A remake by Franco Zeffirelli of King Vidor's Academy Awards winner movie from five decades before. It is not touching as some fans say (or perhaps it is just in its very end), differently from Shakespearean works by Zeffirelly. Cheesy music did not contribute to a better outcome. However, pastel shade cinematography is quite attractive, as good as black and white pre-code classic. Both versions have their achievements and none is clearly the best of them. Wallace Beery was more convincing in the 1931 classic than was Jon Voight in the role of the former boxing world champ and now alcoholic gambler but beloved father. I like that rough working-class mood which is absent in the remake. The boy, on the other hand, while with a striking ressamblance in both movies, was deeper and more moving in the 1979 film, skilfully portrayed by Ricky Schroder (in comparison to Jackie Cooper, both nine years old). Faye Dunaway obviously has a much stronger presence than Irene Rich, and the horse race was very well shot. The crowded fight against real boxer Randall "Tex" Cobb was worth being hightlighted and easily overcomes clumsy 1931 brawl.
