Product Details

• Format: Black & White, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, NTSC
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: Hbo Home Video
• VHS Release Date: January 11, 2000
• Run Time: 53 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 6301929969
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #210,431 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

One of the greatest heavyweight champions of all time - he took the belt at age 23, and successfully defended the title 24 times. See great moments from this powerhouse career - Louis vs. Max Schmeling, Jimmy Braddock, Rocky Marciano and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Decent bio, but should have been longer, April 29, 2000

By 

Steve - See all my reviews

This review is from: Boxing's Best - Joe Louis [VHS] (VHS Tape)

This is a decent bio of Joe Louis, but it only scratches the surface of profiling the "Brown Bomber's" career. Too many great fights are not even shown, such as the Primo Carnera bout, and the clips that are shown are way too brief. For example, they show about 25 seconds of the first round of Louis-Braddock. Yet the producers of the show fail to include the moment when Louis is unexpectedly knocked down! This video has some memorable fight clips and interviews (such as Tony Galento whining after his loss to Louis), but it always leaves me wanting to see more. Billy Conn is one of the hosts of this special, and while he was a great fighter and person, he wasn't a good commentator. Still, for $10 bucks I guess you can't expect too much.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars IF YOU'RE A JOE LOUIS FAN, YOU'LL LIKE THIS VIDEO., September 6, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Boxing's Best - Joe Louis [VHS] (VHS Tape)

This video contains exciting knock-out scenes from many of Joe's memorable fights, and it brings back the thrill of watching the greatest of all heavyweight champions at the peak of his fighting prowess. My only criticisms are, it didn't show enough of the fights that it featured, and it should have featured more of Joe's fights. In other words, I would gladly have paid twice the price for a video that covered Joe Louis' career in greater depth. Nevertheless, it is well worth the money, and it belongs in the video library of every Joe Louis fan.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars "It looked like whole Harlem was there." - Max Baer, May 28, 2010

By 

Annie Van Auken (Planet Earth) - See all my reviews
(TOP 50 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Boxing's Best - Joe Louis [VHS] (VHS Tape)

Between July 1934 and October 1951, Joe Louis Barrow fought 68 pro fights, sometimes twice in a single month. He won 65 of these and lost three: to Max Schmeling before becoming champ and after coming out of retirement, to Ezzard Charles and Rocky Marciano.


The HBO documentary on Joe Louis covers his personal life as an afterthought. Joe's problems with a greedy manager, failing marriage and the IRS are parenthetically shoehorned into a chronological catalog of 18 boxing matches, all of which are treated just as perfunctorally.

Former light heavyweight champ Billy Conn, who challenged Joe twice and lost, is a peculiar choice for color commentator, as he's not much of a talker. Host Barry Tompkins does his best to draw Billy out, barely managing to ellicit brief monosyllabic sentences for his trouble.

Those looking for insight on Joe Louis the man will be disappointed by the dearth of detail in this less than an hour program. Fight fans seeking ring thrills will be equally thwarted by individual bouts being excerpted for a minute or less. On the plus side are the fights chosen, including the earliest existing film of pre-title Louis and his final pro match, against the only undefeated heavyweight in boxing history.

PROGRAM--

2/21/35 - 2nd round TKO of Lee Ramage in his 15th pro fight is oldest film of Joe in the ring.
9/24/35 - Louis KO's Max Baer in 4th round at Yankee Stadium (YS). After the fight, Max mentions double vision and seeing "whole Harlem" in the ring.
6/19/36 - Again at YS, Max Schmeling's planned strategy works and he KO's Louis in the 12th.
8/17/36 - After years of inactivity, ex-champ Jack Sharkey is KOed in the 3rd round in front of a YS crowd.
6/22/37 - For the first time in history, a challenger is favored over the reigning heavyweight champion. The smart money is on Joe, who KO's champ James Braddock in the 8th at Chicago's Comiskey Park. He's 23 years old and the new title-holder.
2/23/38 - 3rd round KO of Nathan Mann at NY's Madison Square Garden (MSG).
6/22/38 - 1st round humiliation of Max Schmeling, the only man to defeat him so far. The broadcast was cut off in Germany after the fight's outcome became obvious.
6/28/39 - YS bout is stopped in the 4th when 'Two-Ton' Tony Galento is no longer able to defend himself. Galento, who in pre-fight interviews called Joe a "bum," was bloody but unbowed, claiming immediately after that he "could've beat the bum" if the referee hadn't stopped the fight.
2/9/40 - At MSG, Louis is awarded a controversial decision against Arturo Godoy.
3/29/40 - 2nd round TKO of Johnny Paycheck at MSG.
6/20/40 - Arturo Godoy rematch at YS isn't even close. 8th round TKO for Joe.
5/23/41 - Buddy Baer doesn't answer the bell in the 7th.
6/18/41 - Lightweight champ (169 lbs) Billy Conn is ahead on points but is KOed in the 13th when he tries to finish Louis.
3/27/42 - 6th round TKO of Abe Simon is Joe's last fight prior to 4 years of WWII service.
6/19/46 - Both men are rusty in the Conn vs. Louis rematch at YS. Joe wins in the 8th.
12/5/47 - Louis is floored twice but wins a split-decision over Jersey Joe Walcott at MSG.
6/25/48 - After coming off the canvas at YS, Joe KO's Walcott in the 11th round. He retires 9 months later, at age 34.
9/27/50 - Louis is ineffective and Ezzard Charles wins a unanimous 15 round decision in front of a YS crowd.
10/26/51 - In the 8th round, Rocky Marciano knocks Joe out of the ring at MSG, ending his career.