The Battle of the Sexes (2013)

The Battle of the Sexes: Directed by James Erskine, Zara Hayes. With Billie Jean King, Virginia Wade, Lornie Kuhle, Bobby Wilson. A look at the events leading up to the 1973 tennis match between retired men’s champ Bobby Riggs and the current women’s Wimbledon winner Billie Jean King.

“BATTLE OF THE SEXES sketches in the background to what is still the most-watched tennis match of all time – the 1973 clash between Bobby Riggs and Billie Jean King. Staged at the Houston Astrodome, it was prompted by Riggsu0026#39; boasts that he could beat any of the leading female tennis players of the time, and thereby prove that men were u0026#39;naturallyu0026#39; superior to women. The documentary includes extensive footage of Riggsu0026#39; interviews before the match took place; his views on women now seem incongruously out of date. By contrast Billie Jean King maintained her dignity, by refusing to become involved in the verbal debates either before or after the match. James Erskineu0026#39;s film makes some inflated claims – that the match provided inspiration for the feminist movement of the early Seventies – but covers far stronger ground in its analysis of the revolution in womenu0026#39;s tennis taking place at that time. We have to admire King and her fellow-players for setting up a rebel tennis tour, in opposition to the US Tennis Association, as they demanded equal pay with their male counterparts. Despite numerous setbacks, their initiative proved so successful that it led to the formation of the WTA (Womenu0026#39;s Tennis Association) in 1973. King herself comes across as both dedicated yet relentless – for her, the Riggs match was not just about vanquishing a buffoon-like male, but rather an opportunity to prove the strength of womenu0026#39;s tennis as a whole. On the other hand, we feel sorry for her fellow-tennis player Margaret Court, who was patently not ready for the publicity ballyhoo surrounding her clash with Riggs, and lost her match badly. BATTLE OF THE SEXES is certainly an historical document, but one canu0026#39;t help feeling that, while Riggsu0026#39; views are not overtly expressed these days in the media, there are plenty of men who share his opinions, despite four decades of feminist reform.”