In an age where a heavyweight title fight can't even get in the sports pages, this great National Film Board production on the uproar surrounding the 1966 Ali-George Chuvalo bout at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto astounds for showing how Ali provoked a reaction at every turn. Despite an electric early sequence set to the music of Ali's friend Sam Cooke, director Michael Mann somehow managed to make a movie about Ali without enough soul. But if you're only going to choose one film to watch, this one isn't ideal. The movie gets all the details right, and Smith got an Oscar nomination for his powerful role. This is the film that younger generations might think of first when it comes to Ali, starring Will Smith as the formidable boxer.
The only quibble is that George Foreman, whose second-act transformation is one of the most dramatic of any American public figure in modern times, is a relatively minor player. You are absolutely transported to 1974 Zaire for the strange pageantry of the promotion, with amusing context provided by Norman Mailer and George Plimpton. Leon Gast's Oscar-winning doc of Ali and George Foreman's "Rumble in the Jungle" gained more poignancy by sitting on the shelf for a couple of decades.
The centrepiece song for the film is The Greatest Love of All, performed by George Benson and a massive hit a decade later for Whitney Houston. It's a bit odd watching a 34-year-old Ali play his younger self, but strictly a curio for the devoted fan. Just don't confuse this with the feature film of the same name starring Ali himself three years later.Īli played himself in a whitewashed version of his story (Ernest Borgnine plays his trainer Angelo Dundee). Particularly fascinating is seeing how Ali affected the rising consciousness of the young African-Americans interviewed in the film. This documentary is an interesting, unvarnished look at Ali during his first career and his exile, although the lack of narration may frustrate some viewers less familiar with Ali. If you're looking for more insight on the late boxer, here are some of the most notable: This story has been updated from its original 2007 publication.įor decades, Muhammad Ali's life has been the subject of documentaries, features and books.
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