Sugar Ray Robinson: The Bright Lights and Dark Shadows of a Champion

Sugar Ray Robinson: The Bright Lights and Dark Shadows of a Champion

Sugar Ray Robinson: The Bright Lights and Dark Shadows of a Champion

Share

Sugar Ray Robinson: The Bright Lights and Dark Shadows of a Champion

1998

0h 59m

9.0(1 votes)

Documentary

Overview

This sports documentary tells the remarkable story of the man voted the greatest boxer in history. Spanning his career from the early Depression-era days until his death in 1989, this special brings to light the many sides of Robinson: flashy public icon, womanizer, comeback kid, philanthropist, fighter. Includes rare film footage, never-before-seen home movies and interviews.

Links & Resources

Social & External

Production Companies

HBO Sports

Cast & Crew

8 members

Acting

Sugar Ray Robinson

Himself (archive footage)

Sugar Ray Robinson

Acting

Nigel Collins

Himself (Editor - Ring Magazine)

No Image

Acting

Dave Anderson

Himself (Wrote Ray's Memoirs)

No Image

Acting

Ray Robinson Jr.

Himself (Ray's Son)

No Image

Directing

Woody Allen

Himself

Woody Allen

Acting

Muhammad Ali

Himself

Muhammad Ali

Acting

Jake LaMotta

Himself (archive footage)

Jake LaMotta

Acting

Evelyn Nelson

Ray's sister

No Image

Similar Movies

I Beat Mike Tyson

I Beat Mike Tyson

In a working-class suburb of Boston, an out-of-shape boxer prepares himself for what will be his last fight. In 2005 things were different, Kevin McBride then an unknown journeyman beat former boxing world champion, Mike Tyson. Now Kevin struggles with his failing career and being a father.

Akai

Akai

The story of Hidekazu Akai, aka "Osaka Rocky," a legendary Japanese boxer who survived a mortal injury and went on to become a famous actor.

Urtain, King of the Mountains

Urtain, King of the Mountains

A humorous visit to the turbulent world of the controversial Spanish boxer José Manuel Urtain.

When We Were Kings

When We Were Kings

It's 1974. Muhammad Ali is 32 and thought by many to be past his prime. George Foreman is ten years younger and the heavyweight champion of the world. Promoter Don King wants to make a name for himself and offers both fighters five million dollars apiece to fight one another, and when they accept, King has only to come up with the money. He finds a willing backer in Mobutu Sese Suko, the dictator of Zaire, and the "Rumble in the Jungle" is set, including a musical festival featuring some of America's top black performers, like James Brown and B.B. King.

One Night: Joshua vs. Ruiz

One Night: Joshua vs. Ruiz

'One Night: Joshua vs. Ruiz' is a comprehensive look at the night Andy Ruiz pulled off the biggest boxing upset in decades.

Viikinki

Viikinki

Documentary film about Tony Halme, masculinity and populism. The film follows how Tony Halme created a mythical, highly masculine freestyle wrestling character, The Viking, who gained fame both in the ring and in the public eye and eventually became captivated by it. With his brash speeches, Halme fired the starting shot for the rise of the Finns Party. The voice of a forgotten section of the population, a protest against the ruling elite, were the building blocks of Halme's popularity. Halme's great popularity has served as a good example of a populist figure, admired within the deep ranks of the nation, who comes from outside the political elite and changes the direction of politics. Also, despite - or perhaps because of - his openly racist statements, he was part of changing the political climate in Finland to a more acrimonious one.

Calzaghe: The Story

Calzaghe: The Story

Joe Calzaghe is, without question, the greatest British fighter, Ever. And this is his exclusive, all action story of how he fought his way to the top. Now unbeaten in 45 fights Joe has won WBO, WBA, WBC and IBF super middleweight titles during his epic 16 year unblemished career...and beaten absolutely everybody who has been put is his way! This is the Calzaghe Story which brings together his greatest World Title fights along with the exclusive, untold story from two boxing insiders, Frank Warren, and highly respected boxing journalist Colin Hart. These two men, with supreme knowledge of the boxing game, recount their stories about Joe the boxer, the world beater.

CatFight

CatFight

Twelve top glamour models spent time in Tenerife learning to box in a grueling 'Boxing Boot Camp'. The result of weeks of blood, sweat and a lot of tears was six bouts of boxing as the girls went head-to-head in front of a packed London crowd.

Counterpunch

Counterpunch

As boxing's popularity wanes, three fighters at different stages of their career make sacrifices to pursue their dreams of becoming champions.

Pariah: The Lives and Deaths of Sonny Liston

Pariah: The Lives and Deaths of Sonny Liston

Overcoming the seemingly insurmountable odds that life threw his way, Liston became heavyweight champion of the world when he knocked out Floyd Patterson in 1962. Eight years later, he died but friends questioned the cause of his death.

The Panther

The Panther

El Pantera is a documentary film that chronicles the rise of Mexican UFC star Yair Rodriguez as he strives to become the first ever Mexican born UFC champion.

Fallen Champ: The Untold Story of Mike Tyson

Fallen Champ: The Untold Story of Mike Tyson

Fallen Champ: The Untold Story of Mike Tyson is a 1993 film made by acclaimed American documentary filmmaker Barbara Kopple. Though Tyson was in jail serving a sentence for rape, Kopple used existing interviews with the boxer, as well as her own extensive interviews with those closest to Tyson, to explore the man's history. The film traces Tyson's story from his troubled and tumultuous upbringing, through his rapid ascendancy in the ranks of the boxing world and his subsequent struggle with the trappings of fame. Fallen Champ earned Barbara Kopple a Directors Guild of America award as Best Documentary Director of 1993.

Untold: Deal with the Devil

Untold: Deal with the Devil

Christy Martin broke boundaries and noses as she rose in the boxing world, but her public persona belied personal demons, abuse and a threat on her life.

Diego Corrales vs. José Luis Castillo II

Diego Corrales vs. José Luis Castillo II

Corrales never won another boxing match. A rematch between him and Castillo occurred on October 8, 2005. On the day before the fight, Castillo weighed-in 1½ lb over the 135 lb (61 kg) lightweight limit. Since Castillo did not make the weight, the fight became a non-title bout. The two fighters continued with the same fighting style that they had used in the first fight, trading inside punches throughout the first three rounds. Early in the fourth round, Castillo knocked down Corrales with a left hook to his chin. Corrales wobbled to his feet at the referee's count of ten, causing the fight to end. A third fight between the two was scheduled, but never took place, due to Castillo again coming in overweight and Corrales not willing to have to try to overcome a weight disadvantage again.

Men Boxing

Men Boxing

Experimental film fragment made with the Edison-Dickson-Heise experimental horizontal-feed kinetograph camera and viewer, using 3/4-inch wide film.

Tough Guys

Tough Guys

10 years before the debut of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. In 1979, Bill Viola and Frank Caliguri dreamed up a contest pitting barroom bigmouths against wrestlers, martial artists, boxers, bouncers and brawlers, billed as no-holds-barred new type of competitive fighting. When the fights succeeded beyond their wildest expectations, they were swept up in a chain of events that ended in the first mixed-martial arts ban in the nation. “Tough Guys” chronicles the inception of Caliguri and Viola’s first bouts and the colorful, crazy cast of fighters who made them a hit as well as the politicians who brought it all crashing down. The film brings to life a moment when the national martial arts craze was building to a crescendo as the economies of Pennsylvania steel towns were plummeting to levels of unemployment never seen, breeding desperate men looking for a chance to prove their worth and make some money in the ring.

I Am Ali

I Am Ali

Unprecedented access to Muhammad Ali's personal archive of "audio journals" as well as interviews and testimonials from his inner circle of family and friends are used to tell the legend's life story.

Battle of the Baddest

Battle of the Baddest

The fight that turned sport on its head. In a historic match up, we present an unprecedented look behind the scenes to explore how the match between Boxing's World Heavyweight Champion Tyson Fury and the former UFC-Heavyweight Champion Francis Ngannou was made, fought and ultimately won. A real David and Goliath story with drama only sport can write. From learning about how a small boy from Cameroon escaped life in the sand mines to become UFC Heavyweight Champion of the world, to how a small boy from Morecambe Bay became one of the most inspirational faces on the planet - this is a story of two very different icons who put it all on the line in front of the world in an event that changed the game forever.

Rocky Ros Muc

Rocky Ros Muc

The story of boxer Sean Mannion, born in the 1950s in Ros Muc in county Galway, Ireland, his boxing career, his emigration to America and the effect it had on him, his brush with organized crime in Boston.

Ali & Cavett: The Tale of the Tapes

Ali & Cavett: The Tale of the Tapes

The life and times of Muhammed Ali shown through the lens of his numerous appearances on The Dick Cavett Show. The film features new interviews with Dick Cavett, Rev. Al Sharpton, and Larry Merchant, as well as archival material from the Cavett Show.

Recommended Movies

Capturing Avatar

Capturing Avatar is a feature length behind-the-scenes documentary about the making of Avatar. It uses footage from the film's development, as well as stock footage from as far back as the production of Titanic in 1995. Also included are numerous interviews with cast, artists, and other crew members. The documentary was released as a bonus feature on the extended collector's edition of Avatar.

(re)kindle

(re)kindle

Ana and Helen, two divorced women, were close friends as teenagers. Today, amidst the corona virus pandemic and in quarantine, they get in touch after 20 years via internet. Through video conference calls, memories, sensations and emotions reflourishes.

Twin Peaks

Twin Peaks

An idiosyncratic FBI agent investigates the murder of a young woman in the even more idiosyncratic town of Twin Peaks. (This standalone version of the series pilot was produced for the European VHS market and has an alternate, closed ending.)

Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning

Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning

Ethan Hunt and team continue their search for the terrifying AI known as the Entity — which has infiltrated intelligence networks all over the globe — with the world's governments and a mysterious ghost from Hunt's past on their trail. Joined by new allies and armed with the means to shut the Entity down for good, Hunt is in a race against time to prevent the world as we know it from changing forever.

Re-Births

Re-Births

A documentary film depicting five intimate portraits of migrants who fled their country of origin to seek refuge in France and find a space of freedom where they can fully experience their sexuality and their sexual identity: Giovanna, woman transgender of Colombian origin, Roman, Russian transgender man, Cate, Ugandan lesbian mother, Yi Chen, young Chinese gay man…

ガチバン SUPERMAX

ガチバン SUPERMAX

Yanki (Japanese delinquent) Hayato, is on his way with his senpai, (upperclassman) Yocchan to a so-called “resort” job with good pay, food, and housing. Hayato, not being able to commit to work, meets another Yanki who’s trying to work hard and form a family. Meanwhile, Yocchan ends up falling for the lunch lady at the “resort”... Will she be the one for him?

Avatar: The Exchange of Souls

Count Olgierd Łabiński lives in Paris with his beloved wife, but their quiet life is disturbed by the arrival of Octavius de Saville, a former admirer of the Countess from her days in Florence. Obsessed with possessing her, Octavius seeks out Dr. Cherbonneau, a sinister figure dabbling in Eastern teachings of reincarnation. Through the doctor’s occult science, Octavius attempts a dangerous “exchange of souls,” scheming to inhabit the Count’s body and win the woman he desires.

Fight Club: Members Only

Fight Club: Members Only

Four friends head off to Bombay and get involved in the mother and father of all gang wars.

Avatar

Michiko lost her dad in a car accident when she was 10 years old. After the car accident, Michiko has lived with her mother Kyoko. Michiko, now in her 2nd year of high school, gets a cell phone from her mother as a birthday present. Michiko is so excited to have her very first cell phone. Soon afterwards, she is forced into joining social networking site "AvaQ" by classmate, and queen of the classroom, Taeko.

Avatar

Tension mounts between a quadraplegic man and his wife as she prepares a bath for him.

Last Temptation in Thailand

Last Temptation in Thailand

Looking for paradise lost, the "Last Temptation in Thailand" is a mesmerizing odyssey through ancient temples, idyllic islands & enticing dark-eyed ladies of eve in a very sexy, off the beaten track road movie.

Head Over Heels 2

Head Over Heels 2

Alice owns a network of sex shops and workaholic who, in trying to reconcile the harsh routine of work and family life, suffers nervous breakdown, she is forced by her husband to go to spa. Precisely at this time, appears unique opportunity to expand its business in New York. Using fun gimmicks, risks his health, leaves spa party there with family to ride, but actually in order to facilitate their professional interests. In trying to reconcile the agendas, engage in hilarious situations and mistakes that culminate in the possible separation of the couple.

Reflections on Titanic

Reflections on Titanic

An enthralling and fast-paced four-part documentary feature that covers the making of one of the last major Hollywood epics; Titanic. Cast and crew speak on setting the sinking of the ship against a classic romance. The feature also examines casting and the young couple headlining the film, DiCaprio's and Winslet's on-set friendship and their differing acting styles, the expansive sets and filming locations, the authenticity of the recreated ship, James Cameron's work and dedication, and budgeting. And many more aspects of the film are overviewed.

Superman

Superman

Superman, a journalist in Metropolis, embarks on a journey to reconcile his Kryptonian heritage with his human upbringing as Clark Kent.

Main Street on the March!

Main Street on the March!

This Best Short Subject Academy Award winning film begins in the spring of 1940, just before the Nazi occupation of the Benelux countries, and ends immediately after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. It chronicles how the people of "Main Street America", the country's military forces, and its industrial base were completely transformed when the decision was made to gear up for war. Original footage is interspersed with contemporary newsreels and stock footage.

The Botanical Avatar of Mademoiselle Flora

A young woman lives sadly in a small garrison town with a soldier. Little by little, won over by boredom, sadness, total inaction, she develops a relationship with plants and starts talking to plants.

Despicable Me

Despicable Me

Villainous Gru lives up to his reputation as a despicable, deplorable and downright unlikable guy when he hatches a plan to steal the moon from the sky. But he has a tough time staying on task after three orphans land in his care.

The King's Avatar: For the Glory

In this prequel to the animated series The King's Avatar, Ye Xiu enters into the pro gaming world of Glory, and competes in the first Pro League series tournament.

Touch

Touch

Soon after the break of the pandemic and realizing that his clock is ticking, Kristofer gets the urge to embark on a journey to try to find out what really happened when his Japanese girlfriend mysteriously vanished without a trace from London fifty years earlier.

Aprile

Aprile

Nanni Moretti takes another look at the ebbs and flows of life in April 1996, as he becomes a father for the first time and seems unable to focus on his documentary about the upcoming national elections.