The Harder They Fall

Au Hasard Balthazar

May 1966 •French

The story of a donkey Balthazar as he is passed from owner to owner, some kind and some cruel but all with motivations beyond his understanding. Balthazar, whose life parallels that of his first keeper, Marie, is truly a beast of burden, suffering the sins of humankind. But despite his powerlessness, he accepts his fate nobly.

Hard Times

August 1975 •English

In the depression, Chaney, a strong silent streetfighter, joins with Speed, a promoter of no-holds-barred street boxing bouts. They go to New Orleans where Speed borrows money to set up fights for Chaney, but Speed gambles away any winnings.

Somebody Up There Likes Me

July 1956 •English

The story of boxer Rocky Graziano's rise from juvenile delinquent to world champ.

Rokudenashi BLUES

July 1992 •Japanese

Trouble finds Maeda, a good-for-nothing outcast with dreams of becoming a boxing champ, soon after enrolling at Teiken High School. His cavalier clumsiness has a way of attracting attention from gang leaders, school staff, and the precocious schoolgirl Chiaki. When a dangerous new gang leader threatens to upend order in the school, Maeda puts his training to work — along with every brain cell he can muster — to protect the balance of power.

My Name Is Lenny

June 2017 •English

The life story of one of Britain's most notorious bare-knuckle fighters, Lenny McLean, also known as "The Guv'nor".

The Second Attempt of Viktor Krokhin

February 1987 •Russian

During the flight, the hero of the film, the boxing champion, recalls his life's journey. The hero’s childhood was in the first post-war years. He grew up without a father, his mother was busy with work, his older brother was in prison, the relationship with the new stepfather did not work out, and the boy was brought up on the street. There he learned to fight, and this led him to the boxing ring. Over time, the stubborn street boy became the champion of Europe.

Black Cloud

January 2004 •English

Black Cloud, is an inspirational story about a young Navajo, Native American boxer, who overcomes personal challenges as he comes to terms with his heritage, while fighting his way for a spot on the US Olympic boxing team.

TwentyFourSeven

April 1998 •English

In a typical English working-class town, the juveniles have nothing more to do than hang around in gangs. One day, Alan Darcy, a highly motivated man with the same kind of youth experience, starts trying to get the young people off the street and into doing something they can believe in: Boxing. Darcy opens a boxing club, aiming to bring the rival gangs together.

First Round

July 2022 •Portuguese

Pride of the Bowery

December 1940 •English

Muggs is tricked into entering a Civilian Conservation Corps camp by Danny in order to get in shape. Muggs resists and battles with the camp captain and with other campers. He also becomes involved in trying to help one of his friends get out of trouble.

They Made Me a Criminal

January 1939 •English

A boxer flees, believing he has committed a murder while he was drunk.

Two Fists, One Heart

March 2009 •English

This is a contemporary story set in Perth Western Australia . Anthony Argo is a young Italian/Australian boxer, being pushed to the limit by his Sicilian father-trainer, Joe,. Joe wants Anthony to achieve the success in the ring that he was denied as a young man. When Anthony meets Kate, he begins to see his life - and the role violence - in a different light.

Ring of Passion

February 1978 •English

Fact-based drama about the two Joe Louis-Max Schmeling heavyweight fights and the way both boxers unwillingly became symbols of political ideologies just prior to World War II.

Too Fat Too Furious

February 2005 •Dutch

Bennie, a clumsy criminal who's touchy about his weight, teams up with his adoptive father's biological (serial killer) son, his employees who in his absence turned his snack-bar into a quiche bakery, a suicidal manic-depressive woman and a Yugoslavian who keeps blowing things up unintended. They need to get 300000 Euro to get Bennies father a new liver.

The Pugilist

June 2017 •English

After his eldest son is murdered in a gangland hit, an absentee father desperately tries to protect what's left of the shattered family he abandoned.

Shiner

September 2000 •English

The past catches up with a ruthlessly ambitious boxing promoter.

Kids Return

July 1996 •Japanese

Shinji and Masaru spend most of their school days harassing fellow classmates and playing pranks. They drop out and Shinji becomes a small-time boxer, while Masaru joins up with a local yakuza gang. However, the world is a tough place.

Mary Kom

September 2014 •Hindi

A chronicle of the life of Indian boxer 'Mary Kom' who went through several hardships before audaciously accomplishing her ultimate dream.

Nayakan

October 1987 •Tamil

Velu Naicker, who witnesses the brutal murder of his father, kills a corrupt policeman and escapes to Mumbai, only to become a gangster.

Final Round

December 2022 •French

Rachid is a young man who survives in Morroco boxing in clandestine fights in order to save enough money with which to pay a smuggler, and be able to cross the Strait of Gibraltar with his two friends.