As the Boxing trainer and coreogpaher w Benny "The Jet" Urquidez
I have to give a lot of credit to all the actors who worked in the fight scenes. All the kids and all the adult stars had never
laced up a pair of gloves before in their life. Exect for Jon Seda who had previously trained with "The Jet" and myself along w/ Cuba Gooding Jr. for the movie Gladiator back in 1990.And yes it's true Jon was a Golden Gloves Champion from new Jersey and he was a pleasure to work with once again. He has the talent to become a Pro fighter if he chose to be. he never complained about the rigorous training routines day after day
and was able to grasp the intricate coreography and changes on a moments notice. The rest of the actors were great also.
the real chalenge for them was to learn how to Box from scratch, and also learn how to movie punch, and take the reactions w/o hurting each other, and at the same time acomplishing this in a mere 6 weeks
My hats off to them all.

I would really recommend this movie to any one who has a taste of family drama. A beautiful and touchy story about a family struggling for glory and success. Jimmy smith is really awesome. I am amazed how this movie is unnoticed by critiques.

"Price Of Glory" is a good solid film with great performances all around. There was something about all the actors that made me identify with them easily. You feel their pain. Jimmy Smits was especially good as the Father who just wants the best for his children, even if it's not necessarily what they want. DVD has deleted scenes with good commentary. Worth a good viewing or two.

Honestly, Jimmy Smits is not the actor that I think of when it comes to a film about boxing. But, in this film, this role was made for him, and he filled it quite well.

Smits plays Arturo Ortega, a former middleweight fighter who was pushed into a big time money fight by his crooked promoter way too soon. Flash forward several years, and he is training his three extremely talented sons. All three have the skills and intelligence to become boxing superstars, but he trains them with an iron fist and pushes them very hard. Throw in the crooked promoter and huge dollar signs, and you have lots of family conflict in the Mexican home in Arizona.

The acting was superb in the film, and the choreographer did an outstanding job with the training and fight scenes. Smits was perfect in his role as the confused-with-the-proper-interests father. Maria Del Mar was an excellent compliment to him as his wife and mother, and was the backbone of the family, fighting to keep it together. Jon Seda played Sonny Ortega, the oldest boy, and he truly looked the part of a boxer. His timing was near perfect, and he did a fine job of complimenting the other actors when he was on the screen.

This film has a little bit of everything. It has a good flow, and the storyline is quite easy to follow and get interested in. It is hard not to stand up and cheer by the end of the movie. In addition to being a fairly good family film, it gives a good look at the amateur world of boxing, not to mention a slight peek at the sometimes sleazy arena of the professionals. This film will knock you out...of your seat.

**1/2 "Price of Glory" has the advantage of opening up for the audience a milieu with which most of us are probably unfamiliar - the world of amateur boxing viewed within the context of a Mexican/American family and neighborhood. Yet, having introduced us to this novel realm, the film then ends up stranding us in a welter of sports movie stereotypes and clichés.

Jimmy Smits (who ages barely a skosh during the film's 23-year time span) plays the ultimate stereotype - the machismo-driven ex-fighter who is attempting to rectify his own failed boxing career by living his life through his three sons, driving them to extremes both in the ring and out. Often confusing fatherhood with promotion and management, Arturo Ortega inspires his children to alternately idolize and fear him, frequently pushing them away from him in the process. The film trods well-worn territory in its exploration of how excessive parental pressure often results in the loss of filial loyalty.

Although the overall story is pat and predictable, traveling the customary arc common to virtually every sports movie ever made, the plot lines are often obscure and confusing for the uninitiated. We frequently can't grasp the esoteric ins and outs of boxing promotion that the film takes for granted we understand. As a result, we often don't identify very fully with many of the arguments Arturo always seems to be having with his sons.

And, of course, the film lacks the courage of its convictions at the end. Having spent close to two hours warning us against trying to fulfill our dreams through the lives of our children, the film settles for a conventional finish that advocates just that very cause. Thus, for all its uniqueness of setting (Mariposa, Arizona) and milieu, "Price of Glory" brings nothing much new to its genre.