Ring of Fire: The Emile Griffith Story (2005)

User Rating:

7.8/10   

Directors:

Ron Berger
Dan Klores

Genre:

Documentary

Plot:

A story of violence, love, sex, politics and media centered around the life of Griffith, a six-time world welterweight champion. |

Plot Keywords:

Accidental Death | Boxer | Gay Interest | Gay Athlete

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Emile Griffith	...	Himself
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Howie Albert	...	Himself
Manuel Alfaro	...	Himself (archive footage)
Carmen Basilio	...	Himself
Jimmy Breslin	...	Himself
Gil Clancy	...	Himself
Joe Cortez	...	Himself
Eckhard Dagge	...	Himself
Angelo Dundee	...	Himself
Don Dunphy	...	Himself (archive footage)
George Foreman	...	Himself
Gene Fullmer	...	Himself
Neal Gabler	...	Himself
Bill Gallo	...	Himself
Herb Goldstein	...	Himself
Ruby Goldstein	...	Himself (archive footage)
Juan Gonzalez	...	Himself
Franklin Griffith	...	Himself
Sadie Griffith	...	Herself
Marvelous Marvin Hagler	...	Himself
Naseem Hamed	...	Himself
Pete Hamill	...	Himself
Charles Kaiser	...	Himself
Hank Kaplan	...	Himself
Jake LaMotta	...	Himself
Juan LaPorte	...	Himself
Norman Mailer	...	Himself (voice)
Garry Moore	...	Himself (archive footage)
Michael Moorer	...	Himself
Jack Newfield	...	Himself
Ken Norton	...	Himself
Jimmy O'Farrell	...	Himself
Gaspar Ortega	...	Himself
Benny 'The Kid' Paret	...	Himself
Lucy Paret	...	Herself
Jimmy Powers	...	Himself (archive footage)
Sugar Ray Robinson	...	Himself (archive footage)
Nelson Rockefeller	...	Himself (archive footage)
Luis Rodrigo	...	Himself
Ron Ross	...	Himself
Ed Sullivan	...	Himself (archive footage)
José Torres	...	Himself
Max Turshen	...	Himself (archive footage)
Dustin Warburton	...	Himself

Runtime:

87 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color | Black and White

A Powerful, Emotional Documentary

"Ring of Fire: The Emile Griffith Story" is documentary film-making at its best. This lean, ninety-minute program presents a compelling human drama, as well as a thoughtful meditation on the sport of boxing.

I was age 12 at the time of the tragic ring death of Benny "The Kid" Paret, and I can still vividly recall the graphic images and descriptions in the newspapers in 1962. But it was not until the year 2005 and this powerful documentary film that I learned that Emile Griffith is a decent man who was often vilified in the media. This film helps to set the record straight about the tragic death of Paret and the exceptional character of Emile Griffith. The most moving scene in the film is when, many years after the fight, Griffith meets Benny Paret's son and asks for his forgiveness.

With the passing of over forty years since Paret's death, it is surprising that the "sport" of boxing continues to titillate fans. At least there are no longer the grueling fifteen round bouts, and today the referees will step in to end a fight sooner than in past eras of boxing.

"Ring of Fire" is brilliant in allowing the documentary film footage of the Griffth-Paret fight to speak for itself, thus allowing the viewers to draw their own conclusions about the entertainment values of boxing.