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First UK DVD release of this 1949 drama from RKO Pictures. Journeyman boxer Stoker Thompson (Robert Ryan) thinks that he has one last good fight in him in order to get a payout and retire from the ring. His wife Julie (Audrey Trotter) pleads for him to quit whilst his manager Tiny (George Tobias) is so convinced that his man is going to lose that he has taken money from the mob in exchange for his man taking a dive . Unaware that his manager has double-crossed him and that he will be a target for the mob if he wins, Stoker strains every sinew of his raw courage to knock out his opponent. Director, Robert Wise, pulls no punches in this gritty drama whose boxing scenes are all the more realistic for Robert Ryan having been a college boxing champion. Hailed by many as one of the greatest films of the 1940 s, with its seventy-two minutes playing out in real time, The Set-Up is worthy of its BAFTA nomination.
Review
One of the most brilliant films noirs of the late forties, evoking a brilliant feeling for time and place. Photography, direction, editing, acting are all of a piece --Halliwells Film Guide
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
14 of 14 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
The Set - Up Roberta Wisea is in my own opinion one of the best movies ever about boxing and the people in and around the ring. Although It lacks some of the standard film noir elements it nevertheless ranks as one among the best representatives of the genre. Robert Ryan gives a strong and very powerfull performance of a man who is not willing to sell his own honor and fights to the last regardless of consequences. In the fighting scenes he is very convincing, which is not surprising, since while he was in college he was 4 years heavyveight boxing champion. But his greatest momrent in the film comes when he is cornered in the dead-end alley and the four gangsters slowly approach to him. Jou can plainly read all emotions from his face, no word was necessary. Mixing of fear, worrying, desperately looking for some way out but in the same moment he clearly knows there is none. Unforgettable!
Robert Wise, known for his meticulous work, did spend some time with real boxers inside their dressing rooms, and captured very good the atmosphere among them while they are waiting for their own fight. All the worries, loose conversations, just to kill time, anticipation, hopes, expectations, naturalism to the bone, almost as if you watch some documentary. Although story is not a bit complicated, it is even predictable at a moments we should bear in mind that this movie is based on excellent narrative poem of the same title, by Joseph Moncure March.
Another intresting experiment for that time, two years prior to Fred Zinemann's High Noon, is the unfolding of the story in real time. 73 minutes in a liftime of the aged boxer, at the sunset of his career who still hopes that he's just «one punch away» from fullfilment of his dreams. That one punch he's been waiting for thirty five years.
Truely remarkable movie!!!
Robert Wise, known for his meticulous work, did spend some time with real boxers inside their dressing rooms, and captured very good the atmosphere among them while they are waiting for their own fight. All the worries, loose conversations, just to kill time, anticipation, hopes, expectations, naturalism to the bone, almost as if you watch some documentary. Although story is not a bit complicated, it is even predictable at a moments we should bear in mind that this movie is based on excellent narrative poem of the same title, by Joseph Moncure March.
Another intresting experiment for that time, two years prior to Fred Zinemann's High Noon, is the unfolding of the story in real time. 73 minutes in a liftime of the aged boxer, at the sunset of his career who still hopes that he's just «one punch away» from fullfilment of his dreams. That one punch he's been waiting for thirty five years.
Truely remarkable movie!!!
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
RKO Radio Pictures presents "THE SET-UP" (1949 72 min/B&W) -- Starring: Robert Ryan, Audrey Totter, George Tobias, Alan Baxter & James Edwards
Directed by Robert Wise
Over-the-hill boxer Bill 'Stoker' Thompson insists he can still win, though his sexy wife Julie pleads with him to quit. But his manager Tiny is so confident he will lose, he takes money for a "dive" from tough gambler Little Boy...without bothering to tell Stoker. Tension builds as Stoker hopes to "take" Tiger Nelson, unaware of what will happen to him if he does.
This is one of the top fight films ever made, along with Raging Bull and Body and Soul. It is reportedly the role Robert Ryan, the college boxing whiz liked the best, and the one he probably gave his best performance in. It is the only boxing film developed from a poem. It was fleshed out into a screenplay by boxing aficionado Art Cohn. The director, Robert Wise, wanted to use the ring for a metaphor about the corrupt world, using the innocence of a boxer against those in the business who tried to make him take a dive. Wise captured the mood of the smoked-filled arena, the fans' reactions, and the dirtiness of the boxing world. The dark streets of Los Angeles, the brutality of the sport, and the seedy hotels where the struggling boxers reside, were photographed in a gritty manner, giving the film its noir look.
* Special footnote: -- The Set-Up was one of the few films ever made in which narrative time and screen time are the same -72 minutes. Wise brought in former boxing professional John Indrisano to make sure the choreographed fight scenes were realistic. Wise, striving for realism above all, visited the boxing places around the Long Beach area, basing the boxing fans chosen for the film on the same type of people he saw while attending those matches.
Another RKO Radio Pictures Classics, with some of my favorite cast members from the past, Ryan, Totter and Tobias each one sharing their special talent with us, the audience.
Great direction by the legendary Robert Wise.
BIOS:
1. Robert Wise (Director)
Date of Birth: 10 September 1914 - Winchester, Indiana
Date of Death: 14 September 2005 - Los Angeles, California
2. Robert Ryan [aka: Robert Bushnell Ryan]
Date of Birth: 11 November 1909 - Chicago, Illinois
Date of Death: 11 July 1973 - New York City, New York
3. Audrey Totter
Date of Birth: 20 December 1918, Joliet, Illinois
Date of Death: Unknown
4. George Tobias
Date of Birth: 14 July 1901 - New York City, New York
Date of Death: 27 February 1980 - Los Angeles, California
Mr. Jim's Ratings:
Quality of Picture & Sound: 5 Stars
Performance: 5 Stars
Story & Screenplay: 5 Stars
Overall: 5 Stars [Original Music, Cinematography & Film Editing]
Total Time: 72 min on DVD ~ RKO Radio Pictures ~ (July 6, 2004)
Directed by Robert Wise
Over-the-hill boxer Bill 'Stoker' Thompson insists he can still win, though his sexy wife Julie pleads with him to quit. But his manager Tiny is so confident he will lose, he takes money for a "dive" from tough gambler Little Boy...without bothering to tell Stoker. Tension builds as Stoker hopes to "take" Tiger Nelson, unaware of what will happen to him if he does.
This is one of the top fight films ever made, along with Raging Bull and Body and Soul. It is reportedly the role Robert Ryan, the college boxing whiz liked the best, and the one he probably gave his best performance in. It is the only boxing film developed from a poem. It was fleshed out into a screenplay by boxing aficionado Art Cohn. The director, Robert Wise, wanted to use the ring for a metaphor about the corrupt world, using the innocence of a boxer against those in the business who tried to make him take a dive. Wise captured the mood of the smoked-filled arena, the fans' reactions, and the dirtiness of the boxing world. The dark streets of Los Angeles, the brutality of the sport, and the seedy hotels where the struggling boxers reside, were photographed in a gritty manner, giving the film its noir look.
* Special footnote: -- The Set-Up was one of the few films ever made in which narrative time and screen time are the same -72 minutes. Wise brought in former boxing professional John Indrisano to make sure the choreographed fight scenes were realistic. Wise, striving for realism above all, visited the boxing places around the Long Beach area, basing the boxing fans chosen for the film on the same type of people he saw while attending those matches.
Another RKO Radio Pictures Classics, with some of my favorite cast members from the past, Ryan, Totter and Tobias each one sharing their special talent with us, the audience.
Great direction by the legendary Robert Wise.
BIOS:
1. Robert Wise (Director)
Date of Birth: 10 September 1914 - Winchester, Indiana
Date of Death: 14 September 2005 - Los Angeles, California
2. Robert Ryan [aka: Robert Bushnell Ryan]
Date of Birth: 11 November 1909 - Chicago, Illinois
Date of Death: 11 July 1973 - New York City, New York
3. Audrey Totter
Date of Birth: 20 December 1918, Joliet, Illinois
Date of Death: Unknown
4. George Tobias
Date of Birth: 14 July 1901 - New York City, New York
Date of Death: 27 February 1980 - Los Angeles, California
Mr. Jim's Ratings:
Quality of Picture & Sound: 5 Stars
Performance: 5 Stars
Story & Screenplay: 5 Stars
Overall: 5 Stars [Original Music, Cinematography & Film Editing]
Total Time: 72 min on DVD ~ RKO Radio Pictures ~ (July 6, 2004)
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
37 reviews
25 of 26 people found the following review helpful
Robert Wise's Masterpiece
4 Dec 2004
Format:DVD
THE SET-UP is probably the least known, and maybe the best, of the trio of boxing movies to come in the late 1940s. The other two, of course, are BODY AND SOUL and THE CHAMPION.
Unlike those fine movies THE SET-UP'S protagonist, boxer Robert Ryan, isn't a young pug riding his fists of stones to fame and fortune. He's a thirty-five year old fighter caught somewhere in the last round of an undistinguished career, a nobody on the bottom of a fight card in Paradise City. About all he's got left to dream about is squeezing enough out of whatever remains of his career to buy a cigar stand. His loving wife, Audrey Trotter, has had her fill of seeing him beat up. One more win, Ryan tells her, and I'll be in line for a rematch and a payoff big enough to afford....
Like the other boxing movies, Ryan's fate is in the hands of the big men with fat cigars, the ones who set up a win for an up and coming boxer by setting up a convincing dive by his over-the-hill opponent. Money changes hands. Everyone's in on it except for the guy who's supposed to take the fall, the guy who's one punch away from that cigar stand.
Although THE SET-UP is a highly entertaining movie, it carries a heavy dose of allegorical cynicism. Ryan's character doesn't bother to hide the look of disgust on his face as he surveys the bloodthirsty crowd upon entering the auditorium. Ryan's Everyman has no illusion and the humblest of dreams, unaware that the fat boys with the big cigars have negotiated a foreclosure on it. Ryan, forty at the time this movie was made, was a boxer in college. He's utterly convincing, in and outside the ring. Although his career would lead him to play more character than lead roles, playing both good guys and bad, he has more than enough of whatever it takes to carry this movie.
Director Robert Wise delivers a lean, tough, and immediate movie. Ears cauliflower and foreheads bulge with long healed scar tissue. Wise doesn't waste a frame or a gesture. What doesn't push the plot forward services the downcast mood.
The commentary track features Wise and director Martin Scorsese. Wise must have been in his mid-eighties when he recorded the track. His mind is clear and, as an old movie fan, I consider it a privilege to listen to him comment on one of his masterpieces. Scorsese adds insight into a film he obviously loves as well, although his enthusiasm sometimes runs away a bit and it's a little difficult to follow some of his learned praise.
Unlike those fine movies THE SET-UP'S protagonist, boxer Robert Ryan, isn't a young pug riding his fists of stones to fame and fortune. He's a thirty-five year old fighter caught somewhere in the last round of an undistinguished career, a nobody on the bottom of a fight card in Paradise City. About all he's got left to dream about is squeezing enough out of whatever remains of his career to buy a cigar stand. His loving wife, Audrey Trotter, has had her fill of seeing him beat up. One more win, Ryan tells her, and I'll be in line for a rematch and a payoff big enough to afford....
Like the other boxing movies, Ryan's fate is in the hands of the big men with fat cigars, the ones who set up a win for an up and coming boxer by setting up a convincing dive by his over-the-hill opponent. Money changes hands. Everyone's in on it except for the guy who's supposed to take the fall, the guy who's one punch away from that cigar stand.
Although THE SET-UP is a highly entertaining movie, it carries a heavy dose of allegorical cynicism. Ryan's character doesn't bother to hide the look of disgust on his face as he surveys the bloodthirsty crowd upon entering the auditorium. Ryan's Everyman has no illusion and the humblest of dreams, unaware that the fat boys with the big cigars have negotiated a foreclosure on it. Ryan, forty at the time this movie was made, was a boxer in college. He's utterly convincing, in and outside the ring. Although his career would lead him to play more character than lead roles, playing both good guys and bad, he has more than enough of whatever it takes to carry this movie.
Director Robert Wise delivers a lean, tough, and immediate movie. Ears cauliflower and foreheads bulge with long healed scar tissue. Wise doesn't waste a frame or a gesture. What doesn't push the plot forward services the downcast mood.
The commentary track features Wise and director Martin Scorsese. Wise must have been in his mid-eighties when he recorded the track. His mind is clear and, as an old movie fan, I consider it a privilege to listen to him comment on one of his masterpieces. Scorsese adds insight into a film he obviously loves as well, although his enthusiasm sometimes runs away a bit and it's a little difficult to follow some of his learned praise.
21 of 22 people found the following review helpful
Perhaps American cinema's most underrated film
15 July 2004
Format:DVD
Simply put this is a masterpiece. Presumably the belated praise "The Set-Up" is owed will come its way with this new DVD release. Director Robert Wise has some very good films to his credit but this is tour de force. The camera work and editing are unparalleled. The film's myriad minor characters are magically revealed by short (but never choppy) camera shots.
"The Set-Up" is the story of an aging boxer hoping that one last fight can turn around his career and thus his life. Shady gamblers and corrupt fight handlers have other ideas. The setting is the fictional Paradise City, a grimy, cynical fast-paced and totally unsentimental city. Much of the action takes place in the boxing arena featuring some of the best fight sequences ever shot. But a scene in a bar is memorable as are shots following the boxer's unhappy girlfriend.
The movie is shot in real time, only 72 minutes, but what a 72 minutes it is. Never has so much of a story been told in so short a time.
Adding to the value of this DVD is the accompanying commentary provided by Wise and Martin Scorsese. Scorsese is not only one of the great directors of all time but is also wonderful in the burgeoning field of DVD film commentary. He has forgotten more about film than most of us will ever know. His speaking style is not just insightful but engaging. Just listen to him explain "The Set-Up"s stylized realism.
But watch "The Set-Up" first without the commentary, then enjoy and appreciate it even more with it.
A great film lover's film.
"The Set-Up" is the story of an aging boxer hoping that one last fight can turn around his career and thus his life. Shady gamblers and corrupt fight handlers have other ideas. The setting is the fictional Paradise City, a grimy, cynical fast-paced and totally unsentimental city. Much of the action takes place in the boxing arena featuring some of the best fight sequences ever shot. But a scene in a bar is memorable as are shots following the boxer's unhappy girlfriend.
The movie is shot in real time, only 72 minutes, but what a 72 minutes it is. Never has so much of a story been told in so short a time.
Adding to the value of this DVD is the accompanying commentary provided by Wise and Martin Scorsese. Scorsese is not only one of the great directors of all time but is also wonderful in the burgeoning field of DVD film commentary. He has forgotten more about film than most of us will ever know. His speaking style is not just insightful but engaging. Just listen to him explain "The Set-Up"s stylized realism.
But watch "The Set-Up" first without the commentary, then enjoy and appreciate it even more with it.
A great film lover's film.
13 of 14 people found the following review helpful
A Perfect "Set-Up"
24 Nov 2003
Two unscrupulous fight promoters make a deal with an underworld kingpin: their aging client, who's had a run of bad luck in the ring, will throw an upcoming match with the gangster's young protege. There's just one problem ... they don't bother to tell the veteran boxer about the fix, because they plan to keep his share of the pay-off. Needless to say, all hell breaks loose, both in and out of the ring. It's a taut, suspenseful plot and to add to the excitement, the movie takes place in real time: 71 minutes in these characters' lives, unfolding in 71 minutes of screen time.
This tough, gritty little masterpiece offers a superb performance by Robert Ryan as the doublecrossed fighter. Lean, muscled, with a world-weary look on his once-handsome face, Ryan's physical perfection in the role is matched by the economy of his acting style. He's surrounded by an excellent supporting cast; every role, including the various spectators in the arena, is beautifully played. Tightly directed by Robert Wise, "The Set-Up" is a gem, and a perfect example of the film noir genre.
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