Harder They Fall

i saw this at a private screening in Miami and was surprised to see it on IMDb so quickly. The film is set around two young fighters who are forced to battle it out in their home lives and in the ring. the story and acting were great-especially the role of the grandmother she was utterly realistic. I found myself laughing out loud at different parts, but also there were touching moments to speak of in the life of the latino boxer. i was entertained for the full hour and a half and was not disappointed at the end, usually fight movies involve no moral- but this one did. even the quote on quote 'bad guy' was likable and three dimensional. I gave this a perfect rating based on the budget and all the other obstacles that the filmmakers had to face. well done...

I think the previously written review, that gave it 10 stars, was written by someone involved with this movie's creation. This movie should not be sold or rented. I watched it via Netflix and it is by far the worst movie I've ever seen. Save yourself the time and grab a camera and a few friends. Take those friends and create some fake fight scenes, add some wretched sound and amateur acting and you'll have Harder They Fall. It may confuse you at first... You may wonder when the real movie will start... But it's pure crap all the way through. You will live a fuller, richer life if you don't see this movie. How this movie made it mainstream is completely beyond me. Maybe I could publish my home videos too.

I normally don't comment on these things but like the user doubleodak, I see these people giving it 10 stars and I am also just compelled to comment. As a matter of fact, I registered an account on IMDb just so I could comment on this. If I can save just one person from suffering through this movie then it would have been worth it. There is no way this movie is 10 stars. I don't think it's even 1 star but I didn't have the option to pick 0. This is the worst movie I've seen in a while if not ever. I could barely sit through it. The only reason I did is because it was 3 in the morning and I was trying to soothe my 2 month old son and there was nothing on TV except infomercials. The reason I had it in the first place is because Blockbuster mentioned it in an email and I was looking for some movies to add to my queue. The description sounded like it would have been right up my alley so I added it.

I'll admit that part of my problem is that I didn't know it was going to be a low budget film when I started to watch but I'll give any movie a chance so I watched, waiting for something good to happen, but alas....nothing. In hindsight, even if I was expecting a low budget film I probably would still be giving this same review. The fight scenes are garbage, there is just a lot of camera moving around to make it look more action packed but I would imagine that most people could see through that and the dialog (what there was of it) was some of the most ridiculous crap I've heard. There was a moment when the mom and the rich fighter were having dinner and the mom said something like "I notice you come home later when you hang with Jenny" and the fighter was like "so" and the mom said something like "watch your testosterone" and the fighter said "moooommmm" and she said "just be careful, that's all I'm saying".

It was a very awkward moment (and not in that good, funny way you see in the TV show "The Office") that added nothing to the film. Actually, every scene that contained dialog was pretty worthless.

I could go on and on but you get the point. I'm tried to be objective and find some good but there was no good to be found in this situation. Do yourself a favor and don't rent or buy this movie.

Wow... after reading some of the other reviews raving about this film, I felt compelled to write some of my own comments.

First of all, in response to the 10 star reviews, come on guys, get real! I guarantee the average person could not even get close to actually finishing this movie.

I came across this travesty (more on that later) while browsing the "Watch Instantly" section on Netflix. First of all, the box art used is not even accurate; it portrays what looks to be a UFC match (octagon-ring and all with a captive audience watching); but, in reality, the fights all take place in a boxing ring situated in the corner of a small gym, with about 10 extras watching.

I didn't have a particular problem with this, as I was going in planning to watch a kickboxing movie, which it was, but 2 sides of the ring were placed against a wall, so it was kind of hard to imagine that any sort of publicized fight would actually take place in this venue.

Production wise, there were several scenes that lacked dialogue (in order to save time and money I'm sure), but since the dialogue present in other scenes was generally weak, this was forgivable. What was not forgivable however was the actual video quality, as the entire feature had an annoying strobe-like quality. While I can usually forgive somewhat poor production values, this was just inexcusable, as were several of the sound effects used; which were somewhat loosely synced by the way.

Overall, I give the filmmakers' credit in one thing and one thing only. The ability to finish a feature film and actually find distribution on what had to be a very, very low budget.

As hard as I am on this review, just remember one thing. A film has to compete against every other film, as they all vie for a viewer's time and money; with that said, aside from the director, crew members and actors getting the experience, it just does not even seem worthwhile making movies of this quality, and that's coming from someone who's a fan of kickboxing and independent films!

Lee Anthony Cipolla shows, once again, that his greatest skill as a filmmaker is in making the best of what is available, as a writer, a director, and an editor. Like a truly great chef, who can cook a gourmet meal even in a poorly stocked kitchen, he sees great potential in the world around him and makes films to draw out that inherent beauty.

A self-proclaimed "guerrilla" filmmaker, the budget for his first short film was around $50, and, as surprising as it may seem, the final budget for "Harder They Fall" barely topped $2000. It is a mark of his particular genius that anyone could turn around and complain that these movies are "overbudgeted" and "flashy."

Although masterfully executed and superbly edited, the action sequences are not what make this film worth seeing. Shot entirely in Miami with a local cast and crew, "Harder They Fall" is a loving testament to the city, a city often under-appreciated by visiting directors. It is a touching and beautiful coming-of-age film, and I urge anyone who is offered a chance to see this film to take it immediately.