Max Schmeling (film)

Max Schmeling
Max Schmeling
	Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Uwe Boll
Written by	Timo Berndt; Uwe Boll
Produced by	Wolfgang Herold
Starring	Henry Maske; Heino Ferch; Vladimir Weigl; Arthur Abraham; Susanne Wuest; Arved Birnbaum
Cinematography	Mathias Neumann
Music by	Jessica de Rooij
Release date	October 7, 2010 (Germany);
Running time	123 minutes
Country	Germany
Language	German
Budget	$7 million
Box office	$96,456 (Germany)

Max Schmeling is a 2010 German biographical film directed by Uwe Boll. The film tells the story of German boxing icon Max Schmeling. It was released abroad under the title Max Schmeling: Fist of the Reich.

Plot

A German paratrooper is seen being injured and receiving treatment in Crete during the 1941 German invasion of the island during World War II. He is then detailed to escort a British prisoner of war who recognises him as the famous heavyweight boxer Max Schmeling and asks him to tell his story.

Schmeling's boxing matches in the 1930s are then portrayed along with his marriage to the Czech actress

Fallschirmjäger

rather than fleeing abroad.

The story returns to Crete where Schmeling allows the British prisoner to escape. Back in Germany in 1945, with the German Army on the brink of defeat, he returns to his wife. They abandon their country estate to the advancing Soviets and settle in Hamburg, West Germany. In 1947, Schmeling briefly returns to boxing after failing to find other work before retiring from the sport for good in 1948.

Critical reception

There was criticism of the acting performance of Henry Maske as the title character, director Boll having selected a real life boxer rather than an actor to play the lead. The plot was also criticized for being "cliche-laden."^[1]