Joe & Max
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| German title | Joe & Max |
| Original title | Joe and Max |
| Country of production | USA , Germany |
| original language | English |
| Publishing year | 2002 |
| length | 109 minutes |
| Age rating | FSK 12 |
| Rod | |
| Director | Steve James |
| script | Jason Horwitch |
| production |
Mike Karz , Brad Krevoy , Gerhard Schmidt , Thomas Gottschalk , Kelli Konop , Klaus Rettig |
| music | Jeff Beal |
| camera | Bill Butler |
| cut | Norman Buckley |
| occupation | |
| |
Joe & Max is based on the dramatic lives of Joe Louis and Max Schmeling . The television film shows the two boxing matches between the two opponents as well as the respectful friendship between the two boxers amid the political events of their time. The biographical sports film from 2002 was shot in Germany. Leonard Roberts and Til Schweiger can be seen in the leading roles . Directed by Steve James .
action
In 1936, the talented undefeated Joe Louis defeated boxer Paolino. Max Schmeling watches him and sees a weakness. His Jewish manager Joe Jacobs, who was influential in the United States, fights the thirty-one-year-old by nine years. The winner should compete for the world heavyweight title . Joe, called the "brown bomber", wants to regain this title for the black population after a long time. He trains and leads a happy family life with his young wife Marva. When Max is back in National Socialist Germany, Reich Propaganda Minister Goebbels calls him over. You're drinking to a future win against a black man. Max is training. His wife, the successful Czech actress Anny Ondra , supports him. They get along well. During the weight control before the fight, Louis can be disturbed by the experienced Schmeling with a handshake. The reigning world champion Braddock is present as a spectator. In the fourth round, Max sends his opponent to the ground with a counterattack, for the first time in his previous career. The audience is on Max's side. This defeated Joe after a changeable fight in the twelfth round by a knockout. The self-confidence of Joe and the black US-Americans was hit hard.
The winner Max returns home in the zeppelin and is celebrated by tens of thousands at the airport. He is supposed to sign a treatise on boxing as a racial problem to confirm that he wrote it. He's putting it off. At a festive invitation, Adolf Hitler and Goebbels point out to the press what they consider to be an inferior negro. The boxing match is shown as propaganda in German cinemas. The Jews suffer more and more from the Nazi regime. The reigning world boxing champion meanwhile agrees to a fight with Louis because he is being given a share of Louis' future profits. As expected, Braddock is knocked out in the fight with Louis.
In 1938 Goebbels wanted Schmeling to join the party and ordered that he had to break the connection with his Jewish manager Jacobs, which Schmeling refused to do. Max is forced by Hitler to sign the National Socialist treatise on German fistfighting. Max finally gets the fight with Joe through the mediation of Jacobs. This time Max is received in an unfriendly manner by the Americans, as the media portray him as a Nazi . Hitler, Goebbels and Anny Ondra listen to the brutal fight over the radio. Max, who has to take a lot, goes to the ground, whereupon the angry guide has the transmission switched off. Anny is crying. After Max goes down three times in the first round, his trainer throws the white towel. After a fight of two minutes and four seconds, Joe is still world champion. The African Americans cheer. Joe's image as a gentlemen boxer does not match reality, however. He drinks, has fun with girlfriends, squandered money and, despite everything, is alone and misunderstood.
Joe visits Max, who is in the hospital with two vertebrae broken. They get along well and understand that their countries use them for political reasons. Max says goodbye to his friend Jacobs, who is “half-Jewish” and can no longer go to Germany. This time Anny is the only one who picks up her husband from the plane. Joe's name is now being marketed on various US products. His wife Marva leaves him because she can no longer bear his infidelity. He can't stop them and is left desperate. In Germany, Jewish shops are destroyed during the Reichspogromnacht . Max's tailor Levin hides with his family at Max's. The Gestapo threatens her , and Anny plays a woman who has just woken up, thus deceiving the persecutors who are withdrawing. The rescued Levin leaves the apartment grateful. Anny blames Max for endangering her safety. He doesn't want to join the party and distance himself from Jewish people. He is no longer untouchable and in war as a paratrooper for the Wehrmacht confiscated. Joe also supports his country as a sergeant. He appears in exhibition fights and makes the income available to the army .
In 1946 Berlin was in ruins. Max and Anny want to rebuild their half-destroyed house. But since they don't have a building permit, the police force it to tear it down. Joe resigns unbeaten after 25 defending his title and eleven years as a professional boxer. He could have a good time and spend his free time playing golf, if it weren't for the tax authorities that want to collect tax debts of over a million US dollars because of the donated income from the exhibition fights. Joe has to box again to make money and loses.
In 1952 Max and Anny breed mink. Max got back in the ring after the war and lost. He bought a farm with the proceeds. Jim Farley used to work for the US Boxing Commission and, unlike others, was always fair to Max. Now he works for Coca-Cola and offers Max to join him as well. Max accepts on the advice of his wife and is therefore well provided for financially. In Germany, he becomes the representative of the beverage company that uses his prominent name to conquer the German market. Joe is haunted by bad luck. His wife is getting divorced and he is in unpayable debt. Ultimately, his victory over Max brought him no luck. Joe never said anything bad about Max. He didn't hate him like other blacks did. Max is on a business trip in Atlanta and visits Joe, whom he eventually finds in Chicago. They had once promised to visit each other while they were talking in the hospital. They review their lives. 1936 was Max's best year professionally. 1938 was Joe's best year. America had a hero, but it didn't treat him well. Joe never paid off his debt and ended up working as a greeter at a Las Vegas casino. Joe and Max remained friends until Joe's death in 1981. He was buried in Arlington National Cemetery for his national merit . In 2000, at the age of 95, Max quit Coca-Cola.
Background information
- A DVD has been available in German and English with subtitles since October 2004. It contains an audio commentary by Til Schweiger.
- The film budget was about $ 8 million. It was filmed in Germany in May 2001 in the Babelsberg film studio for the US television station Starz! Pictures .
- The film was first broadcast on German television in 2005 on the occasion of the death of Max Schmeling under the television title Joe and Max - Rivalen im Ring .
Reviews
- Prisma wrote: “ The moving fate of the two boxing legends and the careful description of the historical background make this captivating film so attractive. "
- Kai-Oliver Derks (teleschau - der mediendienst), September 27, 2006 said: “ 'Joe & Max' is, although it tells a great story, not a 'great film'. But this piece of (sports) history is definitely worth seeing. Til Schweiger is not a bad cast. He plays the way you know him: very matter-of-factly, without great emotions, but in this case the role and actor go well together, especially since Schweiger is in the best physical condition and also makes an authentic impression in the ring. "
- fernsehen.ch: " With 'Joe and Max - Rivals in the Ring', Steve James ('Fleeting Glory') staged an exciting and touching film about the political and ideological background of one of the most famous boxing duels in sports history. The sports film, which was largely made in Potsdam-Babelsberg, impresses with its gripping fight scenes and careful production design. Schmeling actor Til Schweiger (' Knockin' on Heaven's Door ') prepared for his role through intensive boxing training. "
- The magazine TV Spielfilm saw the film as an impressive, sensitive boxer drama with a convincing Til Schweiger and as an emotionally charged drama that does not leave its viewer unaffected.
Awards
- 2002: Nomination at the ESPY Awards for best sports film
- 2003: Nominated for Best Editing by the American Cinema Editors for Norman Buckley
Web links
- Joe & Max in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- Joe & Max at filmportal.de
- Description at iwp-kg.de
Individual evidence
- ↑ Prism
- ↑ Kai-Oliver Derks (teleschau - der mediendienst) ( page can no longer be accessed , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
