Pretty much every boxing movie has the same message and general plot structure, but this one was tight, engaging and really well shot, which puts up near the top of the heap.

It's good for what it is, which is a standard boxing film with a obvious and simple message about integrity and honor. The acting is great, but none of the characters have much personality. This might be blamed on the fact that everything takes place in a brief seventy minutes of real time, an interesting, though ultimately limiting, gimmick. Doesn't help that most of those seventy minutes take place in the ring. Not a lot of drama or depth here. Photography is impressive, though.

A really straightforward movie that manages to be incredibly tense and well-crafted. The centerpiece fight is gripping, and most of the scenes surrounding it are just as good.

This movie perfectly shows the brutal side of the boxing world. You really feel for the main character by the end of the film. This one great dark film about boxing, aging and refusing to give up.

Awesome little movie. Plays out in real time. The fight is excellent - great job by Robert Wise in that regard.

The boxing scenes are incredible. There's a real violence to the way the fight is portrayed, and the real-time aspect means you get a good feel for the ebb and flow of the bout. It's almost like watching a real fight - I was wincing with each punch and cheering when Stoker landed a good one. All exacerbated by the bloodlust of the audience. You can almost smell the sweat and taste the blood. The story is good, too; a simple but effective morality tale with a typical noir bittersweet ending.

Excellent execution of a familiar story. A little goes a long way here.

Ryan makes the film.

Tightly paced boxing picture/film noir that plays out in real time. Robert Ryan is fantastic as the washed up Stoker Thompson.

Textbook example of how you can have no money and one of the oldest premises in fiction and still make a very good little picture

A surprising little gem of a film noir. Ryan is excellent, and the narrative gimmick of showing the story in real-time works to excellent effect. Not the greatest of stories, but a damn fine picture.

Excellent, original if somewhat overwrought morality tale about integrity set in the world of boxing. Filmed as a continuous narrative covering only 72 minutes in the life of aging fighter Stoker Thompson (Ryan). Powerful, with fine performances, especially from Ryan in the lead.

Enjoyable little noir, but never much more than that. The fight scenes were boring and overlong but Wise's direction was nothing short of electric.

It's hard to imagine a boxing movie much better than this. The film plays out entirely in real time. The fight itself is brilliantly staged and expertly shot, tense and gripping. The brutality is heightened by the shots of the bloodthirsty crowd. It all gels together and makes a thoroughly compelling and very grim and gritty tale, with solid writing, direction and performances all around. Ryan does an average joe quite well, without dumbing it down too much. Excellent stuff.

Fine washed-up boxer movie. In real time. Ryan is great in this.

Solid film that never tries to do too much. Pretty good acting and some really impressive directing. The real-time flow was a neat idea that works out well here.

Excellent delivery in all fields.

A hidden little gem, this film-noir boxing movie boasts an inelaborate but great script - a real-time narrative, great acting from Robert Ryan and exemplary directing from Robert Wise, including what must be one of the best bout scenes ever put to celluloid.

I wish it was much longer.