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Body and Soul

Body and Soul

1947
Drama, Sport
1h 44m
Charley Davis wins an amateur boxing match and is taken on by promoter Quinn. Charley's mother doesn't want him to fight, but when Charley's father is accidentally killed, Charley sets up a fight for money. His career blooms as he wins fight after fight, but soon an unethical promoter named Roberts begins to show an interest in Charley, and Charley finds himself faced with increasingly difficult choices. (imdb)
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Body and Soul

1947
Drama, Sport
1h 44m
Your probable score
Avg Percentile 67.55% from 178 total ratings

Ratings & Reviews

(178)
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Rated 23 Jun 2014
80
61st
A formulaic but quite effective film about a boxer struggling to keep his honor while coming up in the boxing world. Garfield's naturalistic performance and some rather fantastic in-ring photography from James Wong Howe are the highlights.
Rated 04 Dec 2007
100
95th
Total classic. The movie to which all other boxing films must ultimately be compared
Rated 04 Nov 2008
78
88th
One of the best ever boxing movies. It's exceptionally well made, if marred by several tacky moments belonging to the romantic subplot, as well as several occasions of minor characters dying untimely deaths, all of which seemed unnecessary. These flaws aside, this is expertly written and directed.
Rated 27 Jan 2009
5
80th
A simple tale elevated by its exceptional script [the untimely deaths did wear thin though] and performances. Rossen and crew never miss in accenting a scene just right - a joy to watch.
Rated 22 Apr 2010
74
50th
Generally well-done, but very familiar territory without any real surprises. It's your standard rise and fall of a champion scenario. The best part is easily the climax, a phenomenally shot fight. But then it's undercut with a sugar-coated ending. After having been blown away by The Set-Up, I'm using that as the gold standard for boxing movies, and Body and Soul doesn't quite measure up. However, like I said, it's executed well enough and has some fine qualities.
Rated 21 Aug 2010
86
84th
Some bits here and there don't quite work, but overall it's a very fine film. While the grand scheme isn't original it fills it in with some well done commentary on corruption and power and a strong ending.
Rated 24 Jan 2020
50
31st
The crooked world of boxing is explored
Rated 10 Apr 2021
80
99th
Brutally direct, both emotionally and violently. Does follow a familiar theme seen in most boxing flicks, but Body and Soul (1947) ability to not waste time on unnecessary diversions becomes its strong point. And John Garfield is on top of his game! He's done boxing pics before, so he knew what he was doing. Actually everyone did a excellent job with their slimy characters surrounding the boxing business, and in that regard Body and Soul becomes a very authentic experience.
Rated 05 Mar 2008
98
92nd
A great movie, with great actors.
Rated 10 Apr 2009
25
43rd
Melodramatic but absorbing study of prizefighting's seamy side. (Is there any other?)
Rated 06 May 2013
70
47th
It's a decent film, but I wasn't blown away. Garfield and Palmer are good, but I would have liked a more menacing mobster.
Rated 09 Jul 2013
80
37th
Pretty good, with strong cinematography and a good performance from John Garfield. The Set-Up is still the best boxing noir, though.
Rated 12 Feb 2017
67
46th
A little laggy in places, but the protagonist and his relatable dilemma work well enough to make up for it. The film touches on the then-recent Holocaust in a subtle way that adds a whole other layer to the climax. As noirs go, this one has an especially effective cast who embody their characters. John Garfield looks every bit the washed-up boxer and Hazel Brooks makes the quintessential breathy femme fatale. This also serves as a tragic portrait of careers lost to the Red Scare.
Rated 28 Sep 2020
90
87th
Em honra do centenário de William Conrad. Acho que esse se tornou meu filme sobre boxe favorito de sempre, o que o difere dos demais é o subtexto crítico e politizado que levou a galera toda a depor na HUAC, sabe como é, qualquer coisa que seja mais do que um divertimento acéfalo deve ter sido feito por comunistas. Box Versátil Filme Noir Volume 4.
Rated 09 Sep 2021
2
6th
Spoilers. Why is this well liked? The main character is a stupid jerk. Am I supposed to be rooting for him? They give away at the beginning how it's going to end. The rest of the movie is watching this loser rise to his inevitable and obvious crash. I wanted to turn it off halfway through, but I settled for hoping he would lose everything and die in the end. Fuck this movie.
Rated 19 Sep 2021
83
69th
Effectively seedy portrait of professional boxing suffers (unfairly) now in the shadow of THE HUSTLER, Rossen's masterpiece of similar thematic material; still a fine film on a technical level, with the boxing footage iconic in its influence on future films, matched by top performances from Garfield, Palmer and Revere. It's a shame the plotting too often lurches into contrived melodrama, with an unbelievable "happy" finale to boot. Still hard to argue with its status as a genre landmark.

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