Product Description

Academy Award winners Russell Crowe and Renee Zellweger star in this triumphant, powerfully inspiring true story. In a time when America needed a champion, an unlikely hero would arise, proving how hard a man would fight to win a second chance for his family and himself. Suddenly thrust into the national spotlight, boxer Jim Braddock would defy the odds against him and stun the world with one of the greatest comebacks in history. Driven by love for his family, he willed an impossible dream to come true.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #2406 in DVD
• Brand: CROWE,RUSSELL
• Released on: 2005-12-06
• Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
• Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
• Formats: AC-3, Color, Dolby, Dubbed, DVD-Video, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Subtitled in: English, Spanish, French
• Dubbed in: French
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: .25 pounds
• Running time: 144 minutes

Amazon.com
Cinderella Man is a wholesome slice of old-fashioned Americana, offering welcomed relief from the shallowness of many summer blockbusters. In dramatizing the legendary Depression-era comeback of impoverished boxer Jim Braddock, director Ron Howard benefits from another superb collaboration with his A Beautiful Mind star Russell Crowe, whose portrayal of Braddock is simultaneously warm, noble, and tenacious without resorting to even the slightest hint of sentimental melodrama. The desperate struggle of the Depression is more keenly felt here than it was in Seabiscuit, and Howard shows its economic impact in ways that strengthen the bonds between Braddock, his supportive wife (Renée Zellweger) and three young children, and his loyal manager (Paul Giamatti); all are forced to make sacrifices leading up to Braddock's title bout against heavyweight champion Max Baer (Craig Bierko) in one of greatest boxing matches in the history of the sport. Boasting the finest production design, cinematography and editing that Hollywood can offer, this is a feel-good film that never begs for your affection; it's just good, classical American filmmaking, brimming with qualities of decency and fortitude that have grown all too rare in the big-studio mainstream. --Jeff Shannon

From The New Yorker
Russell Crowe teams up with the director Ron Howard for the first time since "A Beautiful Mind," and instead of schizophrenia we get broken ribs. This is the story of the boxer James J. Braddock, who fell from favor during the Great Depression, only to claw his way back and snatch the World Heavyweight title in 1935. Crowe lends the character a determined dourness, refusing to turn Braddock's bewildering comeback into a victory parade-a good thing, too, for without that unsmiling restraint the whole saga might sound too good to be true. Braddock is presented as a man without sin, his wife, Mae (Renée Zellweger), maintains a rosy-cheeked optimism even when food is scarce, and their children form a group portrait of well-scrubbed devotion. Anybody whose memory resounds to "Raging Bull," with its bedevilled hero, will feel badly shortchanged by this picture, yet Howard is the right man for stirring simplicity, and his casting is on the money. Braddock's opponents are gratifyingly bisonlike, and Paul Giamatti has a ball in the role of Joe Gould, the trainer who stood by his man. Who would have bet that the grouch of "American Splendor" could end up so natty and, yes, splendid, in a gray plaid suit and tie?-Anthony Lane -Anthony Lane
Copyright © 2006 The New Yorker

Customer Reviews

Good story-Great acting
I liked this film a lot and was prepared to give it five stars. Then, wondering why anyone would only give it one, I read those reviews. Apparently Ron Howard really murdered the character of Max Baer and for that I reluctantly have to subtract a star. I think he could have made just as good a film without demonizing Baer. Braddock's opponent was not really a person, but his own past, and the circumstances of the depression.

Well, I didn't know any of that when I saw the film so my enjoyment of it was unspoiled! Actually I had never heard of Braddock, not being a fight fan, and I didn't even know that this was true story until the name of Baer came up, as I had heard of him. It's the best way to see such a film cuz I didn't know how it was going to end! Well, that's not really true, either, because just looking at the DVD cover and reading the title, you pretty much can tell the whole story. In fact I started the film, then stopped it at the point where he broke his wrist again (ouch!) and wasn't going to see the rest.

It was only the acting of Russell Crowe that got me to finish it. I think he is a remarkable actor---not given enough credit. He reminds me a lot of Richard Burton--the stocky build and that wonderful deep voice. I think he's actually better than Burton, more on a par with Brando. His facial expressions in this film are something to behold---the carefree playful self, loosely bobbing around the ring in victory, to the deep pain in so many of the other scenes. The scene in which he swallows his pride and goes, begging to the dressed up swells in the boxing club, is tremendously moving. Crowe underplays it which adds to the impact.

Paul Giamatti is wonderful, too, as Braddock's coach. It's a stock character and could have come across as a cartoon, but Giamatti embues it with such energy that you have to love him. This is a wonderful actor and I'm really glad to see that he's had some bigger roles and gotten such good recognition recently.

I wasn't thrilled with Renee Zelwegger's performance. As another reviewer wrote, she sounds a lot like Betty Boop in her attempt at a Jersy accent, and her facial expressions sometimes are off-putting, but mostly she holds her own with the heavyweight (in every sense of the word) Crowe and for a few moments I forgot it was Renee up there, acting, and actually saw her as Mae Braddock.

I guess, in sum, it is a Hollywood version of reality and that has its limitations. But once you accept that this isn't really history and can let yourself enjoy the humanity of the story, you will probably really like this film. Another reviewer complained that we have too many tales of people overcoming terrible situations, but I submit that we don't have enough. We all have our set of problems and seeing one person overcome his with honor and dignity is tremendously inspiring. This isn't just about a man winning a boxing match. It's about a man whose love for his family drives him to make incredible sacrifices. It's also about the Great Depression and how this one man rallied hope for countless people who were suffering.

For all of his possible faults as a film maker, Howard isn't afraid of genuine heartfulness and for that I greatly appreciate him. We live in a time when cynicism is fashionable and any attempt at portraying honest human goodness is dismissed by some as hokey (read some of the one star comments) so it takes a certain courage to show this kind of story. Obviously from reading the huge number of positive reviews, it strikes a chord with a lot of folks.

The Cinderella Man
When I saw this movie, I knew my father was on the other side of the radio listening and being inspired. Russell Crow and Ron Howard caught more than the boxer, but the plight of the Great Depression and the need for hope and character. My dad was a teenager in New Jersey when this story was lived out. My Dad was an amatuer boxer who fought for the Golden Gloves. More was my dad and many like him were hard workers, people of character and who inspired character and hope as does this movie.

Cinderella Man
My DVD arrived in a timely manner in good condition. Thank you so much.