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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Not as bad as you might think....., May 30, 2000
By A Customer
Muhammed Ali, acting, and 1977 might all have added up to a recipe for disaster, but the overall result is rather entertaining. I saw this movie on the late show and ended up watching the whole thing. Movie traces Alis career from his Olympic victory to the George Foreman fight in Zaire. Unlike some of the media reviews above, I thought Ali made a fine actor, mostly because he was playing his larger-than-life self. Some scenes had the feel of a documentery, as Ali's quips fly a mile a minute. Ali deserves credit for portraying some of his flaws as well. Not suprisingly, the boxing scenes consist of actual footage. A not-too-shabby supporting cast includes Robert Duvall, James Earle Johnes and Ernest Borgnine. Paul Winfield and John Amos also have brief roles. Overall, it's a good capsule of Ali's razor-sharp wit and charisma that unfortunately has been silenced by Parkinsons disease.....
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
the REEL Ali, July 27, 2006
After listening to the audio book Sound & Fury from Blackstone Audio, this bio pix of Ali is a wonderful self promotion.
This 1977 movie had a great cast of actors. Such names as James Earl Jones as Malcolm X, Lloyd Haynes as Herbert Mohamad, Ernest Borgnine as Dundee, John Marley as Ferdy, Roger Mosby as Sonny Liston in minor roles. There are also cameos from Robert Duval, Paul Winfield, Ben Johnson, and David Huddleston. All this creative talent playing against Ali. Ali isnt acting, he is being himself...but himself works.
They skip over his religious beliefs in this film to focus on his career.
Lets be honest, the film isnt a great film..its music is wonderful. The film is minor in scope and its major starred cast.
This movie is for real boxing fans who love films like Rocky, The champ and Digsstown, this is great to add to the DVD film library
Bennet Pomerantz, AUDIOWORLD
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Perfect for the hard-core Ali fan, July 12, 2002
To sum it up, "The Greatest" is not a very well made movie. There are a few very taltented actors in it, but overall the movie lacks that certain special somthing that a movie needs to be good. Most of the scenes are dull, long and drawn out. And i don't believe that Muhammad Ali was the perfect choice to play Muhammad Ali, he really is not a good actor. But I did enjoy the movie, because I am a huge Muhammad Ali Fan. Many that ive heard have tried to compare this movie and the recently released "Ali" on DVD. But you can't really compare the two movies. "The Greatest", even though it's not a very good movie, its does portray what happened in Muhammad Ali's life very well. But the movie "Ali" does not portray his life, It just portray's Muhammad Ali himself, not his life. So I would say that this movie is a must for those who want to know more about Ali. Then after wards, rent or buy "Ali" to understand Ali's mind. when you do that, you'll have a great understanding of what kind of person, what kind of things he had to go through, and a much higher respect for "The Greatest."
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