Robert Wise’s THE SET-UP Available on Blu-ray From Warner Archives

Boxing Wednesdays. Wrestling on Fridays. Stoker Thompson is on Paradise City’s Wednesday card, fighting after the main event. He’s been 20 years in the game and is sure he’s just one punch away from big paydays. But there’s one thing Stoker doesn’t yet know: his manager wants him to take a dive tonight.

The Set-Up comes out swinging as one of the great films about the so-called sweet science. Robert Wise directs, shaping real-time events into an acclaimed and unsparing film-noir look at the stale-air venues, bloodthirsty fans, ring savagery and delusional dreams of boxing’s palooka world. Robert Ryan embraces perhaps his fi nest screen hour as Stoker. Audrey Totter, an icon of the noir genre like Ryan, plays Stoker’s steadfast wife. In a sport that would take their last flicker of dignity, the Thompsons are reclaiming theirs.

Robert Wise directs film noir icons Robert Ryan and Audrey Totter in this real-time film noir boxing drama that portrays the final fight in palooka pugilist Stoker Thompson’s (Ryan) career. While Stoker’s wife Julie (Totter) implores him to give up the ring, Stoker’s simple credo of “fighters gotta fight” keeps him tied to the squared circle. But Stoker is in the dark about this particular fight – his manager has promised a gangster that Stoker will take a dive. Too bad he didn’t tell Stoker… A miracle of lean and luscious direction, all of The Set-Up’s grit and glory sparkles in this scintillating 1080p HD transfer that packs a wallop. Special Feature: commentary by director Robert Wise and Martin Scorsese.