Customer Reviews

Ali

5 star:		(43)
4 star:		(36)
3 star:		(45)
2 star:		(25)
1 star:		(27)

 

 

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

Having seen Ali twice now, I am no closer to coming to any conclusions on what I think about it. Very few films have forced me to debate my opinions on the art of film and what constitutes great art and what constitutes failed great art. Ali gets so much right and the story is told with more verve than almost any other film this year. And yet for a film that was so clearly a labor of love made by focused, talented people we never get a clear portrait of the subject and we are constantly let down by a script that is often little more than an impressionistic sketch of a potentially great screenplay.

Why is Malcolm X's relationship with Ali given an entire third of the film's running length only for it to be completely forgotten for the next two hours? Did Malcolm X's assassination continue to haunt Ali? Were there any further emotional repercussions and regrets for shunning him just before his death? Did the assassination have any effect on Ali's relationship with the Nation of Islam? As Malcolm X, Mario Van Peebles gives a charismatic performance, completely stepping out of the considerable shadow of Denzel Washington's portrayal. Peebles' Malcolm is a more pensive, haunted figure. He is also the only character in the film to be given his own scenes without Ali being present. This confused me more the second time around. Why did they give so much weight to a storyline that is never brought up again for the rest of the film? It felt like an easy opportunity to grab viewers by presenting another major figure in American history as bait.

Michael Mann has gone on record stating that the ten year span of Ali winning his first world title to regaining the crown from George Foreman seemed to be the most intense and dramatic decade of the great man's life. And while there is never a shortage of historic moments and great conflict, the impact is muted by the lack of depth in the storytelling. We never get inside a single character's head, never quite grasp what we are supposed to take away from what we are shown. The ending, with Ali & co. celebrating the stunning Foreman upset, does not ring true with anything we are presented with over the course of the near 3 hour film. Anyone with a passing knowledge of Ali's life knows that it begans to go steadily downhill for his career and his health after Zaire. At no point are we prepared as an audience to be left on a Rocky Balboa-esque note of corny triumph.

Ali also shines brilliantly on several fronts. Every actor in this film is riveting in their commitment to character and story. It was very smart to cast an ensemble of dependably superb actors such as Jeffrey Wright, Ron Silver and Jon Voight in key supporting roles. Jeffrey Wright brings his usual quicksilver intelligence to the role of the photographer who follows Ali throughout both their careers and who himself is a mirror of the social upheaval of the times. Ron Silver, as Angelo Dundee, is an anchor of paternal warmth. Miles away from the feral mastermind villains he often plays, he makes it clear that his only interest is in the well being of his fighter. Unselfish and unwaivering, he is a calming presence throughout. Jon Voight, as Howard Cosell, is remarkable in his ability to find the balance between the flamboyance of the part and the no-frills realism required to keep it from turning into a sketch comedy piece. Voight is one of the rare few great actors, along with Sir Ralph Richardson and Fredric March, to gain a third career wind as a pricelessly eccentric supporting actor.

As "Wife #1," "Wife #2," and "Wife #3" (at least that is how the film presents them) Nona Gaye fares the best as #2. Sane, practical and protective of her husband, she radiates female strength and makes Ali look foolish for not taking her council.

Jamie Foxx, as cornerman "Bundini" Brown, is a revelation. Having already proven himself a major actor with his turn in Any Given Sunday, he is altogether something else here. Especially in the film's final hour, his mastery of body language is something to behold. Watch the scene where he defends Ali after the bitter Frazier bout. Truly an amazing piece of work. Foxx is fearless in making the character as pitiful as he is hilarious. At his best, which he is in this film, Jamie Foxx turns his line readings into poetry in the same way that Richard Pryor could make his stand-up material soar into literature on a good night.

And then there is Will Smith as The Man himself. There's something about playing a boxer that seems to spark actors to give career-defining performances. John Garfield, Robert Ryan, Robert DeNiro and now Will Smith. Smith improves on many of Ali's riffs by giving them an actor's refined sense of timing and showmanship. This makes up for the lack of legitimate suprise that Ali himself created so effortlessly. Smith also shows a frightening mean streak in the champ's easy dominance over slower, less artful opponents. Nowhere is that more apparent than in the unforgettable opening fight against Sonny Liston, played out in almost real time. Having established his physical and intellectual dominance over his opponent, Smith as Ali is merciless in dissecting them. And while the film fails us by never showing us the inner man, Smith keeps our attention glued to the screen with his presence and talent.

One of the few films to really merit the much-abused tag lines "No middle ground" and "Love it or hate it" Ali proves itself to be a substantial achievement just by the fact that it makes one care greatly in the first place. A film that deserves to endure and be watched by generations to come. Maybe one of them will figure it out for us.

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.

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".

ALI

This film is everyhting you thought it would be and then some. I am 20 years old and did not have the plessure to live through the "Ali years." Although I have seen many sports documentaries and have read several books about the man, no one film or book captures the mythical essence of Ali as this movie does.

It is true that it would have been nice to see the young years when Clay grew up in Louisville, KY (just 30 miles from me,) and competed in the Olympics for the gold medal. (Which he then tossed into the Ohio River.) But, this film is about the man, the myth, and the legend. When the film is viewed like this, it is more understandable.

There are some of the most powerful moments in a "sports" film ever here. Being a serious fan of "Rudy," "Hoosiers," (I love Gene Hackman and I am from Indiana,) and "Rocky", I can say that the moment were Ali gets up out of the chair in the 8th to knock out Foreman after the now classic "rope a dope" form was used to wear him out is simplely uplifting. Is it correct to the actual event? No, I have the HBO DVD special to prove it. But it doesn't matter. Like I said, this film is about Ali, not the history of what Ali did.

Some things that make this movie special: They really hit each other. No "Rocky" high uppercuts that don't even graze Mr. T or Apollo Creed. Jamie Foxx is a brillant actor and extremely funny. "I'm just a black jew who can't read or write and that's half drunk." The fact that Will Smith and his wife make a love scene covencing because they really and truely are IN LOVE!... Howard is played brillantly in this movie. You can't tell that it's an actor!... "And Foreman goes DOWN HARD to the mat!..." That call makes my spine tingle.

The most powerful moment of all is when Malcom X is shot and killed. When I saw it in the theature, everyone was silent and teary-eyed. That may be the best thing about this movie and ultimately, Ali. Black, white, yellow, red, purple, you can fill things in this movie for the times they lived in, for the things they went through, and for Ali the man, the myth, the legend, himself.

If you never see another movie about sports in your life, see this. Will Smith is stunning. He IS ALI for due purposes. The acting is great and the film as a whole is stunning. Just brillant.........

The movie focuses on the time between when a young Cassius Clay first wins the Heavyweight Championship of the World from Sonny Liston and when a 32 year old Muhammad Ali regains the Championship from George Foreman at the Rumble in the Jungle. The movie focuses less on Ali in the ring and
more on his life outside. You see the multiple marriages, his conversion to Islam, his fractured relationship with Malcolm X, and most importantly his battle with the United States Courts when Ali refused to serve in Viet Nam.
Michael Mann directs this in his usual visual intense style. If you have ever seen a production by Mann (Miami Vice, The Last of the Mohicanns, and The Insider to name a small few) you know that he deals with a variety of colors to focus the movie and the scenery tells the story almost as much
as the script.
The acting is superb by almost everyone involved in the movie but a few people really stand out. Will Smith proves that Robert De Niro is not the only one who will gain weight by packing about 20 to 30 pounds of muscle on his frame and then completely immerses himself in the cadence and style
of Ali's speech. Few actors today would seem to have the capability to spout off some of Ali's tirades as Will does. Jamie Foxx does an incredible job as Bundini Brown. His breakdown on drugs and the fight back to sobriety shows that this former In Living Color co-star can handle a great deal more
than we originally thought. The surprise of the movie was Jon Voight. People have portrayed Howard Cosell before but Voight actually becomes him. He sounded like Cosell and the make-up job was so detailed that I had to look a couple of times before I was able to actually recognize Voight. The relationship between Ali and Cosell is played up on many levels showing how
each actually helped catapult the other into the levels of stardom that they reached.
The movie is very, very well done. The script was tight and didn't stray into too many areas that would have dragged the movie down. The direction was on top and the dialogue was rapid fire and concise.

ALI is the tribute to the now almost-recluse Muhammad, starring Will Smith in his undeniably best screen performance ever. The film spans the period from 1964, when Ali took the heavyweight boxing crown from Sonny Liston, to 1974 when he won it back from George Foreman. In between, Muhammad engineers a name change (from Cassius Clay), runs through a couple of wives, contests a draft evasion conviction with the U.S. Justice Department all the way to the Supreme Court, becomes pals with Howard Cosell, has an on and off relationship with Elijah Muhammad and the Nation of Islam, and loudly proclaims himself as The Greatest to whomever will listen. All of these events are part of the public record.

Ali is arguably the greatest heavyweight boxer the United States has produced. He was loud and obnoxious, but he did (and still does) have class. Unfortunately, his great career, and the Champ himself, are shortchanged by ALI. Rather than being a seamless visual and dramatic narrative, the film is a series of snapshots disjointedly strung together with too much emphasis on some people and events, and not enough on others. This film is badly in need of some serious editing. As examples, Malcolm X and much of the Zaire pre-Rumble sojourn should have been left on the cutting room floor (or, in this age of digital editing, in the computer's Recycle Bin). Moreover, the screenwriters didn't take the time to sufficiently introduce the audience to some of the characters, and at several points I mentally asked, "Who are those people?" And, in a bigger lapse, those same screenwriters don't allow us a perception of Ali the man that goes much deeper than his surface bombast and popular charisma. I'm left knowing (and caring) more about the fictional character of Stallone's Rocky Balboa than the real-life Ali. (Honey, you haven't given my ROCKY I, II, III, and IV tapes to Goodwill, have you? I want to see them all again.)

Despite its major flaws, the film does incorporate two acting performances of note. First of all, there's Smith's. While it may not be good enough to merit this year's Academy Award for Best Male Actor, Will should justifiably be nominated at least, and this performance is his best to date. Also, Jon Voight's Howard Cosell perfectly captures the man that those of us of a certain age remember and love (or hate). In a single year, Voight has played both Cosell and FDR (in PEARL HARBOR). For an actor, I suppose the roles don't get much better than those.

When Ali was released in 2001 it received decidedly mixed reviews. While Will Smith was praised for his impressive physical transformation into legendary boxer Muhammed Ali, the film itself was criticized for revealing nothing new about the man. Herein lies the problem that Michael Mann and company faced: how do you shed new light on one of the most documented historical figures of the 20th Century? Like he did with The Last of the Mohicans, Mann has revisited Ali again on DVD with a new cut of the film. He's taken out approximately 20 minutes of footage and put 30 minutes of previously unseen footage back in. The effect? Hard to tell unless you've seen the film many times but Mann claims that the politics of the times are more the focus this time around.

There is an audio commentary by writer/director Michael Mann. He does an excellent job of putting the film into its historical context. The director clearly did his homework and points out who everyone is and the significance of the events depicted in the movie which is a nice consideration for viewers not familiar with this particular period of time. This is an extremely informative track and Mann contributes many very thoughtful observations over the course of the movie.

"The Making of Ali" is a 29-minute featurette that originally aired on HBO. It is slightly better than your average electronic press kit and features some decent on the set footage and interview sound bites with Mann and various members of the cast.

Ali eschews the traditional docudrama for a more impressionistic take on the man and life. Mann's film may not say anything new about the famous boxer, but it does depict an exciting ten years of his life in a masterful and richly evocative fashion. This DVD features an excellent transfer of the movie with an aggressive 5.1 surround soundtrack and is definitely worth purchasing for Mann fans for his audio commentary alone.

I saw Ali at the theatre and went even ahead and bought the DVD. The reason is simple, this movie is GREAT. I am 25 years old and so was not borne when Ali was at his prime, but everyone who was told me that Ali was the greatest. When I saw this movie I knew why. Ali is much more than an outstanding boxer; he is a hero and an inspiration to the oppressed, the poor, and the mistreated. Ali's life personifies integrity, and the price one has to pay for the courage and privilege of living with integrity. This movie really focuses on the crux of what makes Ali a phenomenon.
The soundtrack is breathtaking and Will Smith is darn lucky to play in this movie; his best role ever.
There is a problem with the DVD though. Under "Scene Selection", Ali's fight against Frazier is termed "Ali vs. Frazier II". That's incorrect because the one shown is actually "Ali vs. Frazier I".
Another problem with the DVD is that it doesn't show how the movie was made.

Some films are made great by their by action, others by being a great story, others by the soundtrack or special effects. This movie like a few others was made by one characterization. Will Smith IS Muhammad Ali, primarily because he has worked to make Ali's voice and inflections his own. It is an incredibly convincing performance, and to the reviewer who said that Smith could not capture Ali, I ask whom he would suggest instead? It is hard for me to disagree more with another Amazon[.com] colleague, and I would instead concur with another reviewer who noted this film shows the ability to have a single Oscar-caliber performance in a film which even the biggest fans acknowledge is not likely to be the best film of the year.

I guess the real challenge accepted and dealt with admirably by Director Michael Mann comes with making a film about not just someone we all know, but THE most recognized person in the world.. How can this story be told in just two hours? As some of the detractors have made clear, this is a tough task. But Mann did a great job, in my opinion.

Where to start this story; and where to end it? No mention of the young boy's going to learn to box after some neighborhood kids humiliate him by stealing his bicycle. No mention (rather surprisingly) of his Olympic gold medal and the even more significant return to the States where he threw his medal into a river in protest of racial mistreatment. And even once we get that issue resolved, where to end this saga? How about Summer, 1996 in Atlanta, with the Champ holding the Olympic torch (or even better, at a preliminary boxing match in those same Olympics when an incredibly bitter Joe Frazier was, when introduced, met by cheers of "Ali, Ali!"). This is by no means a criticism, because this one incredible life is far too large to capture in one movie.

Those who lament the lack of great boxing misunderstand what the film and Ali were all about. He transcended his sport in a manner that no athlete has in the past fifty years (and perhaps ever). America in the 1960's, racism, and the draft were far larger issues and more formidable competitors for him than Liston, Frazier, Foreman could have been if he had to fight all three one after the other! If all he had done was fight and defeat them, he would have been just one more name in the record books. This leads to my only real substantive lament: While the "Rumble in the Jungle" was a singular and a true epic event, I think the three Frazier bouts were the greatest one-on-one competitions in the history of sport, and were among the defining moments of their respective careers. For this reason, I would have like to have seen more time devoted to that relationship.

Great supporting actors. Before seeing this, I could not imagine Jon Voight as Howard Cosell (just like Will Smith, Voight also made this role his own merely with the use of tonal inflection). Ditto the efforts of Jamie Foxx as Drew Bundini Brown. Mario Van Peebles would have been memorable as Malcolm X, but for the fact that we ALL know that he could never again be portrayed after the efforts of Denzel Washington.

Just like the Man himself, some people liked him, and some people hated him. Not surprisingly, the reviews turned our correspondingly. It is, as noted a better than respectful telling of the life of a great figure in the history of America. For my money it was worthwhile, and I enjoyed it more the second and third time.