Sometimes men fight just to fight. Tempers flare and punches are thrown, and a lot of time the biggest damage is done to egos more than anything else. Filmmaker Ian Palmer found a situation in Ireland where much more damage is done to the bodies and the faces of the fighters that live in a constant sort of conflict with neighboring families. Called Travellers, Gypsies, or any number of things, these nomadic people have long-standing feuds that are settled with individual fights between two representatives of a family in a somewhat civilized stand-up fist fight. Over the course of more than a decade Palmer followed the Quinn McDonaghs and their champion, James, and compiled a documentary simply titled Knuckle, which opens in limited release this weekend and on VOD. Earlier this year I had the chance to sit down with James Quinn McDonagh and Ian, and after the jump you can read the entire interview about this compelling, troubling, and challenging film.

Most films come to Sundance to find a distributor, but from day one the boxing documentary Knuckle was subject to a different kind of positive buzz — namely, “This would be great for a remake.”  Deadline counts Gerard Butler, Robert Downey Jr., and Vin Diesel among the suitors, but the remake rights ultimately went to Rough House Pictures, who will team with HBO to turn Knuckle into a drama series.  Eastbound and Down co-creators Danny McBride and Jody Hill and director David Gordon Green are attached through their partnership with Rough House, though it’s unclear if this extends beyond a producing role.

From the sound of it, there could certainly be a role in there for McBride.  Directed by Ian Palmer, Knuckle depicts the longstanding feud between two Irish families that often resort to bareknuckle boxing.  Hit the jump for the official synopsis.