We start 2026 with a true film noir classic. The Set-Up from 1949 stars the much underrated Robert Ryan. Directed by Robert Wise and also starring Audrey Totter, it has a screenplay adapted by Art Cohn from a poem written in 1928 by Joseph Moncure March.
Sometimes called the best film ever made about boxing, it looks at all sides of the sport (the wife's and especially the fighters'), while it is the opposite of Rocky (i.e. it’s not about becoming a champion). And it’s also a film that stands up with – and in some ways opposes – other classic boxing films like Raging Bull (not least because it's shorter at only 1 hr 13m).
Playing in real time (i.e. lasting the same time as the deeds it depicts), it follows an evening in the life of a nearly washed up, 35 year old boxer on the circuit, who believes he’s still got what it takes to be a champ.
It sounds tough - and it is - but it's often said that you can’t really call yourself a film buff until you’ve seen this film, because it has so much heart without being sentimental.
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