Fist of the Reich

Surprisingly Good Film from 'controversial' director Uwe Boll
This is a biopic of the legendary German boxer Max Schmelling (Henry Maske). It tells of his rise to fame as a boxer and his meeting and falling in love with the Czech actress Anna Ondra (Susanne Wuest). It charts his rise and fall and how he ended up being on the front line in the Battle of Crete.

This is not really a war film and those nice folk at Metrodome have done the usual thing of putting all action shots and Swastikas on the front cover. There is some action, but most of the action takes place in the boxing ring. The reference to `The fist of the Reich!' is also not a referral to any sort of post watershed bedroom antics, but the fact that Max Schmelling was taken on as a model of Aryan success by the Third Reich and was seen abroad, especially America as being a Nazi, even though he really was not. He even declares `Ich bin keine Nazi!', but is told that 'You are German that's enough'.

The film itself is very well made, with any plot holes down to...

Excellent film
Everything about this film is first rate: the acting, the scripts, the costumes and sets, and the cinematography. The German title Scmelling is much more appropriate. Fist of the Reich is an inaccurate and stupid title for this very fine film.

MAX!
Overall this is a great movie- casting an actual boxer as the top bill gives the fighting and training sequences realism.
A good bio of a forgotten champion with an incredible life story.

A bit unhappy about the casting of Anny Ondra; not pretty enough, but this movie is top notch in telling the story- for you Fallschirmjager fans, there are only a few moments of max in uniform, but its not really a war movie. If you're a historical nut, you'll be driven insane about the uniform and military scene.

Also, one last rant; the title is just terrible, sounds like some sort of raunchy movie...

Click to Editorial Reviews