Best movies like Jack Johnson
A unique, carefully handpicked, selection of the best movies like Jack Johnson Starring Brock Peters, Kevin Kennedy, and more. If you liked Jack Johnson then you may also like: When We Were Kings, Rocky Balboa, Jazz on a Summer's Day, The Joe Louis Story, Knockout and many more popular movies featured on this list. You can further filter the list even more or get a random selection from the list of similar movies, to make your selection even easier.
Jack Johnson is a 1970 documentary film directed by Jim Jacobs about the boxer Jack Johnson.
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Rocky Balboa
His Wife is dead and his Son hates him, but this old man still has fight in him! When he loses a highly publicized virtual boxing match to ex-champ Rocky Balboa, reigning heavyweight titleholder Mason Dixon retaliates by challenging Rocky to a nationally televised, 10-round exhibition bout. To the surprise of his son and friends, Rocky agrees to come out of retirement and face an opponent who's faster, stronger, and thirty years his junior.
Jazz on a Summer's Day
Set at the Newport jazz festival in 1958, this documentary mixes images of water and the town with performers and audience. The film progresses from day to night and from improvisational music to Gospel. It's a concert film that suggests peace and leisure, jazz at a particular time and place.
The Joe Louis Story
The life and career of Heavyweight Champion Joe Louis, who held the title for 12 years--longer than any other boxer in history--and who had to not only battle opponents inside the ring and racism outside it.
Knockout
Outsider and new kid Matthew desperately wants to join his high school's boxing team, but resident bully and boxing champion Hector stands in his way. Facing constant torment, Matthew finds an unlikely ally in Dan, the school's janitor and one-time amateur boxer. Together, they train for the biggest boxing match of Matthew's life and discover what it truly means to be a winner.
All Night Long
Over the course of one eventful evening, the anniversary celebration of the musical and romantic partners Aurelius Rex and Delia Lane, a jealous, ambitious drummer, Johnny Cousin, attempts to tear the interracial couple apart.
Body and Soul
A young man struggles to become a boxing champ, but success blinds him. It is only through the love of his girlfriend that he is brought back to reality.
Bullfighter and the Lady
An American takes up bullfighting to impress the ladies but learns to respect the sport.
The Bullfighters
Bumbling detective Stan Laurel disguises himself as a famous matador in order to hide from the vengeful Richard K. Muldoon, who spent time in prison on Stan's bogus testimony.
The Challenger
A legendary trainer comes out of retirement to help an underdog boxer fight his way to a better life.
Somebody Up There Likes Me
The story of boxer Rocky Graziano's rise from juvenile delinquent to world champ.
The Great White Hope
A black champion boxer and his white female companion struggle to survive while the white boxing establishment looks for ways to knock him down.
Diggstown
Gabriel Caine has just been released from prison when he sets up a bet with a business man. The business man owns most of a boxing-mad town called Diggstown. The bet is that Gabe can find a boxer that will knock out 10 Diggstown men, in a boxing ring, within 24 hours. "Honey" Roy Palmer is that man - although at 48, many say he is too old.
The Fighters
Behind-the-scenes documentary chronicling the Fight of the Century between Joe Frazier and Muhammad Ali.
Gentleman Jim
As bare-knuckled boxing enters the modern era, brash extrovert Jim Corbett uses new rules and dazzlingly innovative footwork to rise to the top of the boxing world.
Broken Noses
Photographer Bruce Weber profiles boxer Andy Minsker, including his pro career and family relations, and the boys' boxing club Minsker runs.
The Great White Hype
When the champ's promoter, Rev. Sultan, decides something new is needed to boost the marketability of the boxing matches, he searches and finds the only man to ever beat the champ. The problem is that he isn't a boxer anymore and he's white. However, once Rev. Sultan convinces him to fight, he goes into heavy training while the confident champ takes it easy and falls out of shape.
Men Boxing
Experimental film fragment made with the Edison-Dickson-Heise experimental horizontal-feed kinetograph camera and viewer, using 3/4-inch wide film.
Tyson
The story of Mike Tyson. From his early days as a 12 year old amateur with a powerful punch, to the undisputed title of "Heavyweight Champion of the World", and ultimately to his conviction for rape. The story of his turbulent life moves quickly, never focusing for long on anything in particular.
The Set-Up
Expecting the usual loss, a boxing manager takes bribes from a betting gangster without telling his fighter.
Cameraperson
As a visually radical memoir, CAMERAPERSON draws on the remarkable footage that filmmaker Kirsten Johnson has shot and reframes it in ways that illuminate moments and situations that have personally affected her. What emerges is an elegant meditation on the relationship between truth and the camera frame, as Johnson transforms scenes that have been presented on Festival screens as one kind of truth into another kind of story—one about personal journey, craft, and direct human connection.
The Matador
Growing up in Granada, Spain, young David Fandila always dreamed of being a matador. This documentary captures the rise of "El Fandi," one of Spain's most renowned bullfighters, who first entered the ring at age 14. While it's never in doubt that Fandila is at the top of his game, filmmakers Stephen Higgins and Nina Gilden Seavey weigh the significance of bullfighting as a cultural tradition against its inherent danger and cruelty.
Fighting For A City
The story of a young boxer on the road to his dream; a world title fight in his hometown of Leeds. On the way, we meet an extraordinary family, a father who trains his son and the most passionate fans in boxing. The film is set against the backdrop of one city; Leeds. Half aspirational professionals and students, half austerity ravaged estates, Leeds is a schizophrenic metaphor for England in 2016. Our boxer bridges the two because this is a city in need of a hero. Can he match and fulfil their hopes and dreams?
Casablanca Driver
This mockumentary follows the world's worst boxer and the events that led to his meteoric rise in the year 1969.
Cutie and the Boxer
This candid New York love story explores the chaotic 40-year marriage of famed boxing painter Ushio Shinohara and his wife, Noriko. Anxious to shed her role as her overbearing husband's assistant, Noriko finds an identity of her own.
Pariah: The Lives and Deaths of Sonny Liston
Overcoming the seemingly insurmountable odds that life threw his way, Liston became heavyweight champion of the world when he knocked out Floyd Patterson in 1962. Eight years later, he died but friends questioned the cause of his death.
A Man Called Adam
A famous jazz trumpeter finds himself unable to cope with the problems of everyday life.
Penitentiary III
A man is framed for murder and sent to prison. He is beaten and tortured, then forced to fight the prison's worst killer, a martial-arts fighting midget called Thud.
The Connection
A title card announces that the film is a result of found footage assembled by cameraman J.J. Burden working for the acclaimed documentary filmmaker Jim Dunn, who has disappeared. Leach, a heroin addict, introduces the audience to his apartment where other heroin addicts, a mix of current and former jazz musicians, are waiting for Cowboy, their drug connection, to appear. Things go out of control as the men grow increasingly nervous and the cameraman keeps recording.
The Red, White, and Black
Told by a U.S. Army colonel and his wife, this vintage Western set in post-Civil War Texas chronicles the exploits of the all-black 10th cavalry regiment, which was formed in 1871. Cesar Romero plays the unit's commander.
Flying Fists
A lumberjack knocks out a champion boxer in a brawl, gets drawn into the boxing world where he is unknowingly set up for a fixed fight.
Counterpunch
Based on a true story. A young boxer, Emilio, from the wrong side of the tracks with big dreams of winning the Golden Gloves boxing championship, finds himself at a cross roads after being locked up. As he fights his way back into the winning circle he gets a second shot at the championship title. As he is toe to toe in the ring with his competitor he'll throw all the punches and be the last man standing.
Kobe Bryant's Muse
Documentary that goes behind the stats to reveal the story of Kobe Bryant's career, exploring the mentorships, allies and rivalries that have helped shape his stellar 18-year tenure in the NBA, and offering access to his daily experiences, his lifelong inspirations and the battle with his greatest personal challenge yet.
Fallen Champ: The Untold Story of Mike Tyson
Fallen Champ: The Untold Story of Mike Tyson is a 1993 film made by acclaimed American documentary filmmaker Barbara Kopple. Though Tyson was in jail serving a sentence for rape, Kopple used existing interviews with the boxer, as well as her own extensive interviews with those closest to Tyson, to explore the man's history. The film traces Tyson's story from his troubled and tumultuous upbringing, through his rapid ascendancy in the ranks of the boxing world and his subsequent struggle with the trappings of fame. Fallen Champ earned Barbara Kopple a Directors Guild of America award as Best Documentary Director of 1993.
Joe Louis: America's Hero Betrayed
An American story. Traces the career of Joe Louis (1914-1981) within the context of American racial consciousness: his difficulty getting big fights early in his career, the pride of African-Americans in his prowess, the shift of White sentiment toward Louis as Hitler came to power, Louis's patriotism during World War II, and the hounding of Louis by the IRS for the following 15 years. In his last years, he's a casino greeter, a drug user, and the occasional object of scorn for young Turks like Muhammad Ali. Appreciative comment comes from boxing scholars, Louis's son Joe Jr., friends, and icons like Maya Angelou, Dick Gregory, and Bill Cosby.
Cauliflower Cupids
Johnny Stiletto, godfather to the Cauliflower Cupids gang (six world boxing champions), decides to leave crime so his daughter can have a better life.
The Green Book: Guide to Freedom
In 1936, Victor H. Green (1892-1960) published The Negro Motorist Green Book, a book that was both a travel guide and a survival manual, to help African-Americans navigate safe those regions of the United States where segregation and Jim Crow laws were disgracefully applied.
Bruno v Tyson
The full story of an epic in-ring rivalry and the fascinating personal relationship that went along with it.
The Journey of the African-American Athlete
Documentary feature exploring the rise of African-Americans to positions of greatness in American sports. Stories are told of boxers, tennis players, runners, and basketball players, athletes who either suffered the indignities of racism, helped break down its walls, or enjoyed the opportunities afforded by past struggles.
Bad Boy Boxer: The Last Chance
Boxer Lee Selby has walked a rocky road in life. He’s fought his way up from small smoky social clubs in south Wales to boxing’s world stage today. He’s now a contender, preparing for the defining fight of his life - to try and become the featherweight champion of the world.
Day of the Fight
On the day of his first fight since his release from prison, a once-renowned boxer embarks on a redemptive journey through his past and present.
The Siren Of Seville
Young Gallito (Allan Forrest) wants very badly to become a matador. His sweetheart, Dolores (Priscilla Dean), does everything she can to help him and she wheedles Pedro, a renowned bullfighter (Matthew Betz), into helping him, too. Gallito becomes a success, but he is vamped by Ardita (Claire Delorez) after Pedro is killed in the ring.
Untold: Deal with the Devil
Christy Martin broke boundaries and noses as she rose in the boxing world, but her public persona belied personal demons, abuse and a threat on her life.
Unforgivable Blackness: The Rise and Fall of Jack Johnson
The story of Jack Johnson, the first African American Heavyweight boxing champion.
On the Ropes
The story of three young boxers and their coach who is determined to guide them in a positive direction in and out of the ring.
Jack Johnson is a 1970 documentary film directed by Jim Jacobs about the boxer Jack Johnson.
A unique, carefully handpicked, selection of the best movies like Jack Johnson Starring Brock Peters, Kevin Kennedy, and more. If you liked Jack Johnson then you may also like: When We Were Kings, Rocky Balboa, Jazz on a Summer's Day, The Joe Louis Story, Knockout and many more popular movies featured on this list. You can further filter the list even more or get a random selection from the list of similar movies, to make your selection even easier.
When We Were Kings
It's 1974. Muhammad Ali is 32 and thought by many to be past his prime. George Foreman is ten years younger and the heavyweight champion of the world. Promoter Don King wants to make a name for himself and offers both fighters five million dollars apiece to fight one another, and when they accept, King has only to come up with the money. He finds a willing backer in Mobutu Sese Suko, the dictator of Zaire, and the "Rumble in the Jungle" is set, including a musical festival featuring some of America's top black performers, like James Brown and B.B. King.