The Great White Hype (1996)

When the champ's promoter, Reverend 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 ... See full summary »

Director:

Reginald Hudlin

Writers:

Tony Hendra (screenplay), Ron Shelton (screenplay)

Stars:

Samuel L. Jackson, Jeff Goldblum, Damon Wayans

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Samuel L. Jackson	...	Rev. Fred Sultan
Jeff Goldblum	...	Mitchell Kane
Peter Berg	...	Terry Conklin
Corbin Bernsen	...	Peter Prince
Jon Lovitz	...	Sol
Cheech Marin	...	Julio Escobar
John Rhys-Davies	...	Johnny Windsor
Salli Richardson-Whitfield	...	Bambi (as Salli Richardson)
Jamie Foxx	...	Hassan El Ruk'n
Rocky Carroll	...	Artemus St. John Saint
Albert Hall	...	Roper's Manager
Susan Gibney	...	Vivian
Michael Jace	...	Marvin Shabazz
Duane Davis	...	Palace Guard #1
Lamont Johnson	...	Palace Guard #2

Storyline

When the champ's promoter, Reverend 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 Reverend Sultan convinces him to fight, he goes into heavy training, while the confident champ takes it easy, and falls out of shape.

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Plot Keywords:

oral sex | boxer | boxing | blaxploitation | las vegas nevada | 

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Taglines:

If you can't find the perfect contender....make one.

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Genres:

Comedy | Sport

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language and brief sexuality

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

3 May 1996 (USA)

Also Known As:

Didžioji baltoji apgaule

Filming Locations:

Hoover Dam, Arizona-Nevada Border, USA

Box Office

Gross USA:

$7,874,000

Company Credits

Production Co:

Atman Entertainment, Fred Berner Films, Twentieth Century Fox

Technical Specs

Runtime:

91 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The boxing in this movie is fairly poor, however, Geoff Musser's is far worse, and he has no hope.

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Goofs

Since the beginning of the film Roper is clearly not in the physical shape an experienced professional heavyweight boxer has to be in.

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Quotes

Rev. Fred Sultan: if there isn't a white heavyweight out there for you, I'm going to create you one.
James Roper: [Confused] "white heavyweight?", The words don't even go together, it's like saying "black unity"

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Crazy Credits

While walking back to dressing room after fight, Conklin is followed by two little people from his entourage.

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Connections

Spoofs Roger & Me (1989)

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Soundtracks

Who's The Champion
Performed by Ghostface Killah featuring RZA
Written by RZA (as Robert Diggs Jr.) and Ghostface Killah (as Dennis Coles)
Produced by RZA
Ghostface Killah appears courtesy of Razor Sharp Records
RZA appears courtesy of Loud Records

User Reviews

An Excellent Story of Modern Boxing

I have to admit that when I rented this movie, I was expecting a dumb comedy that would fail to show the reality of boxing. However, this film is a very funny film that also has a rather keen insight into the current state of boxing. Samuel L. Jackson plays a "Don King" type guy that is stuck with the problem of having a champ that might be too good. No one wants to pay to see the guy, because there are no quality fighters out there to challenge him. So, Jackson goes about creating a contender for the champ. What is the one thing you need to get people in the arena to watch? Well, a white challenger of course, experience not necessary. Surely many white Americans will pay to see one of their own knock down the overly cocky, black champ. Berg plays the "Great White Hope." The beauty of this film is the comedic way that it shows the real life corruption in boxing today. Fights are fixed, promotions are staged and very rarely do you have the best fighting the best. Moreover, we as viewers fall into the same trap that boxing fans do. Here you have an unqualified contender, that has no prayer of beating the champ. However, as we see the hype done by these snake oil salesmen, we start to believe that Berg's character actually has a chance to win. If you are a boxing fan, you will love this film, because it is real. Even if you are not a boxing fan, you will enjoy it. Very funny film and great acting performances. Believe the hype!