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:

Didzioji 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 song Terry Conklin and his band are performing in the club when Sultan comes to see him is "Feed" by the band Local H.

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Goofs

When Roper is watching the soap opera, and throws the ring away to watch his entourage chase it, it clearly falls out of the box as it skips on the floor. Yet, when Rollo puts it on, before Roper takes it, he takes it out of the box.

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Quotes

Terry Conklin: [dazed] My midgets, where are my midgets?

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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

Referenced in Saturday Night Live: Jeff Goldblum/En Vogue (1997)

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Soundtracks

Razitativ und Arie
from "Marriage of Figaro"
by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (uncredited)
Performed by Otmar Suitner
Courtesy of Berlin Classics
by arrangement with Source/Q

User Reviews

Very sharp boxing satire!

Reading through the reviews on here, I can only assume that the humour in this film was wasted on a lot of people. Boxing is one of the few sports that translates well into the movies, with there being a decent number of great films based around the sport. This is slightly different to most however, as it takes a very humorous, cynical approach. There are so many memorable scenes and lines in the movie, right from the opening scene it's spot-on and I really can't work out where this criticism of the direction stems from! The fight scenes are over quickly and are nothing like the real thing - obviously - it's a comedy, not a documentary (sigh).

Like I said, I can only assume that the biting satire has been wasted on some viewers who were clearly expecting something different from the film. Each to their own, the film seems to have missed it's audience, but a 5 or 6 out of ten it certainly isn't! For me, it's definitely one of the better comedies out there. It's sharp, funny and well worth watching. 8 out of 10.