Body and Soul [Blu-ray]

Director: Robert Rossen Robert Rossen

Overview

The riveting 1947 drama Body and Soul, arguably the greatest boxing movie of all time, centers on a former pugilist who looks back on his life in and out of the ring and realizes that self-respect is a more important prize than winning. John Garfield is Charley Davis, a former boxing champion who began fighting in order to save himself and his mother from poverty after his father was killed in a mob-related bombing. William Conrad plays Quinn, a veteran boxer turned trainer who discovers that Davis has the potential to be a professional fighter. Eager to take on all contenders, Davis eventually defeats the world champion, but winning has cost Garfield more than he bargained for: he falls in with the mob and takes to a life of easy women and plentiful booze, winning easy bouts with second-rate opponents. It takes the tragic death of his best friend -- indrectly caused by a beating from a mobster -- for Davis to realize the error of his ways and try to make amends, returning to his mother and the artist girlfriend he left behind. Out of shape and still distraught, he hires as his trainer the former champion whom he defeated earlier, to attempt a comeback. With all the odds against him, and knowing that the fight has already been fixed, Davis is forced to make the choice between what's expected of him and what he expects of himself. Although not the first Hollywood film about winning and losing in the boxing world, and saddled with the genre's familiar clichés, Garfield's engaging performance makes Body and Soul tower above nearly all other films of its kind. The fight sequences were filmed on roller skates with a hand-held camera, adding a realism that strengthens the film's standing as a masterpiece.

Product Details

Release Date:	07/31/2012
UPC:	0887090045209
Original Release:	1947
Rating:	NR
Source:	Olive
Region Code:	1
Presentation:	[B&W]
Sound:	[Dolby Digital Mono]
Language:	English
Time:	1:44:00
Sales rank:	16,811

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

John Garfield	Charley Davis
Lilli Palmer	Peg Born
Anne Revere	Anna Davis
Hazel Brooks	Alice
William Conrad	Quinn
Joseph Pevney	Shorty Polaski
Canada Lee	Ben
Lloyd Goff	Roberts
Art Smith	David Davis
James Burke	Arnold
Virginia Gregg	Irma
Peter Virgo	Drummer
Joe Devlin	Prince
Mary Currier	Miss Tedder
Milton Kibbee	Dan,Dan
Artie Dorrell	Jack Marlowe
Cyril Ring	Victor
Tim Ryan	Shelton
Lloyd Gough	Roberts
Wheaton Chambers	Doctor
John Indrisano	Referee
Shimen Ruskin	Grocer
Dan Tobey	Fight Announcer
Hugo Friedhofer	Composer
Edward Heyman	Composer
Frank Eyton	Composer
Johnny Green	Composer

Technical Credits

Abraham Polonsky

Abraham Polonsky	Screenwriter
Bob Roberts	Producer
Robert Rossen	Director
Gunther Von Fritsch	Special Effects

Editorial Reviews

The boxing drama Body and Soul benefits from a riveting screenplay by Abraham Polonsky, intense editing from Francis D. Lyon and Robert Parrish, and innovative cinematography by the legendary James Wong Howe. Tying all of these elements together is director Robert Rossen, who coaxes a superb performance from John Garfield as the troubled boxer Charlie Davis. Rossen would explore similar themes of redemption in sports and gambling in 1961's The Hustler. Howe's tight shot composition would influence similar classics over the years, most notably Martin Scorsese's Raging Bull; the similarly influential work of Lyon and Parrish would garner the team an Oscar.

All Movie Guide - Richard Gilliam