1972 Hit Drama Film Named Among ‘Best Movies of the '70s' Still Holds a Perfect Rating
A 1972 drama film is once again gaining the spotlight after earning widespread recognition.
Fat City, directed by the renowned filmmaker John Huston, continues to solidify its legacy as one of the era's most enduring cinematic achievements.
More than fifty years after its release, the sports drama film holds a rare rating, a perfect score on Rotten Tomatoes.
The popular review aggregation website, which rates movies and TV shows based on critics' reviews, gave Fat City a flawless 100 percent Tomatometer score, meaning nearly every critic review for the film was positive.
Movie experts pointed out the "splendid cinematography" of the movie that perfectly matched the "outstanding acting" of the cast.
Film commentators also expressed how authentic and "realistic" Fat City feels, given that Hollywood movies are often seen as exaggerated or overly fictionalized.
Apart from this, critics also named the sports drama movie "one of the best movies of the ‘70s."
What made the movie stand out was that it focuses on the unglamorous and raw side of a sports drama.
Instead of a traditional triumphant narrative, it centers on failure, aging and the quiet struggle to survive.
Stacy Keach, who played a lead role, described the movie as nothing but a fairy tale.
"It was not a Cinderella story," he shared in an interview as cited by the American Masters Digital Archive. "It was about boxers who started at point A and ended at point A. They didn't go anywhere."
Based on the 1969 novel of the same name, the story is deeply rooted in the real-life experiences of the writer Leonard Gardner, who was also an amateur boxer and based the character on a fighter he knew named Johnny Miller.
In Fat City, the protagonist Billy Tully, played by Stacy Keach, was a 29-year-old broken-down boxer who attempted to make a comeback amid his struggle with alcoholism and a chaotic relationship with Oma, played by Susan Tyrrell.
With his hope of continuing his boxing career, he also mentors 18-year-old amateur boxer Ernie Munger, portrayed by Jeff Bridges.
Despite not having achieved blockbuster status at the time of its theatrical release, Fat City received significant accolades in Hollywood after being nominated at the Academy Awards for Best Supporting Actress for the late Susan Tyrrell and Stacy Keach winning Best Actor at the Kansas City Film Critics Circle.
He also shared the honor with fellow actor Marlon Brando for his role in The Godfather.
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This story was originally published May 12, 2026 at 1:00 PM.