TRAILERS

Ben Foster is WWII Boxer Harry Haft in 'The Survivor' Official Trailer

by Alex Billington
March 23, 2022
Source: YouTube

"I'm just giving you a chance to lose with a little dignity!" HBO has revealed the first official trailer for The Survivor, a WWII biopic from filmmaker Barry Levinson (of so many films: Good Morning Vietnam, Rain Man, Bugsy, Toys, Wag the Dog, Sphere, Bandits, Man of the Year, The Bay). This premiered at the 2021 Toronto Film Festival last fall and received mostly positive reviews then. Levinson's biographical drama stars Ben Foster as boxer Harry Haft, who struggles to carry on after fighting to survive in the Holocaust. Post World War II, Harry Haft is a boxer who fought fellow prisoners in the concentration camps to survive. Haunted by memories and guilt, he attempts to use high-profile fights against boxing legends like Rocky Marciano as a way to find his first love again. In addition to Ben Foster, the impressive cast includes Danny DeVito, John Leguizamo, Peter Sarsgaard, Billy Magnussen, Paul Bates, Anthony Molinari as Rocky Marciano, as well as Vicky Krieps. This looks like a compelling, emotional story about survival and the brutality of WWII. With a mix between B&W for the WWII flashbacks as well as color cinematography.

Here's the official trailer (+ poster) for Barry Levinson's The Survivor, direct from HBO's YouTube:

When the Nazis invade Poland in late 1939, Harry Haft (Ben Foster) is sent to the Auschwitz extermination camp. He is a powerfully built man, so a charming but sadistic Nazi officer offers him an impossible deal: fight fellow prisoners in the boxing ring for the amusement of his captors, or die. The winner of the bout survives to fight again. The loser is shot or sent to the gas chamber. How far will Harry’s will to live take him? What will he do to escape the death all around him? The Survivor is directed by acclaimed American filmmaker Barry Levinson, director of many films including The Natural, Young Sherlock Holmes, Tin Men, Good Morning Vietnam, Rain Man, Bugsy, Avalon, Toys, Disclosure, Sleepers, Wag the Dog, Sphere, Liberty Heights, An Everlasting Piece, Bandits, Envy, Man of the Year, What Just Happened, The Bay, The Humbling, and Rock the Kasbah previously. The screenplay is written by Justine Juel Gillmer, based on Alan Haft’s book "Harry Haft: Survivor of Auschwitz". This originally premiered at the 2021 Toronto Film Festival last fall. HBO releases The Survivor streaming on HBO Max starting April 27th, 2022 this spring.

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