vincentlynch-moonoi Despite the bad news that I'll relate shortly, this is one heckuva film with bravura performances by James Earl Jones and Jane Alexander.But first, the bad news. The emphasis here is not on boxing, and as a result there is darned little boxing action. And, I watch a fair bit of boxing on cable, and what boxing there is here is not done very convincingly. However, the emphasis here is on a study of the main characters.James Earl Jones plays Jack Jefferson here, representing the real historical figure Jack Johnson. Jane Alexander plays his White mistress. And it is miscegenation that drives the plot here. The story differs from the real life figure in that Jack Johnson was married 3 times, each time to a White woman. In the story, as in real life, it is the miscegenation which leads to the improper use of the Mann Act as a means to derail Jefferson's career. Rather than go to prison (which Johnson eventually did), Jefferson escapes to Europe and then Mexico.While this was not Jones' first film, it was the film which propelled him into big-screen stardom. And make no mistake, it is a bravura performance, although a couple of times he seems to be acting as if on stage; however, that does not detract from the film. As is Jane Alexander's performance. It is the strength of these two performances which leads me to assign the film an "8" (were it not for the poor boxing segments, I would have given it a "9"). The film was Jane Alexander's debut in cinema.Veteran actor Chester Morris has a role as Pop Weaver. It was Morris' last role; he committed suicide as a result of having stomach cancer. Hal Holbrook has a small role, as does Beah Richards, one of my favorite Black character actresses of the time. Lou Gilbert is the boxing manager and Joel Fluellen plays the trainer; both excellent performances.

tieman64 Martin Ritt's "Great White Hope" is loosely based on the public life of famed black heavyweight champ Jack Johnson, who won a series of highly promoted boxing matches during the early 1900s. The film's derived from a Howard Sackler play by the same name.Loosely affiliated with communist movements, Ritt spent several years under a Hollywood blacklist. When McCarthyism died down, and directorial reigns were returned to him, Ritt made a series of socially conscious films, most about struggles for equality, or which portrayed the downtrodden (African Americans, Native Indians, society's poor and marginalised) in a sympathetic light. In this regard, "Hope" deals with a black man who finds himself besieged by both a white status quo and black groups which wish he'd dump his white lover and stop pandering to white gaze's."The Great White Hope" is an interesting film, very underrated, but its script is thin and can't accommodate any of the ideas it pretends to be about. Ritt's direction is classy throughout, and the film sports a powerful performance by actor Jams Earl Jones; he plays Johnson as an overwhelming bear of a man.Incidentally, "Hope" ends with our hero losing a climactic match. Johnson won this match in real life, but the film's going for a more generalised sense of failure. The real Johnson would die in a car crash after being refused a meal at a "white's only" diner. Today, activists continue to fight for the expungement of Johnson's criminal record (he was arrested on the basis of the racist Mann Act).7.9/10 – Thin but underrated.

dbdumonteil The title is no misnomer:although the movie tells the story of a black champion,"they " get out of their way to thwart this living "threat " for the white race;as users noticed it ,do not watch it if you expect "rocky": it's its exact contrary ,a failure story.James Earl Jones portrays this fighter with a great dignity till the last pictures:he is bullied ,humiliated,persecuted;the best scene is for me that ridiculous performance of "Uncle Tom's cabin" on stage,with Jones and Alexander wearing wigs ,and playing the slave and Evangeline .If Jones is not Rocky,Jane Alexander is not Adrian either;first of all ,she is white and well meaning were not prepared to accept it at the time (we are far from "guess who's coming to dine" in which a white bubble head girl is to marry a black future Nobel Prize).Alexander's transformation is extraordinary: a shy elegant lady in the first sequence,then a defiant woman during her "questioning",a partner who accompanies the champion in all his sufferings and humiliations -she is sublime as Eva ,the part of a little girl- and finally a broken human being,living in poverty,beaten by the man she loves in spite of all.This is a movie for people with a strong heart ,and Martin Ritt was always an activist director ;I'd tone it a bit : he had always thought that France was the country where there was no racism (see also "Paris blues ,1961):it's wishful thinking.That said ,you should not miss this courageous work.

RaiderJack As an 18-yr old, I vividly remember when this movie came out and the swirling controversies that accompanied it. Whites were cautious because it openly dealt with not only an interracial love affair but because of the depiction of an unrelenting, proud, but very angry black man. Interestingly enough, with the advent of Black Power/the Revolution and the emergence of the Black Panthers, most black audiences were equally cautious as well and for exactly the same reasons. Also keep in mind I was living in the South then too. Even in 1970, few southern towns would actually show the film.This is a variation on the real-life troubles of Jack Johnson, one of boxing's earliest contenders.Hands down the most compelling performances are those of James Earl Jones and Jane Alexander that leave an indelible imprint on the viewer. Because of the racial fabric of the time, Jack knew he was asking for trouble by openly defying white authority and then compounding that by becoming involved with a white woman. Both undoubtedly knew full well what they would be up against. While they may have deeply loved each other in the beginning, they soon discovered that simply love does not conquer all.The movie is also filled with treasures of African-American performances by the likes of Beah Richards, Moses Gunn, Roy Glenn Sr. and Virginia Capers. This alone is worth the price of admission.In many instances it is most difficult to watch. Two mesmerizing and thoroughly wrenching scenes were Jane's suicide and when Jack and company were reduced to performing "Uncle Tom's Cabin" in Europe to survive.The film is most certainly uncompromising which was a MAJOR achievement given the social fabric at the time. James Earl Jones and Jane Alexander both deserved Oscars for their performances but that would have been like condoning their whole situation and god KNOWS Hollywood would NEVER have done that.....(sigh) Another example of not being able to see the forest for the trees. Nonetheless, this is an eeeeeeeeeexcellent film and most worthy of your movie collection