Born to Fight

Born to Fight (1956)

** (out of 4)

RKO short takes us to Portugal and goes into detail about the bullfighting there and how it's different from the sport in Spain and Latin America. As far as a documentary goes, this here gives us some pretty good information including how the bulls are selected and the fact that they are not killed in the sport but instead get to live their life on a ranch to be rewarded for their bravery. If they don't show bravery inside the ring then he is sent to the slaughterhouse. The sport itself gets to take over during the end of the film where we see some actual matches but even with this the direction is pretty bland throughout and not too much life is pumped into the film.

This very late RKO Sportscope short subject covers bullfighting. That was a popular subject, both for feature films like BLOOD AND SAND, and short subjects. The IMDb lists 275 movies that are concerned with the sport, in whole or in part.

So, what distinguishes this one? The fact that it concerns itself not with Mexican bullfighting, or Spanish bullfighting, but Portuguese bullfighting. Speaking honestly, they all look much like a muchness to me, although the Portuguese variety ranks the man who fights on horseback a little higher than the two other varieties.

I'm surprised there wasn't already a Sportscope short on bullfighting. Maybe there was. There wouldn't be another. RKO's short subject production shut down the following year.

We learn that bullfighting is a formal, stylized, highly dramatic form of art in the sports world, where it is practiced differently in Portugal than it is in Spain and Latin America. The bull's life is spared and if he is a brave bull he may spend the rest of his life on a ranch rewarded for his bravery. Otherwise, he is sent to the slaughterhouse.

The short focuses mainly on the training of bulls and horses for the art of bullfighting. Finally, we get to see the real excitement of the ring where the bull has to be excited and tormented to want to go after the matador (or the matador's cape).

We see amateur bullfighters twirling their capes in stunts before the crowds enter the ring. It seems everywhere you look young men are training to become bullfighters in the Spanish tradition.

Interesting, but the B&W photography is on the dull side and doesn't capture the color of the events.