By Ryan Burton
The box office smash Hands of Stone will officially be released today on Blu-ray, DVD and On Demand.
The movie that stars Roberto De Niro, Usher Raymond and Edgar Ramírez chronicles Hall of Fame boxer Roberto Duran's rise in the sport of boxing and culminates with his iconic upset victory over the unbeaten Sugar Ray Leonard.
Roberto Duran's son Robin was brought in to help Ramírez portray the Panamanian fighter. He said that Ramírez was an eager and quick learner.
"It is funny I knew Edgar from some other film and when they changed the actor to Edgar I said does he know any boxing and I was told that they think he might. So then when he gets there he is a really nice guy and has turned into one of my best friends.
"So I asked him to rate his boxing skills, basic or pro, and he said probably neither because he has never stepped inside of a ring so I he said, 'have no idea what I have for myself into.'
"So we stayed with basics, how you have to stand, the proper hand position, and he learned very fast. Sometimes we forgot that we were training him for a movie and not for a real fight. However, we wanted Edgar to have the same head movement and right hand punches that my dad used to have. Edgar learned the basics from us. It was a great experience, the whole movie, the bonding wth Edgar. I played a small role in the movie as Edgar's brother. To see it from screen to real life made the whole experience even better,"
Robin also was a producer of the film and said that he was very pleased when they decided to film the movie in His father's native Panamá. Other Latin countries were considered but filming it in Panamá made it feel much more authentic.
"I think that the whole experience of having this movie made and making the life of my father and having all these great people in it was overwhelming. It was unbelievable and having it made down here in Panamá made it even better.
"It was going to be made in Colombia, in Puerto Rico, then in Spain and for it to be done here in Panamá and raising money for it and finally to do the filming it was very overwhelming and then for it to finally be done and out there.
"It isn't 100% accurate. The story of Durán is probably 50% accurate and the rest is make believe like any Hollywood movie but I guess they stayed true to the essence of the character so overall it is really good," Durán told BoxingScene.com.
Hands of Stone brings one the most infamous stories in sports history to the big screen, complete with a knock-out cast including Edgar Ramírez,two-time Academy Award® winner Robert De Niro, Usher Raymond IV, Ana de Armas, Ellen Barkin, John Turturro and Ruben Blades. Hands of Stone arrives on Blu-ray™, DVD and On Demand November 22, and is available on Digital HD November 8. Written and directed by Jonathan Jakubowicz and shot in both Panama City and New York, this dynamic bio-pic brings a true-life tale from the golden age of boxing to life – chronicling the life of boxing legend Roberto Durán and his rivalry with Sugar Ray Leonard.
Hands of Stone follows the life of Roberto Durán (Ramírez), the Panamanian fighter who, with the help of his trainer Ray Arcel (De Niro) made his professional debut in 1968 as a 16 year old and retired in 2002 at the age of 50. In June 1980, he defeated Sugar Ray Leonard (Usher Raymond) to capture the WBC welterweight title, but shocked the boxing world by returning to his corner in their November rematch, famously saying the words 'no más' (‘no more’).
Hands of Stone will be available on Blu-ray and DVD for the suggested retail price of $34.99 and $29.98, respectively. Special features include the featurette “Roberto Durán: A Boxing Legend, A Nation's Pride”; deleted scenes; and two video versions of the film’s title song - "Champions" lyric video featuring Usher, and "Champions" lyric video featuring Ruben Blades.
To learn more about the film, please visit www.anchorbayentertainment.com.
