Product Details

• Actors: Will Smith, Candy Ann Brown, LeVar Burton, David Cubitt, Victoria Dillard
• Format: Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, Dubbed, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
• Language: English
• Subtitles: French, Spanish
• Dubbed: French
• Subtitles for the Hearing Impaired: English
• Region: Region 1 encoding (US and Canada only)
  PLEASE NOTE: Some Region 1 DVDs may contain Regional Coding Enhancement (RCE). Some, but not all, of our international customers have had problems playing these enhanced discs on what are called "region-free" DVD players. For more information on RCE, click .
• Aspect Ratio: 2.40:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: R (Restricted)
• Studio: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
• DVD Release Date: April 30, 2002
• Run Time: 157 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (185 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B00005JKMQ
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #17,823 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
• Learn more about "Ali" on IMDb

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Ali is a rush of charm, violence, and well-crafted mythmaking sure to enthrall. From the unforgettable surge of the opening--a 10-minute montage of sheer brilliance where formative scenes from the early life of Cassius Clay float along on the rapture of a live performance by Sam Cooke in a Harlem nightclub--through to Muhammad Ali's departure for Zaire to fight George Foreman, Michael Mann's homage is mostly crisp and fleet-footed. As Clay/Ali, Will Smith acquits himself marvelously due in large part to his uncanny re-creation of Ali's most famous weapon, his mesmerizing voice. Indeed, the best scenes throughout showcase Ali's verbal rather than pugilistic sparring; whether with his entourage (notably Jamie Foxx), Howard Cosell (Jon Voight), or Don King (Mykelti Williamson), Michael Mann's Ali has the same authoritative wit and ability to surprise that so disarmed the public. The news conferences and behind-the-scenes banter are exquisitely re-created; not so Ali's flaws. Mann's attempt to depict Ali's womanizing, his dubious affiliation with the Nation of Islam, and his insatiable need for the spotlight seems halfhearted and laborious in comparison to the film's enlivened adoration of its subject. As the sluggish second half of the film betrays, Ali is at its impressionistic best when it's in awe rather than when it explains. --Fionn Meade

Product Description

Will Smith, Jamie Foxx. The life of Muhammad Ali from 1965 through 1974 takes new form in Michael Mann's excellent biopic about The Greatest." 2001/color/157 min/R/widescreen.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

33 of 37 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Float like a butterfy, sting like a bee. April 3, 2008

By Gunner VINE™ VOICE

Format:DVD

Ali DVD

Will Smith is eerily like Ali. It's like Cassiuss Clay is playing himself. I remember watching Clay fight in the Olympics and Smith has him down pat. I'd admired Ali for being willing to go to prison for his convictions instead of fleeing to Canada like all the other bed-wetting, Mommas boys who opposed the War in Viet Nam. Jon Voight is good as Howard Cosell, who was a nobody until he weaseled his way into Ali's life. I understand that Smith and Voight both received Academy Award nominations for their roles in this move. I wonder how Smith "bulked up" for this role.

Highly recommended for fans of Will Smith, Jon Voight, boxing the way it use to be, and Cassius Clay, aka Mohammed Ali.

Gunner April, 2008

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars He's a lover AND a fighter! February 18, 2002

By Fafa Demasio

The movie "Ali" portrays the story of one of the world's most recognized boxers, Mohammed Ali (who was born Cassius Clay).

Actor Will Smith gives an excellent performance as boxer Ali. It is hard enough to portray a real character, much less a legendary one. Smith is successful in showing not only the physical side but also the charisma of the boxing personality, Ali, who has strong convictions and a funny wit.

The movie begins with Ali's fight against boxer Sonny Liston, which puts him on the map as a fighter. It ends with Ali's fight with George Foreman in Zaire (now called the Democratic Republic of Congo). This famous fight was billed as the 'Rumble in the Jungle.' In between, the movie covers the fighter's rise to success, his conversion to the Muslim religion, his name change and his fight against the U.S. government to keep from being enlisted in the army. We also see Ali's close friendship to two well-known people - sportscaster Howard Cosell and Malcom X.

The movie "Ali" also touches on the boxer's attraction to women and some of his many love relationships. (Smith's real life's wife, Jada Pinkett Smith, plays the role of Ali's first wife.) Ali is certainly attracted to all pretty women!

All the actors give wonderful performances - Jamie Foxx as Bundini Brown (the man who worked to motivate Ali and help him with his rhymes - "Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee!"), Jon Voight as Howard Cosell, Mario Van Peebles as Malcolm X, Mykelti Williamson as Don King, Giancarlo Esposito as Cassius Clay Sr., Jada Pinkett Smith as Sonji Roi (Ali's first wife) and Nona M. Gaye as Belinda Boyd, to name a few.

The shots especially of some of the African countries (Ghana, Mozambique and South Africa) are vibrant and rich.

Although I'm not much of a boxing fan and sometimes found the boxing scenes a bit prolonged, all in all I found the movie a great story of a great athlete set to a great music soundtrack.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars How could Muhammed Ali ever be tedious? June 20, 2002

By L. Quido VINE™ VOICE

Format:DVD

I never thought it possible, but the unfortunate length (157 minutes) and the pacing of Michael Mann's film bogs down the story of a sports icon who may never be matched in the sheer amount of charisma he possessed. I'm a big fan of Michael Mann's - from the Miami Vice days to Last of the Mohicans to The Insider. His visual and sound vision were clearly present in this film, and his script and the caliber of his stars clearly produced some fine individual moments and some excellent performances. But, in trying to cover too much ground, Mann never clearly establishes a compelling single story line, and doesn't spend enough time revealing the connection (pro and con) between Ali and the American public. Ali always kept you guessing. Was it real, or was it Ali performing for the cameras?

As much as I enjoyed the boxing scenes, they probably did the most to drag the movie out too long....and I would have preferred more Liston and Frazier, and done Foreman only anecdotally. The same with his marriages....more anecdotally, since none of the relationships was really allowed to evolve on film (although it would have been a shame to miss Nona Gay, as wife Belinda; she was superb). Individual performances were striking, with Jon Voight in a career caricature as Howard Cosell, a tremendous performance by Jamie Foxx as Bundini, and brief but memorable cameos by Ron Silver and Giancarlo Esposito. And Will Smith? This was a really fine performance in a role that would have scared many actors. He truly studied his role and exacted everything he was capable of in the film. Was it worth an Academy Award nomination - I think not, but I now believe he's capable of making a real run for it in a future role.
Pound for pound, I preferred "The Hurricane".