On the Ropes (1999)
Highway Films, TLC

Description

On the Ropes is the compelling true story that follows the lives of three aspiring boxers and their trainer, Harry Keitt, one time sparring partner of Muhammad Ali.

Tags

Oscar nomination, 1990s, Sundance award winner, Boxing, USA

Collected reviews and ratings

10 Amazon user reviews

Filled with warm and very human characters, On the Ropes is a first-rate documentary and a behind-the-scenes look at a sports world that few of us ever see.
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10 Chicago Sun-Times | Roger Ebert

"On the Ropes" is a sports documentary as gripping, in a different way, as "Hoop Dreams." Both films are about ambitious young people from the ghetto who see sports as a road out of poverty.
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10 San Francisco Chronicle | Peter Stack

The grim realities of poverty and mean streets define much of life in Brooklyn's tough Bedford- Stuyvesant neighborhood. And they seep into every moment of the powerful new documentary "On the Ropes".
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9.0 Variety | Glenn Lovell

As the title spells out, there are no cathartic, "Rocky"-like victories here, only compelling real-life stories about pummeling life on the streets to a draw.
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9.0 Salon.com | Charles Taylor

In its depiction of people attempting to rise above the trials of urban life, this clear-headed, immediately engrossing and ultimately devastating documentary is classically liberal.
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8.3 The Onion A.V. Club | Scott Tobias

With an insistent, sympathetic gaze, On The Ropes covers fights that are invariably tougher outside the ring.
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8.0 efilmcritic.com

ON THE ROPES is the kind of powerful documentary that can open your eyes to a world close to you that you might otherwise ignore or make passing judgments about. It has the power to bring you into this world, make you appreciate it and then break your heart.
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8.0 CultureVulture.net

On The Ropes is a story of poverty in America, and of the severely restricted horizons of inner city kids. The boxing footage is very interesting - particularly when we see how hard these kids can punch, and the power and strategy behind their moves.
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7.5 Austin Chronicle | Marc Savlov

By the end, you haven't learned as much about the sport of boxing as you may have expected, but you've learned more about these four people and the endless difficulties they face than you perhaps wanted to, and you walk out exhilarated and shaking all at once.
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