The Champion

May 1, 1957

1h 37m

★ 6.0

Overview

Eikichi Yamashiro, who is a former contender for the boxing title, works as a manager at a Club Champion owned by his fiancé Natsuko’s father. He lost a title match five years ago as he was besotted by Natsuko, but Eikichi actually cannot give up the dream of the championship. One day, he meets Shuntaro Fuma, who is a punk kid but a promising boxer, and realizes the dream that he himself could never fulfill. Then, they together start to train with the aim of the title. Mari Shiraki is an up-and-coming ballerina under the patronage of Eikichi as well. Eikichi forbids Shuntaro and Mari to be romantically involved with someone during their training, however, they start to go on a date.

Genres

Action

Romance

Drama

Music

Production Companies

Nikkatsu Corporation

The Champion Trailers

No Trailers found.

Cast

Eikichi Yamashiro

Tatsuya Mihashi

Shuntaro Fuma

Yūjirō Ishihara

Natsuko Miyagawa

Yōko Minamida

Mari Shiraki

Mie Kitahara

Pote-chan

Taiji Tonoyama

Keisuke Miyagawa

Masao Shimizu

Shinzo Takaoka

Tōru Abe

Champion Teshima

Mamoru Yokoyama

Boxer Ishiyama

Joe Shishido

Boxer Akagi

Hyōe Enoki

Coach Yamamoto

Zenji Yamada

Coach Yoshida

Kazuo Kinugasa

In the spring of 1913, Parisian businessman Gabriel Astruc opens a new theater on the Champs Elysées. The first performance is the premiere of Igor Stravinsky's 'The Rite of Spring', danced by the Ballet Russes. The rehearsal process is extremely fraught: the orchestra dislike Stravinsky's harsh, atonal music; the dancers dislike the 'ugly' choreography of Vaslav Nijinsky. The volatile, bisexual Nijinsky is in a strained relationship with the much older Sergei Diaghilev, the Ballet Russes' charismatic but manipulative impresario. Public expectation is extremely high after Nijinsky's success in 'L'apres-midi d'un faune'. Finally, 'The Rite of Spring' premieres to a gossip-loving, febrile, fashion-conscious Parisian audience sharply divided as to its merits.

8.0

Million Dollar Baby

Dec 5, 2004

Despondent over a painful estrangement from his daughter, trainer Frankie Dunn isn't prepared for boxer Maggie Fitzgerald to enter his life. But Maggie's determined to go pro and to convince Dunn and his cohort to help her.

7.6

Billy Elliot

Sep 28, 2000

County Durham, England, 1984. The miners' strike has started and the police have started coming up from Bethnal Green, starting a class war with the lower classes suffering. Caught in the middle of the conflict is 11-year old Billy Elliot, who, after leaving his boxing club for the day, stumbles upon a ballet class and finds out that he's naturally talented. He practices with his teacher Mrs. Wilkinson for an upcoming audition in Newcastle-upon Tyne for the royal Ballet school in London.

4.0

The Nutcracker & the Mouse King

Dec 30, 2011

Going to see Nutcracker with the whole family has been a tradition in other countries for many years. Now it is a tradition in the Netherlands as well. It became apparent that the Netherlands had also adopted this tradition in 1996, when the Dutch National Ballet presented its own version of the famous fairytale ballet. It is a magical production that has won the hearts of more than 250,000 people to date. Choreographers Toer van Schayk and Wayne Eagling created a Nutcracker for the children and adults of today. It is more dynamic and exciting, and less sweet than usual. They also chose to give a Dutch twist to their interpretation of the story, with skaters on the canals and a living room that transforms into a snowy forest. Unlike the original story, the production by Eagling and Van Schayk (who also designed the delightful sets and costumes) does not take place on Christmas Eve in a German town, but during St. Nicholas celebrations in Amsterdam, around 1810.

0.0

Bizet: Carmen

Nov 19, 2013

With the Australian Opera and Ballet Orchestra and conductor Brian Castles-Onion, a gritty set design, sumptuous bold costumes, stunning choreography, and the inestimable direction of Gale Edwards and Bizet's glorious opera is brought to life like never before in this second Handa Opera on Sydney Harbour.

0.0

My Own

Mar 26, 2021

This short film tells the story of Bianca, a nonbinary person, struggling to find the place for gender fluidity within the rigid world of ballet. Bianca finds their own voice, in this dance-filled rumination on coming out, not as one thing or another, but as something in between.

6.4

Golden Boy

Sep 5, 1939

Despite his talent as a musician, a city boy decides to become a boxer. He's successful as a fighter — much to the dismay of his parents. When gangsters try to buy a piece of him, he begins to have second thoughts.

7.4

Creed

Nov 25, 2015

The former World Heavyweight Champion Rocky Balboa serves as a trainer and mentor to Adonis Johnson, the son of his late friend and former rival Apollo Creed.

7.1

Gentleman Jim

Nov 14, 1942

As bare-knuckled boxing enters the modern era, brash extrovert Jim Corbett uses new rules and dazzlingly innovative footwork to rise to the top of the boxing world.

6.7

Step Up 2: The Streets

Feb 14, 2008

When rebellious street dancer Andie West lands at the elite Maryland School of the Arts, she finds herself fighting to fit in while also trying to hold onto her old life. When she joins forces with the school's hottest dancer, Chase Collins, to form a crew of fellow outcasts to compete in Baltimore s underground dance battle The Streets.

0.0

Donut Boy

Mar 9, 2024

A Cambodian American wants to advance into the next tier of amateur boxing but his loyalty to his cousin threatens to keep him out of the ring.

10.0

Functional Block Diagrams

Invalid Date

A synthesis of sound and movement; colourful characters dance and move in repetitive patterns to percussive and melodic elements. A combination of motion and music that is hypnotic and beautiful. At first it feels structured and orderly but as more elements are added becomes quixotically expressive.

5.2

The Tender Hook

Sep 18, 2008

The story is about Iris's rise to the apex of a love/power triangle that includes her roguish English lover, McHeath, and Art, an earnest young boxer. Within the flawed moral landscape, each character struggles to establish their sovereignty.

6.2

Ma

Mar 20, 2024

After receiving a notification from her college, Anita confronts her mom the day before she moves out of the country

7.0

Creed II

Nov 21, 2018

Between personal obligations and training for his next big fight against an opponent with ties to his family's past, Adonis Creed is up against the challenge of his life.

8.0

The Red Shoes

Sep 6, 1948

A fledgling ballerina falls in love with a brilliant composer, but the jealous head of the ballet company plots to drive them apart.

7.3

Despicable Me

Jul 8, 2010

Gru is a supervillain determined to prove he’s the greatest by stealing the Moon. To pull off his plan, he adopts three orphaned girls—Margo, Edith, and Agnes—intending to use them as part of his scheme. However, as Gru bonds with the girls, his cold, villainous exterior begins to melt, and he discovers that love and family matter more than his quest for infamy.

0.0

Prized

Sep 27, 2014

A former prized fighter with a violent past agrees to throw a deadly bare-knuckle boxing match in order to rectify past wrongs.

5.3

Aria

May 27, 1987

Ten short pieces directed by ten different directors, including Ken Russell, Jean-Luc Godard, Robert Altman, Bruce Beresford, and Nicolas Roeg. Each short uses an aria as soundtrack/sound, and is an interpretation of the particular aria.

8.5

Royal Opera House: Swan Lake

Jun 12, 2018

The Royal Ballet performs Tchaikovsky's classic ballet, choreographed by Liam Scarlett and starring Marianela Nunez as Odette/Odile and Vadim Muntagirov as Prince Siegfried.