During the 80s when you think of boxing movies you’ll always think of the Rocky franchise. But there was one boxing movie in 1986 that featured a young Wesley Snipes in only his second featured film (first one was Wildcats) called Streets of Gold.
The movie stars Klaus Maria Brandauer, the Oscar winner from “Out Of Africa,” as an alcoholic former boxing champion from Russia, a Jew who was the greatest Soviet fighter of his generation but who wasn’t allowed to fight outside Russia because of his religion. Now we meet him 10 years later, stumbling through the gutters of Brooklyn, washing dishes in a restaurant, spending his paycheck on beer.
One night, half drunk, he goes to a local boxing club and sees a black kid fighting (Snipes) and then sees a white kid fighting. Both fighters look promising. Outside the club, he has words with the black kid and taunts him, daring him to try to hit him. And even though the Russian is now slow and middle-aged, he’s nimble enough to win his bet. (Via Ebert)
What eventually ensues is this Russian man training both the black and white fighters and some drama along the way. The film slows heavily and at times isn’t particularly interesting but again, it’s worth a watch. Is it Rocky? No. But it’s a solid attempt and fun in that 80s kind of way. Check out the entire movie below.
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