Cheap Body & Soul (Aniv) (Video) (Robert Rossen) Price

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Customer Reviews of Body & Soul (Aniv)

sorry, but it just doesnt deliver a knockout punch
john garfield gives a worthy performance in this otherwise dated boxing film from director robert rossen. the movie manages to embrace nearly every cliche of the boxing movie, tho its mercifully shorter than the typical sylvester stallone opus. perhaps its just that this is a genre of film im just not a fan of (my favorite boxing flick is the parody "movie movie"), but i just dont much care what happens to these people. interestingly, there IS a sidelight to this particular movie -- but it has nothing to do with boxing: scads of the cast & crew would be caught up in the next few years in the red scare and the black list" most notably its star (driven to a premature death) and its director (who saved his career, if not his self-respect by naming names). add a star if youre a fan of boxing movies. <
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The Rocky Road of Boxing
Body and Soul, 1947 film <
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>A man in a rural area gets into a car and drives to a city. Charley Davis is a boxer, and he visits his mother. Peggy is not happy to see him. There will be a fight the next day. Charley was told to make the fight last 15 rounds. The bets are all in. Then Charley recalls his past life, when he first met Peg, a model and painter. Charley's parents did not approve of prizefighters. Some gang attacks a neighboring speakeasy, there is collateral damage at his parent's candy store. The story shows the hard times for ordinary people. Charley's Mom wants to get a loan so Charley can get an education, but Charley refuses. Charley will fight to make big money. But Mr. Roberts controls the fight game in New York. <
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>After a year Charley is near the top. He has a lot of money now, and drinks. Mr. Roberts demands that Ben, injured in his last bout, fight Charley. Mr. Roberts also makes a new deal to split the winnings. In the fight Charley knocks out Ben, the champ. At the celebration party some facts come out, and Shorty leaves them. Peg decides she doesn't want that life. Charley continues with his good times. Then a new challenger appears. The deal is for Charley to go 15 rounds for a decision (the fix is in). A big fix like this is a lush opportunity in a lifetime. Charley thinks of ending his career, this will be his last fight. <
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>But there is a complication in his life. Ben the trainer had stayed in the fight game too long. The title fight goes on. Charley isn't doing so well, he is knocked down but saved by the bell. Charley does worse in the next round. There is a KO in the last round, Charley pulled off a victory! <
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>[This happy ending seems to contradict the story. This film tells how bouts are manipulated, like in other show businesses. Does it remind you of things in the real world? <
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Soul-less Transfer and Editing
Don't let the stars fool you, I love this movie and if I were reviewing the movie itself on its merits alone, it would get 6 stars. My love for this classic is the reason I can give this DVD version only two stars. The print is very poor - the lighting in some scenes is too dark to pick up some details. There are skips and jumps in the frame. The sound transfer is also very uneven. In fact my 20 year-old VHS tape is STILL better quality than this DVD. But all those technical faults could be forgiven were it not for the most egregious cut of all - a few lines of dialogue. In a pivotal scene where the grocer delivers to the Davis house, Charley has just told Peg that he needs his money to bet on the fight. The grocer comes in and talks about everyone betting on the fight - Charley says anyone who bets is foolish. The grocer disagrees. The words that were cut out of this print, essentially the heart of why the neighborhood loves their champ, are very simple "In Europe, the Nazis are killing our people, but here Charley is Champeen! No, it's not about the money." I have no idea why these lines are missing, but it was the final straw before I returned the DVD for a refund. <
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>Unfortunately us movie fans lose out again. We can't get a decent transfer or an unedited copy of a great film. Many lesser films released in the last 5 years have several editions available, with added footage, interviews, alternate endings, "director's" cuts and other gimmicks to drive sales. It's a good thing I haven't given away my VHS tape or dumped my VCR, otherwise I'd never again see this movie in a facsimile of its intended presentation. I guess the simple grocer was wrong, it's always about the money.