A masterpiece and one of the greatest of all movies set in the world of professional boxing even if scenes of actual boxing are conspicuous by their absence. "Requiem for a Heavyweight" also represents one of the great debuts in American cinema. Ralph Nelson was already 46 when he made this and had already more than a decade working on television behind him, where in 1957 he had already directed the original television version of this film.
As the heavyweight of the title Anthony Quinn is magnificent; it is almost certainly his best performance and in any year other than 1962 he would have been nominated for the Best Actor Oscar. He is superbly supported by Jackie Gleason, Mickey Rooney and Julie Harris. Arthur J. Ornitz did the luminous black and white cinematography while as the young fighter who lays Quinn out in the pre-credit sequence Mohammad Ali appears under his original name of Cassius Clay, naturally playing himself.
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