Still of Hands of Stone © Daniel McFadden
Hands of Stone, Robert De Niro and Edgar Ramirez team up in the ring
Five years after presiding the Jury, Robert De Niro returns to Cannes for a unique screening of Hands of Stone by Venezuela's Jonathan Jakubowicz. Having won an Oscar for his role as Jake LaMotta in Raging Bull, De Niro stepped back into the ring to play Ray Arcel, coach of the legendary Roberto Durán.
Manos de Piedra, (‘Hands of stone’) was the nickname of Roberto Durán, the Panamanian boxer and provides the title of the film. The Venezuelan Edgar Ramirez stars as this peerless fighter taken to the highest levels by Ray Arcel, from his earliest beginnings to his unexpected victory against the champion Sugar Ray Leonard.
Sugar vs Manos de Piedra. A fight that made boxing history and confounded all the forecasts. Sugar Ray Leonard was supreme in his category but on 20 June 1980 another story played out in the ring: Roberto Durán inflicted his first taste of defeat on the American.
Revenge came five months later in New Orleans in front of a crowd 35,000 strong. Sugar was fighting for his career against a confident Durán. Round followed round, and Durán began to weaken. Sugar stepped up and took control of the fight, to the point of mocking his opponent, who was being virtually humiliated. A few seconds before the end of the eighth round, the Panamanian stopped, turned his back on his adversary, pronounced two words: "no más" (That's enough) and gave up. This episode, etched in the history of boxing, marked the end of the Panamanian’s career.
The boxer Roberto Durán is in Cannes for the screening of Hands of Stone. Panama's greatest fighter, now aged 64, will see his story play out on the silver screen alongside both Ramirez and De Niro.
