That was an excellent one.

Admirable film.

A brilliant film that helped define a genre

This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

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.

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

********THIS MAY CONTAIN A SPOILER******** ********THIS MAY CONTAIN A SPOILER******** ********THIS MAY CONTAIN A SPOILER******** This film was beautiful and heart-rending. To correct another reviewer, YES, this does have a boxing scene in it. A wonderful one. I actually had to step out when the main character was about to get his first big match, so it may even have two scenes. But really the beauty is in the drama and the almost Shekespearean tragedy. Does the hero triumph in the end? No, but neither do his enemies, for thought they revel in it, it is all of humanity that suffers a loss in this man's defeat.I.K. from Scandinavia has posted a review of this film that can only be viewed as blatantly racist. According to this person, "I only wanted to see this movie because of Jane Alexander and Karl-Otto Alberty, both favorites of mine." FINE. Whatever your reasons, yo saw the movie. And you didn't like the movie. Fine as well. Perhaps you don't like this type of movie or perhaps James Earl Jones didn't convince you or any other number of reasonable opinions. But to call this movie a typical boxing movie is completely ignoring the touchy subject matter. It's like you fastforwarded all the talking parts. From the looks of it, all the other movies you've reviewed involve espionage and very white European spies operating during WWII. A keen interest in Hitler as well. But you offer no other clue as to why this film had nothing to offer to you, save this telling remark, "although it has some provocative scenes (black man having sex with white woman)." Since when in the past 40 years has this ever been called "provocative" except from ignorant bigots such as yourself? I have petitioned the administrators to remove your racist review and I hope that they will remove this response to it as well, seeing as there will be no need for it. I truly hope your shortsighted views are not indicative of your country of origin (although I doubt it) because you are a terrible representative and a shame to your fellow countrymen.

This movie is a biography of the first black heavyweight champion of the world, Jack Johnson. In real life he was as assertive , cunning , loud and fearless, like depicted in the movie. He tried to get resume his boxing career but he had many setbacks. Many of these setbacks dealt with the fact that he was a Black man; in the 1900's the Whites did not want to have a black man as the heavyweight champion , so they tried to find the great "White hope" who would ultimately defeat Johnson and bring back the heavyweight title to the White man. James Earl Jones delivers quite a remarkable performance as Jack Johnson. Overall a very good biography movie.