actor had a good idea of the big boxer, who is gradually sinking to the bottom. But the struggle inside the hero is felt throughout the tape. He seems to be aware that he is no longer young, and his strength has left him, but he wants to prove to himself and his son, and to everyone around him that he is capable of more. At the same time, a man is not going to put up with the miserable existence of his child, trying to achieve a lot for him. Beery's performance was well worthy of an Oscar that year. However, it is worth noting that there were only three nominees at that time, and besides Wallace, Fredrik March received an Oscar for another leading male role for Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. It is difficult to imagine such a double victory today, but in those days it was destined to happen. And times were difficult for the country as a whole, and Oscar was not so popular yet.
Despite the impressive performance of the main star of the film, the picture itself came out to be somewhat superficial. Personally, I didn't have enough drama, it should have been intensified. And the film was like some kind of narrative movie, of which there are many.
The result is an average movie that you probably won't want to review. A good script, but a weak director's work. Beery's acting is good, but at the same time the story is devoid of the necessary drama.
6 out of 10.
The picture tells about an incomplete family, where the father, who was once a boxing champion Andy Purcell, is trying to live, and sometimes survive with his son Dink. The glorious past of the main character played by Wallace Beery has long gone, and the man periodically dreams of returning to the ring. These dreams are intertwined with gambling and alcoholic gatherings. A rather meager existence, but it has become the rule of life for a former boxer. However, a man tries to raise his son, to give him something that will make him a man, in general, to raise a real man. And everything is gradually getting better, until the mother who abandoned the family appears on the horizon.
The picture is not bad. The script is sound, but the director does not very skillfully place accents in his picture. It is not very good to show the complexity and inconsistency of the existence of father and son. On the screen we see a grayness that causes apathy. It seems to be the right move, but there is not enough drama.
Personally, I remember the film with the performance of Wallace Beery. The actor had a good idea of the big boxer, who is gradually sinking to the bottom. But the struggle inside the hero is felt throughout the tape. He seems to be aware that he is no longer young, and his strength has left him, but he wants to prove to himself and his son, and to everyone around him that he is capable of more. At the same time, a man is not going to put up with the miserable existence of his child, trying to achieve a lot for him. Beery's performance was well worthy of an Oscar that year. However, it is worth noting that there were only three nominees at that time, and besides Wallace, Fredrik March received an Oscar for another leading male role for Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. It is difficult to imagine such a double victory today, but in those days it was destined to happen. And times were difficult for the country as a whole, and Oscar was not so popular yet.
Despite the impressive performance of the main star of the film, the picture itself came out to be somewhat superficial. Personally, I didn't have enough drama, it should have been intensified. And the film was like some kind of narrative movie, of which there are many.
The result is an average movie that you probably won't want to review. A good script, but a weak director's work. Beery's acting is good, but at the same time the story is devoid of the necessary drama.
6 out of 10.