In director Dito Montiel’s 2009 drama, FIGHTING, Channing Tatum (G.I. JOE: THE RISE OF COBRA) portrays Shawn, a young man from the South trying to make a living on the streets of New York City. When Shawn gets into an altercation while selling bootleg CDs and DVDs, a con man (Terrence Howard) who witnesses the brawl takes him under his wing and introduces Shawn to NYC’s underground street-fighting circuit. In these bare-knuckle battles, Shawn has a chance to win significant money--and also the heart of the beautiful Zulay (Zulay Henao).

A film that goes beyond its deceptively simple title and premise, FIGHTING is elevated by the keen eye of Montiel, who also co-wrote the script with Robert Munic, and the charismatic presence of Tatum, who previously had a minor role in the writer-director’s cinematic debut, A GUIDE TO RECOGNIZING YOUR SAINTS. Although the film goes through the standard up-by-the-bootstraps dramatic cycle, the performances of Tatum, Howard, and Henao make the story surprisingly compelling, and the fight sequences are exceptionally fierce, giving the movie considerable added zest. Though less high-profile than combat classics such as ROCKY and THE KARATE KID, FIGHTING fits well into the category of revered movies of the boxing/martial-arts subgenre.

DVD Features:

Region [unknown]
Anamorphic Widescreen - 1.85
Disc 1/Side A: Theatrical Release/Unrated Version
Audio:
Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround - English
Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround - French, Spanish
Subtitles - English, SDH, French, Spanish
Additional Release Material:
Deleted Scenes
Disc 1/Side B: Unrated Version
Audio:
Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround - English, Spanish
Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround - Spanish
Subtitles - English, SDH, French, Spanish

Channing Tatum: Actor, SUPERCROSS: THE MOVIE (2005)
Terrence Howard: Actor\"Dead Presidents"
Zulay Henao: Actor, FEEL THE NOISE
Brian White: American Actor, ME & MRS. JONES (2001)
Luis Guzmán: Puerto Rican actor, BOOGIE NIGHTS

Dito Montiel: Director, Guide to Recognizing Your Saints (2006)

Kevin Misher: Producer, SCORPION KING (2002)

Dito Montiel: Director, Guide to Recognizing Your Saints (2006)
Robert Munic: 

David Wittman: Composer
Jonathan Elias: Composer, A GUIDE TO RECOGNIZING YOUR SAINTS (2006)

"[V]ivid....It feels like a guided tour of the city's in-your-face underbelly, loaded with detail that only a native with an artist's eye could reveal."
"Mr. Tatum has what it takes to be a real movie star. Not just an impressive physique and the physicality of a young Marlon Brando, but also a surprising sensitivity, a lightness of manner that makes him credible..."
3 stars out of 4 -- "[The film] creates uncommonly interesting characters....[Listen] to the dialogue by Robert Munic and Montiel, which is far above formula boilerplate and creates the illusion that the characters might actually be saying it in the moment."
"Terrence Howard lends the pedigree of great screen acting, and Zulay Henao adds charm and glamour while a fine supporting cast validates the semi-documentary approach."
"The black-market fisticuffs in FIGHTING have a real-life messiness that's part of the film's scrappy underdog charm....New York movies this gritty and flavorful don't come along very often." -- Grade: B+