MovieChat Forums > Somebody Up There Likes Me (1956) Discussion > This Classic film influenced Scorsese, S...

This Classic film influenced Scorsese, Stallone, DeNiro...


That's how much of a legacy this film is. You can actually see all the elements from neo classic films like "Raging Bull", "Rocky", "Rocky II"(total rip off.. shame on you Sly), etc. As to the look, Robert Wise always delivers with a great look on film which deservedly won an Oscar. Newman's performance is pretty amazing, and if you consider it at the time, a new standard in acting that's been mimicked time and time again since(what happened to the nomination?). It's really ironic that this film is not as recognized on a higher level, as well as one Newman's best roles. Maybe the "Rockyesque" love story turned people off.

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Yes it is quite an enigma when you think about it. It was the role that shot Newman to stardom, but is barely recognised within his finest body of work.

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BTW - Scorsese is is taking part in the commentary on the upcoming DVD

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Wow! Great! Thanks for the post;)

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Burt,

Well said.

I just saw this today for the first time.


Rocky and Raging Bull immediately came to mind.

Pork Pie hat .. wife/manager stress .. rough neighborhood ... training scenes.

On and on.

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I agree. I just saw this last night, and it's safe to say that this and Robert Wise's other boxing picture The Set-Up are both huge influences on Raging Bull.

What's the Spanish for drunken bum?

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the name, scene, the manager with a heart of gold, the shy girlfriend, everything....

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Can't agree with that statement

Short Cut, Draw Blood

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Yes, I am seeing this film for the first time. I noticed immediately the quality of this film. Not only the story or acting, but the very classic NYC scenes.

And for further boxing films in the future (by those people mentioned in the subject header), it must have been very much the inspiration.

I think someone has mentioned Stallone has lifted this entire film. He certainly has given it a heavy tribute, but one thing he did that this movie didn't:
He got Best Picture of Year in the bi-centennial year of US History. That's quite an accomplishment.

However, this has to be one of the first and best of the genre.

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agree with oldmotem on this. SOMEBODY UP THERE LIKES ME in my opinion remains one of the most underrated boxing films of all time. If James Dean was alive to take the starring role, as it was supposedly a shoe-in for him, Rocky would have been played as a character with much more inner-demon than Paul Newman's portrayal.

As to the Academy Awards, 1956/1957 was a year where epic's and big production reigned. You had the likes of THE KING & I, THE TEN COMMANDMENTS, and even AROUND THE WORLD IN EIGHTY DAYS - from technical achievements to the star-power, SOMEBODY UP THERE LIKES ME stood no chance because both Paul Newman & Pier Angeli were still lesser-known aspiring stars.

ROCKY (1976) won best picture but there were plenty of critics who begged to differ. This was the same year when we had ALL THE PRESIDENT'S MEN, NETWORK, & TAXI DRIVER - by comparison, ROCKY was nowhere near any of these films in terms of sophiscation, but it won because it was really the only film out of the Best Picture category that depicted hope to the idea of the American Dream - in 1976/1977, America was riding high on its 200th anniversary - everyone wanted to forget about the Vietnam war, and they were tired of hearing about Watergate. Bicentennial sentiments took presidence over stories that successfully depicted the flaws to the country's foundations and beliefs - America needed hope, and ROCKY was all about the idea of the little guy standing tall in the land of opportunity.

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For Stallone, "influence" is really just a euphemism. I mean, they may be two different films, but it's hard not to see some of the - obvious - similarities between this film and "Rocky" (Stallone's iconic performance, in my eyes, channeled Newman's performance in this quite a bit). As for Raging Bull, certain parts of this film always reminded me of RB, so I agree.

Anyways, it's unfortunate that "Somebody Up There Likes Me" gets nowhere near the recognition it deserves. It's a terrific film.


Hey there, Johnny Boy, I hope you fry!

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"Rocky II"(total rip off.. shame on you Sly)


Why, b/c Rocky wins at the end? Or b/c he struggled to find himself until he turned to boxing? I don't see it. Mickey, Paulie and Apollo are original and unique to Rocky, I don't see any of that in this. Rocky and (much less so) Adrian, I can see an inspiration, but same can be said of Raging Bull.

On a side note, seems like the fight at the local club against a South American boxer was referenced in the beginning of Rocky.

We’re trying to pretend as if these comic books don’t exist. - David Goyer on the DCEU

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It's a great movie, too bad it's not as well known as some of the other ones you listed. This one is slowly getting buried by the sands of time. For people who haven't seen it, it pops up on TCM channel every now and again. Catch it if you get the chance.


Don't mess with me, man! I know karate, judo, ju-jitsu..... and several other Japanese words.

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