Fat City (1972)

Two brothers, working as professional boxers, come to blows when their careers each begin to take opposite momentum.

Director:

John Huston

Writer:

Leonard Gardner (novel)

Stars:

Stacy Keach, Jeff Bridges, Susan Tyrrell

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 3 wins.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Stacy Keach	...	Tully
Jeff Bridges	...	Ernie
Susan Tyrrell	...	Oma
Candy Clark	...	Faye
Nicholas Colasanto	...	Ruben
Art Aragon	...	Babe
Curtis Cokes	...	Earl
Sixto Rodriguez	...	Lucero
Billy Walker	...	Wes
Wayne Mahan	...	Buford
Ruben Navarro	...	Fuentes

Storyline

The film tells the story of two boxers and their problems. One of them is on the decline of his career while the other one just begins his ascent in this sport.

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Plot Keywords:

boxer | title fight | money | loneliness | comeback | 

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Genres:

Drama | Sport

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Spanish

Release Date:

26 July 1972 (USA)

Also Known As:

Boksörün dünyasi

Filming Locations:

Stockton Memorial Civic Auditorium, Stockton, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Columbia Pictures Corporation, Rastar Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

100 min

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

John Huston initially wanted Marlon Brando to play the role of Tully. When Brando informed Huston repeatedly that he needed some more time to think about it, Huston finally came to the conclusion that the star wasn't really interested and looked out for another actor until he finally cast the then relatively unknown Stacy Keach.

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Goofs

During the bar scene, the barrette in Susan Tyrrell's hair moves all over the place from shot to shot.

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Quotes

Tully: [first lines]
Tully: Hey kid. You want to spar a little?

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Connections

Referenced in V.I.P.: Raging Val (1999)

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Soundtracks

"If"
Written by David Gates
Performed by Bread

User Reviews

Overlooked and forgotten, still packs quite a punch

American audiences don't generally go in for realistic stories of human despair and suffering that offer very little in the way of hope or relief. This may explain why John Huston's Fat City has been condemned to obscurity, a real shame considering what a great flick it is. It's the sort of movie you see and remember but can't quite pick it out of a line-up... a shuffling, mumbling story of down-and-out pugs in an off-the-map burgh. You're taunted with the possibilities of the story picking up to... well if not epic at least noteworthy proportions... but, all of the characters' minor victories are mitigated by their simultaneous defeats. Keach's Tully is the main thrust of the story, though it tends to veer off on the occasional tangent. A has-been who possibly never really was, crushed by the departure of his wife and overwhelmed by the constant little defeats in his life. Huston really drives this point home, that all of these little defeats add up. Without giving too much away, suffice to say Fat City is a film where mood overshadows plot. The mood is indelibly rendered by Conrad Hall's dark, dirty images, which nearly swallow the characters in the depth of their shadows. Watching it back to back with fellow pugilist opus Raging Bull (1980), it's easy to see that Huston was a keen observer of human behaviour, while Scorsese was a keen observer of Hollywood films of the thirties. And don't even talk about Rocky. I would compare it favourably with Barbet Schroeder's Barfly (1987), another film about fringe life in California, and even Vincent Gallo's excellent Buffalo '66 (1998), though of the three it is the bleakest and the least accessible.