Ali (2001)

Director:

Michael Mann

Writers (WGA):

Gregory Allen Howard (story)
Stephen J. Rivele (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

25 December 2001 (USA)

Genre:

Biography | Drama | Sport

Tagline:

Forget What You Think You Know

Plot:

A biography of sports legend, Muhammad Ali, from his early days to his days in the ring.

Plot Keywords:

Boxer | Muhammad Ali | Friendship | Victory | Malcolm X

Awards:

Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 7 wins & 22 nominations

US TV Schedule:

Tue. Dec. 29

10:00 AM

MAX

Cast

Will Smith	...	Cassius Clay / Cassius X / Muhammad Ali
Jamie Foxx	...	Drew 'Bundini' Brown
Jon Voight	...	Howard Cosell
Mario Van Peebles	...	Malcolm X
Ron Silver	...	Angelo Dundee
Jeffrey Wright	...	Howard Bingham
Mykelti Williamson	...	Don King
Jada Pinkett Smith	...	Sonji Roi
Nona Gaye	...	Belinda Ali
Michael Michele	...	Veronica Porche
Joe Morton	...	Chauncey Eskridge
Paul Rodriguez	...	Dr. Ferdie Pacheco
Bruce McGill	...	Bradley
Barry Shabaka Henley	...	Jabir Herbert Muhammad
Giancarlo Esposito	...	Cassius Marcellus Clay, Sr.

MPAA:

Rated R for some language and brief violence. (also director's cut)

Runtime:

157 min | USA:165 min (director's cut)

Country:

USA

Language:

English | French

Colour:

Colour

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Finland:K-11 | Malaysia:18SG (uncut version) | Malaysia:U (re-rating) | Canada:14 (Nova Scotia) | Canada:14A (Alberta/British Columbia) | Canada:14A (Manitoba) (director's cut) | Canada:AA (Ontario) | Canada:G (Quebec) | Canada:PA (Manitoba) (original rating) | Brazil:12 | Singapore:PG (cut) | Singapore:NC-16 | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | France:U | Germany:12 | Netherlands:12 | Norway:15 | Peru:14 | Philippines:PG-13 | South Korea:15 | Spain:13 | UK:15 | USA:R (certificate #37745) | Iceland:12

Filming Locations:

Accra, Ghana

Company:

Columbia Pictures Corporation

Trivia:

Finnish censorship visa # 107391.

Goofs:

Anachronisms: There's a scene where Ali is standing on a city street with a Sears department store in the background. The logo is current as opposed to that used in the '60s and '70s.

Quotes:

Sonji: Are you a virgin?
Muhammad Ali: What do you mean "Am I a virgin"?

Movie Connections:

References Garô densetsu: shukumei no tatakai (1991) (VG)

Soundtrack:

Agbekor

Meet the man behind the gloves and the poetry

Muhammad Ali is a heroic character with legendary wit, humanity, and boxing skill. Always a fighter and always a lover, Ali's life is a subtle and clever story of dignity, strength, and compassion. And Ali himself wrote that story. This film profoundly reminds me of an autobiography Ali wrote several years ago with the help of a friend. Never afraid to do what needed to be done to get where he wanted to go, Ali was never a stranger to controversy, flambuoyance, acid wit, and an outspoken promotion of truth - even when most of his own fans couldn't see it. This film captures the champ's many battles, not the least of which are the internal battles he wages with himself over politics, his ego, money and his own destructive patterns in relationships with women. But thankfully, it does so in a respectful way which does not compromise the man's heroism, nor does it spare the audience of the laughter, mischief and joy Ali became so well known for.

Michael Mann's film has relatively little boxing in it, and is in no way a chronicle of Ali's career. A better choice for that subject is "The Greatest" - http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0076111/combined starring Ali himself, or one of the many documentaries on Ali. This film is about how and why Ali is who he is, and how he drove himself and everybody around him to reach phenomenal heights. It features the beginnings of Ali's career and follows him through the most difficult part of his career, when he fought the US government over the Viet Nam war, fought his own religious establishment over his outspokenness, and even fought against hypocritical promoters he relied on who were bent on exploiting the third world. Too intelligent to just be a prize fighter, too passionate to just shut up, and too faithful to give up his religion when it gave up on him, Ali just kept on driving. The film ends after Ali's fight against George Foreman in 1977, so it does not cover his entire career, and does not discuss his more recent activities. His life since retiring from boxing is equally interesting, in my opinion, but since Mann wanted to depict the most dramatic and challenging aspects of the Ali legend, I can't blame him for his choice of time frame.

The cast is very strong. Will Smith gives a fine performance wonderfully recasting Ali's wonderful facial expressions, gestures, physical style and speech pattern, Jamie Foxx, Ron Silver and Mario Van Peebles are all excellent in their supporting roles. And the boxers are all very believable. They even look like the people they play. Smith doesn't really look anything like Ali, and you are occasionally aware (mainly through Smith's imitation of the greatest's very unique speech) that you are watching an imitation, but this does not in any way detract from the film.

Highly recommended for those interested in real-life drama and heroism, the civil rights movement in the 1960s and 1970s, and the intelligent and political side of American sports. NOT recommended for fans of boxing movies and action films. This is a slow moving, intense drama and neither a feel-good film nor a slug-fest.