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17 out of 17 people found the following comment useful :- Great boxing flick that transcends stereotypes, 21 May 2002 Author: Bobs-9 from Chicago, Illinois, USA
This is a golden oldie if there ever was one. Adapted from Rod Serling's earlier `Playhouse 90' TV drama, it improved greatly on the original by taking full advantage of the film medium, including moody film-noir lighting, an excellent music score, and superb direction. Anthony Quinn is excellent, getting all the pathos out of the role without overdoing it. Mickey Rooney and Jackie Gleason, neither of whom is renowned for subtlety and restraint, hit just the right note in their performances, as does Julie Harris. The ending of this film couldn't be more different than the `Playhouse 90' ending. One of the more bizarre elements of this film, which was not in the original TV play, is the character of Ma Greeney, a really frightening person and the only example I am aware of in film of a lesbian gangster (and in 1962, yet). I can still remember how startled I was to see this character when I first watched this film on TV back in the late 1960s.The new DVD of `Requiem for a Heavyweight' offers both a full-screen and wide-screen presentation. The quality of the transfer is really outstanding. The liner notes indicate that it is mastered in high definition. While I don't have the hardware to watch it in high-def., I can say that on an ordinary monitor it looks outstanding. Perhaps the sharpest DVD picture I've ever seen. The sound is clear, and the subtitles are very helpful in picking out dialog that may be indistinct, or not easily understood because of Anthony Quinn's manner of delivering the lines while in character.However. It seems to me that at least one whole scene and a part of another scene is missing. I distinctly remember Maish (Jackie Gleason) telling Ma Greeney what he would do to her if she weren't a lady. In response, she laughs and says `that's the nicest thing anyone's ever said to me.' This is part of the early scene where Maish is attacked in an abandoned boxing ring by Ma's thugs. There is another whole scene I can recall in which Mountain (Anthony Quinn) is practicing holds with a wrestler. He asks that the wrestler stay away from his injured eye, and when he purposely goes for the eye, Mountain punches his lights out. The cuts I recall seeing on TV years ago always included these scenes, and I've never seen this shortened cut of the film before. It's still a great film, but I really miss these two scenes.
10 out of 10 people found the following comment useful :- Stark and Realistic, 14 March 2005 Author: hillari from Chicago, USA
A sad, heartbreaking, and somewhat disturbing story. Quinn is totally believable as Mountain Rivera, a boxer who, perhaps, has been in the game too long and finds himself forced out. While his world-weary cut man (Rooney) is protective of him to an extent, his manager (Gleason) only views Rivera as a paycheck. An unemployment agency staff person (Miller) sees something in Rivera that prompts him to go above and beyond the call of duty to help him get a job. All of the leads are extremely good. It appears that most of the film takes place in the dark, highlighting the seamy side of boxing. The only daytime scene is when Rivera visits the unemployment office, and even then, it appears that the place has no windows to see outside. The office is just as closed up and restricted as Rivera's limited choices after his career ends. The actress who portrayed the underworld figure that Rivera's manager has a connection to was appropriately evil and creepy. The very last scene, filled with a sense of finality and resignation, is powerful.
12 out of 17 people found the following comment useful :- GREAT CLASSIC BOXING CHAMPS IN THIS FILM!, 11 October 2003 Author: whpratt1 from United States
Anthony Quinn, Jackie Gleason and Mickey Rooney made this film a great black and white film classic for all future generations. However, as a young boy living in Richmond Hill, Queens during the 1940's, I had Abe Simon (great prize fighter, who fought Joe Lewis) a neighbor who lived down the street. Abe Simon was an adviser for this film along with Willie Pep (World Featherweight boxing Champion 1942-48/ 1949-50) Abe Simon looked like a giant and had huge hands, but was a very kind and down to earth person and well liked. Willie was also an adviser in this film for Anthony Quinn and later became a bouncer in NYC. These great boxer's gave this film the great realism that it has and it was great to see them along with another great boxer, Jack Dempsey, who owned a food establishment on Broadway NYC. This film clearly shows the horrible results of boxing in the ring for a profession, however, all boxers and future boxers should be praised for their great gifts in that field of endeavor.
5 out of 5 people found the following comment useful :- The Movie Version of the "Playhouse 90" Classic, 15 October 2007 Author: theowinthrop from United States
*** This comment may contain spoilers ***
The film version of REQUIEM FOR A HEAVYWEIGHT had some major differences from the television version made five years earlier. To be fair the television version is better because it has a more positive push than the film does - but somehow one senses that in the real world "Mountain" Rivera would have been doomed to his sad fate rather than the happy ending for "Mountain" McClintock.The first difference is that Louis "Mountain" Rivera (Anthony Quinn) is Latino, and not as solidly grounded in the United States as his television version "Mountain" McClintock (Jack Palance). Quinn really is dependent on his manager Maish (here Jackie Gleason, possibly in his best performance), because of his ethnicity. And up to a point they did well together, but Rivera is aging, and can't compete with younger boxers (he loses the bout at the start to a young Mohammad Ali - here under his old name of Cassius Clay). Although he was once the eighth best heavyweight boxer in the world, he is a has-been. His serious eye damage from repeated boxing matches is potentially leading to blindness. He can't box anymore.But, as in the television version, Maish has bet on Mountain losing in a particular round, and Mountain stayed into another further round. Maish got several gamblers to bet with him, and they are after him to pay them back. Maish is willing to do so, but at Mountain's expense. As the two biggest gambler - creditors, Ma Greeny (Madame Spivy) and Pinelli (Stanley Adams) want Mountain to become a professional wrestler until (at least) the debt is paid off.Maish pulls everything to force Mountain into line. He is opposed by Army (Mickey Rooney), who is far more caustic towards Maish in this version than Ed Wynn was towards Keenan Wynn in the television version. Army pushes Mountain to go to an employment agency where he is taken under the wing of Grace Miller (Julie Harris) who wants to help him get a job as a camp counselor. Mountain, proud but confused - and still under Maish's emotional control - likes this idea. Maish sees himself losing his power over the pugilist, but then turns to Mountain's worst failing: he gets Mountain drunk.The collapse of Mountain, who for all his failings is a proud man, is the tragic conclusion of this version. Maish's sin is revealed to him, finally breaking the bind between them (it is a tremendous act of treachery to Mountain's pride). But when Greeny and Pinelli point out that they'll kill Maish unless Mountain goes into the wrestling game (dressed as an Indian, and making false war whoops for the crowd), Mountain agrees. But he and Army leave Maish alone - they'll save his life but that is the payment for what he did for Mountain. After that they won't have anything to do with Maish, and he is left at the end of the film realizing how much his selfishness has lost.I'd like to point out the performance of Madame Spivy - she plays Ma Greeny as a dike-type, and is quite threatening as a result. Stanley Adams repeats his part as Pinelli, disguising his viciousness with a false bonhomie and laugh (like a sloppy looking Sidney Greenstreet). Both performers help make the grundginess of this portion of humanity all the more real to the viewers. Not as good as the television version (in my view), but quite good on it's own.
5 out of 5 people found the following comment useful :- The most real fight picture ever made besides Raging Bull, 9 December 2005 Author: wrich2000 from United States
DO NOT MISS THIS FILM!This film is a masterpiece which depicted the seamy side of low level boxing at St. Nichols or "St. Nicks" Arena in Brooklyn, NY. The old Stillman Gym shots show just how few ever made any money or fame before being destroyed by too many punches to the head. Jackie Gleason personified the low rent scum that rode any fighter to death. Rivera was so hopelessly trapped that Anthony Quinn caught the essence of the man and his slow descent into being a meal ticket for Gleason and a bad joke in the wrestling game. Harris was brilliant as the NY Social Worker and idealist. She caught the last glimmer of hope in Rivera and tried to help but was defeated when he turned out to be hopelessly owned by Gleason. Rooney was brilliant but I preferred Myron McCormick in the TV film a few years earlier. Having been to St. Knicks as a kid, I know the realness of this story because I saw them, smelled them and felt for some of the dying, which is what most of them were doing. All the stars in the world for this one.
4 out of 4 people found the following comment useful :- Toppling A Mountain, 1 October 2007 Author: bkoganbing from Buffalo, New York
Requiem for a Heavyweight is a great ensemble piece revolving around four characters. It's a tribute to the skill of Rod Serling's screenplay and the direction of Ralph Nelson that no one of them dominates the story.Anthony Quinn as Mountain Rivera has been given the final knockout by the New York State Athletic Commission after a fight with up and coming heavyweight, Cassius Clay. His eyes won't take too many more blows, so his license is being pulled. He's got to look for another line of work, but ring skills and a sixth grade education is all he has for the job market. If that wasn't enough, his manager Jackie Gleason made some bets and got some other gamblers to bet that Quinn wouldn't stand up more than three rounds under Clay's fists. The gamblers want their money. What to do, Gleason thinks he can get him a gig as a wrestler, but the idea of putting on an Indian suit offends his sensibilities. The whole thing offends Mickey Rooney who is Quinn's corner man and Julie Harris, an employment counselor, has different ideas all together for Quinn.It's a bitter thing for Quinn to not only learn he's through at the only thing he knows, but that his manager and friend doesn't even believe in him any more. The rest of the film is devoted to how all of the four of them will deal with a very bleak future.Julie Harris does not get too many comments, but she has an interesting role as a prim and sexually frustrated middle aged civil servant who sees in Quinn some kind of personal reclamation project. Her life however has not given her any perspective in dealing with the boxing game and the people in it.Gleason might have the bleakest future of all whether his gambling debts are paid or not. This is probably Jackie Gleason's best dramatic role and he's brilliant. For one thing he won't even have Mickey Rooney around who acts as everybody's conscience. Rooney is another ex-fighter who survives by tending to the cuts of competing pugilists and it's not something he likes, but something he does well and it keeps him in the only game he knows.It all gets resolved, but not to everyone's liking in the end. Requiem for a Heavyweight is a brilliant piece of acting about the underside of the fight game and the bleak future that a lot who survive it have.
4 out of 4 people found the following comment useful :- Equal in quality to the Teleplay., 15 May 2000 Author: yenlo from Auburn, Me
This Rod Serling written story originally was televised on the old CBS Playhouse 90 program which was live TV. This film produced by David Susskind sticks pretty much to the Playhouse 90 version with a few variations and a couple of characters. Anthony Quinn seems more like a heavyweight than Jack Palance did for one thing and the individual that Maish Rennick is in debt to is also more colorful than in the Teleplay. Jackie Gleason, Mickey Rooney and Julie Harris are as good in their roles as the actors who were in the Teleplay. The ending is slightly different and I found it to have more stark realism than the Teleplay. Check out the fighter that Mountain is in the ring with when the film starts.
3 out of 3 people found the following comment useful :- Stunning & Fantastic Portrayal of the Seedy Aspects of Pugilism!, 6 March 2008 Author: lawrence_elliott from Canada
Jackie Gleason is in his element as promoter/manager/trainer of a broken down end-of-the-road boxer "Mountain Rivera" played brilliantly by Anthony Quinn. After 17 punishing years getting battered in the Ring "The Mountain" sports the scars, brain paralysis and the "shot" hoarse voice of an ex-fighter who is played to the hilt by Quinn. Mickey Rooney as "Mountain's" trainer is also sensational in his role. The whole cast in this film is simply fantastic. The writing of Rod Serling (of "Twilight Zone" fame) is masterful to say the least. Julie Harris who tries to provide hope for Rivera's future is beautifully and "tenderly" rendered on screen. The sleazy nature of the boxing business in the seedy surroundings of the cockroach infested hotel rooms is starkly defined in this black and white celluloid. There is a scene with Mickey Rooney and Jackie Gleason playing cards reminiscent of "The Honeymooners" with Art Carney when Gleason explodes in exasperation at Rooney who delays playing his hand at "gin" rummy. This is a taut and brilliantly portrayed film that everyone should see. Muhammed Ali (as Cassius Clay) is hauntingly shot at the beginning of the film. Jack Dempsey, the former heavyweight champ, is also shown at his restaurant in New York. The corruption and fear in this business is tellingly displayed. In fact this is a "must see" and "must own" kind of film. A Knock Out! As an aside, Jackie Gleason was so great on film partly because of his experience in live vaudeville shows. He grew up in abject poverty as a boy. This forced him out at an early age to make a living. The greatness came from hard times, talent and an insatiable work ethic. Thus the great talent of Jackie Gleason began to shine to the point of dethroning Milton Berle out of the top TV spot in 1954 as "The Honeymooners" stormed on screen. So many great talents from this era developed in the same way. Poverty and hard times had a way of producing talented star entertainers in the 30's and 40's. Perhaps this explains the lack of talent on screen today.
3 out of 3 people found the following comment useful :- REQUIEM FOR A HEAVYWEIGHT (Ralph Nelson, 1962) ***, 17 February 2007 Author: MARIO GAUCI (marrod@melita.com) from Naxxar, Malta
I had missed out on an Italian TV broadcast of this acclaimed boxing drama in the 80s and, even if it did get released on DVD on both regions, I never got to pick it up until now because its lack of any significant supplements kept pushing it back. Anyway, I got to watch and own it now and it was certainly worth the wait as this must surely rank among the best films that deal with boxing. Interestingly, REQUIEM FOR A HEAVYWEIGHT was originally previewed at a much longer running time (featuring some 16 minutes of additional footage) but the version I watched is the more familiar 86-minute cut.The film was superbly written by Rod Serling – best-known for writing many of THE TWILIGHT ZONE (1959-64) episodes and introducing the show – who, among others, provided the screenplay for such notable films as PATTERNS (1956), SEVEN DAYS IN MAY (1964) and PLANET OF THE APES (1968). Actually, this was the fourth filming of the play and previous TV versions – both made in 1957 – starred Jack Palance and, of all people, Sean Connery in the role played here by Anthony Quinn! The four leads are all outstanding: Quinn gives what is arguably his most moving performance as the dim-witted boxer who cannot even talk coherently with all the beatings he took in the ring and might even lose his sight if he keeps at it much longer; Jackie Gleason is excellent as Quinn's manager who is driven to bet against his own man in order to collect some fast dough and pay off his debts to an androgynous racketeer breathing down his neck; Mickey Rooney is just terrific as Quinn's loyal handler (and an ex-prizefighter himself) who quickly sees through all of Gleason's schemes to keep Quinn in the ring for his own personal gain; and Julie Harris as the lonesome social worker who takes pity on Quinn and tries to get him employed away from ringside perils. The blooming MARTY (1955)-ish romance between Quinn and Harris is perhaps a bit too good to be true and occurs rather too suddenly for this cynical viewer but it does not in any way detract from the film's stifling recreation of the seamy ambiance –strikingly similar to that of THE HUSTLER (1961), also featuring Jackie Gleason – aided in no small measure by Arthur J. Ornitz's noir-ish lighting and Laurence Rosenthal's jazzy score, not to mention the appearance of real-life boxing pros such as Cassius Clay (playing himself as one of Quinn's ringside opponents) and Jack Dempsey.Ralph Nelson was an erratic director with pretensions: I've watched 8 of his films so far and a few more have been numerous times on TV – FATHER GOOSE (1964), ONCE A THIEF (1965), THE WRATH OF GOD (1972) – so I guess I should make an extra effort now to catch them the next time they're on; REQUIEM FOR A HEAVYWEIGHT, while actually his debut film, remains possibly his most satisfying work all round and deservedly earned him a nod from the Directors' Guild of America.
4 out of 5 people found the following comment useful :- Hanging it up is the hardest part, 20 March 2004 Author: sol from Brooklyn NY USA
******SPOILERS****** Getting knocked out by Cassius Clay in the seventh round proved to be the end of the line for former heavyweight contender Louis "Mountain" Rivera, Anthony Quinn. After the fight in Mountain's dressing room the fight doctor checking the damage to his left eye tells his manager and trainer Maish and Army, Jackie Gleason and Mickey Rooney, that he can't allow Mountain to fight anymore. The next punch to his head can very well bind or even kill him. His brains scrambled his fists busted in danger of losing his eyesight 17 years in the fight game is all the battering that Mountain's body could take. Now after 17 years it was time for Mountain to hang up his boxing gloves and go into another line of work, but what kind of work could Mountain do? Unknown to Mountain and his trainer Army his manager Maish had given the Ma Greeny mob the word that his fighter won't last more then 4 rounds with the young and hard hitting Cassius Clay and they place a lot of money on the tip that Maish gave them. Mountain going more then 4 rounds with Clay cost the Greeny mob big and it was up to Maish to come up with the money by the end of the month or else Maish won't ever have any need for money again. Without Mountain being able to fight anymore the only way Maish can get the money for the Greeny mob is for Mountain to become a professional wrestler and thus making a joke of himself entertaining the public. This time instead of taking punches Mountain will be taking laughs. Rod Serling's hard hitting screen-play about the fight game and how it chews up and spits out those who are in it like Louis "Mountain" Rivera when it no longer has any use for them. Touching performance by Anthony Quinn as the broken down Mountain who has to humiliate himself by being a clown in the ring as a wrestler after being a proud warrior in the ring as a boxer. Also very moving is Julie Harris as Grace Miller the social worker who does her best to get Mountain a job as a youth consular only to have him lose it by getting drunk celebrating getting it.As hard hitting as the punches thrown in the ring and as powerful as those boxers in the ring taking them. Mountain makes a fool of himself to save his crooked managers, Maish, hide so he could have the money to pay back the mob that he owes them, but that ended his friendship with Maish. It also educated Maish about being honest and loyal to those who trust and depend on him which is something that he didn't know about up till then. The film ends with Mountain swallowing his pride and accepting what fate had in store for him.
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