Body and Soul

A formulaic but quite effective film about a boxer struggling to keep his honor while coming up in the boxing world. Garfield's naturalistic performance and some rather fantastic in-ring photography from James Wong Howe are the highlights.

Brutally direct, both emotionally and violently. Does follow a familiar theme seen in most boxing flicks, but Body and Soul (1947) ability to not waste time on unnecessary diversions becomes its strong point. And John Garfield is on top of his game! He's done boxing pics before, so he knew what he was doing. Actually everyone did a excellent job with their slimy characters surrounding the boxing business, and in that regard Body and Soul becomes a very authentic experience.

The crooked world of boxing is explored

Some bits here and there don't quite work, but overall it's a very fine film. While the grand scheme isn't original it fills it in with some well done commentary on corruption and power and a strong ending.

Generally well-done, but very familiar territory without any real surprises. It's your standard rise and fall of a champion scenario. The best part is easily the climax, a phenomenally shot fight. But then it's undercut with a sugar-coated ending. After having been blown away by The Set-Up, I'm using that as the gold standard for boxing movies, and Body and Soul doesn't quite measure up. However, like I said, it's executed well enough and has some fine qualities.

A simple tale elevated by its exceptional script [the untimely deaths did wear thin though] and performances. Rossen and crew never miss in accenting a scene just right - a joy to watch.

One of the best ever boxing movies. It's exceptionally well made, if marred by several tacky moments belonging to the romantic subplot, as well as several occasions of minor characters dying untimely deaths, all of which seemed unnecessary. These flaws aside, this is expertly written and directed.

Total classic. The movie to which all other boxing films must ultimately be compared

Effectively seedy portrait of professional boxing suffers (unfairly) now in the shadow of THE HUSTLER, Rossen's masterpiece of similar thematic material; still a fine film on a technical level, with the boxing footage iconic in its influence on future films, matched by top performances from Garfield, Palmer and Revere. It's a shame the plotting too often lurches into contrived melodrama, with an unbelievable "happy" finale to boot. Still hard to argue with its status as a genre landmark.

Spoilers. Why is this well liked? The main character is a stupid jerk. Am I supposed to be rooting for him? They give away at the beginning how it's going to end. The rest of the movie is watching this loser rise to his inevitable and obvious crash. I wanted to turn it off halfway through, but I settled for hoping he would lose everything and die in the end. Fuck this movie.

Em honra do centenário de William Conrad. Acho que esse se tornou meu filme sobre boxe favorito de sempre, o que o difere dos demais é o subtexto crítico e politizado que levou a galera toda a depor na HUAC, sabe como é, qualquer coisa que seja mais do que um divertimento acéfalo deve ter sido feito por comunistas. Box Versátil Filme Noir Volume 4.

Pretty good, with strong cinematography and a good performance from John Garfield. The Set-Up is still the best boxing noir, though.

It's a decent film, but I wasn't blown away. Garfield and Palmer are good, but I would have liked a more menacing mobster.

Melodramatic but absorbing study of prizefighting's seamy side. (Is there any other?)

A great movie, with great actors.