Reprinted from a film review written by a tennis reporter on the official account
Original author: Tennis Channel columnist Steve Flink
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Translation of the original link
http://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/jGTW27qhMCs5Z9HuNVrXbw
The writing behind the scenes of this game is quite detailed.
More than 30,000 fans attended the scene in person, and more than 50 million spectators stood in front of the TV. Which is the most eye-catching game in tennis history? It's not a grand slam final matchup or a star-studded exhibition game, but it took place in Houston in 1973, a battle of the century jointly staged by Bobby Riggs and Billy Jane King.
This year, the release of the movie "Gender Wars" once again brought people's attention back to 40 years ago. However, time has passed and there are fragments in the memory of fans. Perhaps only two names and one result are left. For the historical significance of the game, Most people have no way of knowing. In fact, it was that game that completely changed the development trajectory of tennis and also fired the first shot of women's tennis advancement to become the world's leading women's sport. Today, it is better to go back to the story behind this game through this cross-border film review by tennis journalist Steve Flink, and trace back the tennis world of that era.
As a tennis reporter, I have been working in this industry for nearly 45 years. I have been studying and studying the history of the sport. But today, it is my first time to write a film review. I am very happy to share my feelings of watching movies with fans and fans. This movie is the newly released "War of the Genders".
As the name suggests, the film revolves around the famous "gender war". On September 20, 1973, the game was played at Astoro Stadium in Houston. The opponents were Billy Jane King and Bobby Riggs. At least 30,472 spectators attended the game, and there were 5000 More than 10,000 viewers watched the live broadcast on ABC TV in the United States. At that time, the 29-year-old Billy Jane King had entered the latter part of his career, and Bobby Riggs, who had retired for a long time, was also 55 years old. Before turning to professional tennis, he had played as an amateur player in 1939. Identity, won the Wimbledon singles and doubles triple crown.
What makes this movie more attractive is that it reflects the personal lives of Billy Jane King and Riggs at the same time: including the former’s gay status and the latter’s short-lived marriage and gambling addiction. The storyline of the film adds tension and makes its audience wider. Not only that, the film also deeply reproduces the sports culture of the early 1970s and the tennis world at that time.
In my opinion, "War of the Sexes" is top-notch in many ways. First of all, the actor's prowess is very outstanding. The new Oscar actress Emma Stone played Billy Jane King. Her acting skills are impeccable, and she exquisitely reproduces the heart and charm of the champion, even talking. The methods are reproduced just right.
Emma Stone is also very accurate about Billy Jane King's habits and habit. Her performance proved her excellent acting skills, deep study of the role and the attitude of shaping the role to the extreme. Similarly, in appearance, acting style, voice and personality, Carell also perfectly presented to the audience a sometimes funny, sometimes irritable, and sometimes surprisingly sensitive Bobby Riggs.
They work together to make the audience realize that Riggs and Billy Jane King are also ordinary people. They are strong but also fragile. They are passionate about life, but also self-doubt. Under the arrangement of fate, the two staged an unprecedented tennis match for the audience. Many people who watched this match had never even watched any tennis match before.
At the same time, the film also vividly portrays the tennis world from 1970 to 1973. Before this gender war, female athletes had launched a "gender war" for many years.
Over the past few decades, this sport has been evolving and developing, and the rules used to restrain players have become more mature. In its development process, Gladys Hedeman is an irreplaceable figure. In 1953, she founded the "World Tennis Magazine", and she publishes articles with sharp opinions every month. With her integrity and seriousness and her contribution to tennis, she is very popular in the tennis circle.
In 1970, Hedman summoned eight female players, including her daughters Julie and Billy Jane King, and signed symbolic professional contracts worth one dollar with them. Subsequently, Hedman persuaded Joe Kalman of Philip Morris to sponsor a tournament in which only female players participated, the "Virginia Slims" tournament. A year later, under the operation of Billy Jean King, the event gradually grew stronger.
Speaking of Billy Jane King, we have to mention another great name of the time-Jack Cramer. Cramer's amateur tennis career was perfect. He won the U.S. Open in 1946 and 1947. He also won Wimbledon in 1947. After moving to professional tennis, he also showed strong dominance. Riggs, Pancho Gonzalez, and even Pancho Segura and other players of the same era could not shake his position. He has always been a lot of He is regarded as one of the ten greatest tennis players in history.
In the future, Kramer is committed to promoting the development of the professional tour. He has signed contracts with top amateur players year after year, hoping to witness the birth of the Open era. He is the leader who plays the most roles in tennis, and in my opinion is "the person who can best represent tennis in the 20th century."
In addition, he also promoted the vigorous development of tennis equipment. Wilson Sporting Goods Company has engraved his name on the best-selling rackets for many years, and the name "Kramer" is the best sign. Not only that, from the 1950s to the 1970s, he was the best tennis commentator on American television and the BBC.
At the same time, Kramer also had a great say in those years. The "Grand Prix" that was born in 1970 came out of his proposal, and when the ATP was established in 1972, he was elected as the first CEO.
In 1973, just a few months before the start of this gender war, in support of Nicky Pilic, who was suspended from the Yugoslav League for missing the Davis Cup, Kramer chose to fight with Ahmad firmly and fearlessly. Ashe, Rod Laver and others, together boycotted Wimbledon that year. Cramer knew that he was destined to suffer harsh criticism from the British media, but he was willing to bear it because the players were defending their legitimate interests on behalf of Pilic, because in their opinion, the suspension imposed by the International Tennis Federation Bilic was unfair.
The reason why I recall these experiences of Kramer is because many viewers don’t know that he is such an influential figure, and the plot itself is limited, so I think the audience needs to treat him more. Understand that the name "Mr.Tennis" is not trivial.
In 1970, the Southwest Pacific Championships operated by Cramer attracted much attention, but in terms of bonuses, the men's singles champion could get $12,500, while the women's singles champion was only $1,500. In the case of a total prize of 50,000 US dollars, female players can only get 7,500 US dollars. Mrs. King and Hedman suggested that he reconsider the distribution of bonuses, but Cramer refused. Therefore, Hedman decided to boycott the Southwest Pacific Championship with other top female players, including Nancy Rich and Casals. So they decided to take part in the "Virginia Slims" competition held in Houston with only 9 people participating.
The world in 1973 was very different from today. The general view back then was that people were more willing to watch men's games, not only Cramer, but even the powerful. But in this case, the female players did not give up, but tried their best to fight, and in the end they did what they wanted.
At the time, the American Lawn Tennis Association refused to recognize the "Virginia Slims" tournament hosted by Hedeman and Billy Jane King. Hedman disclosed in the "World Tennis Magazine" that Martin, then the chairman of the U.S. Grass Nets Association, sent a telegram to the female players competing in Houston, announcing that they would be banned, and that they no longer have a world ranking and are not eligible to participate. Whiteman Cup or Confederations Cup game.
The most impactful shot in the movie was the direct conflict between Cramer and Billy Jane King, which was getting closer and closer to the beginning of this gender war. Cramer was invited by ABC as one of the three narrators. Of course he supported Riggs. After all, the two have been friends for many years. Howard Kossel, one of the commentators, remains neutral, while the other commentator Casals is Mrs. King's long-term doubles partner and friend.
However, Mrs. King insisted that if Cramer was involved, then she would withdraw. In the movie, the two had a tense dialogue. Cramer finally decided not to participate in the commentary to make the game go smoothly. In the end, Scott took his place.
The movie turned Cramer into a “sinner” and a laughing stock, but in my opinion, Cramer deserves more respect. From the 1950s to the 1970s, Cramer made outstanding contributions to the development of tennis. . It is true that he looks down on female players such as Billy Jane King and Hedman, but without his hard work, I doubt whether the entire tennis sport, including the women's tennis that he looks down upon, can flourish.
Many wonderful rounds in "Gender Wars" have been shown in the movie. In 2005, he ranked 18th in his career high, and he defeated Federer, Nadal, Agassi and other famous Americans Spadea. He acted as a stand-in for Carell in the film and participated in a lot of off-camera shots. He did a very good job.
I mentioned earlier that the acting skills of the actors are the success of this film, but at the same time, the audience also wants to know the origin of this gender war. In 1973, the 55-year-old Riggs declared that the level of tennis between male and female players was like a cloud and mud. Even if he was over half a hundred years old, he could still beat the top female players.
At first Riggs challenged Billy Jane Blond, but was rejected by the latter, so he set his sights on Margaret Court again. The Australians won 23 championships in 24 races that year, and monopolized the world's number one. However, in such a peak state, he met Riggs but lost a 2-6/1-6 disparity. After this "Mother's Day Massacre", Riggs also appeared on the covers of Time Magazine and Sports Illustrated.
This was a game that many people did not know about, and Court's fiasco paved the stage for the second gender war four months later. In order to defend the dignity of women's tennis, Billy Jane King had no choice. In that great game that created a global ratings record, Mrs. King lived up to expectations by defeating Riggs and rectifying the women's name.
But for Court, this result embarrassed her somewhat. "This may be a mistake in my life, although it seemed precious at the time." Court said of his game against Riggs. "I didn't prepare enough. The game ended like this." The competitor, Mrs. King, who has been suppressed by her, did not make such a mistake. Not only did she win the gender war, she also successfully rectified the name of American tennis in the main theme of the US-Australia competition in tennis at that time.
It was also the impact of this game that the US Open took the first step of equal pay for men and women for equal work in 1973. With the efforts of female athletes, until 2001, the Australian Open became the second Grand Slam to achieve equal pay for men and women. In 2006, the French Open joined the ranks. The conservative Wimbledon finally declared equal pay for men and women in 2007, announcing that equal pay for men and women in the four Grand Slams has finally come true. All this laid the foundation for the development of women's tennis to become the world's number one women's sport.
However, the story does not end here. A few years after the gender war, it was revealed that Bobby Riggs deliberately "released water." He has long been addicted to gambling, and even owed more than 100,000 US dollars in gambling debts. Therefore, before the game, he placed a huge bet to buy himself lose. With the death of Riggs, fans may never know the truth, but from another gender war, we may be able to find some clues.
In 1993, Naflatinova and Connors reproduced the classic 20 years ago. However, the game itself is even more eye-catching. It was Connors' revelation years later. The American admitted in his autobiography "The Outsider" that he bet himself $1 million before the game, and was able to win two straight sets and lose no more than eight games. Although Connors fell behind 1-3 as soon as he came up, he eventually won 7-5/6-2 and won the big bet.
The best thing is yet to come. Connors not only took his own knife, but also broke the news that Riggs also made a bet before the game. It was also Connors's revelation that made people even more suspicious that Riggs had falsified in the two decades of sex wars.
Going back to the movie itself, despite its shortcomings, this movie reflects its success in many places. The victory of Billy Jane King and this movie has allowed more people to focus on this project that they had not paid attention to before. This is the result of the efforts of the producer, actor, director and all staff. This film embodies Billy Jane King’s pursuit of equal rights for men and women. Advocating women’s rights does not mean that men are no longer important. It is just a demand for equality and respect.
Original link:
http://tennischannel.com/reporters//steve-flink-battle-of-the-sexes-should-be-celebrated
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