Customer Reviews

Muhammad Ali - The Greatest Collection

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"Muhammad Ali, the greatest collection"

THIS IS THE DVD TO BUY

This has lots of boxing.
The whole fight with original microphone.
a) 1964 Clay vs Liston [THE WHOLE FIGHT]
b) 1974 Ali vs Foreman "Rumble in the Jungle" [THE WHOLE FIGHT]
c) 1975 Ali vs Frazier "Thilla in Manila" [THE WHOLE FIGHT]

Just highlights of some fights: [JUST THE HIGHLIGHTS]
a) 1960 Olympics Z. Pietrzykowski of Poland
b) 1960 Turnney Hunsinger
c) 1962 Archie Moore
d) 1964 Sonny Liston
e) 1965 Sonny Liston rematch
f) 1966 Cleveland Williams
g) 1967 Zorra Folley
h) trouble with the draft board
i) 1970 Occar Bonavena
j) 1971 Joe Frazier
k) 1973 Ken Norton
l) 1973 Ken Norton rematch
m) 1974 Joe Frazier rematch
n) 1974 George Foreman [Rumble in the Jungle]
o) 1975 Joe Frazier [Thrilla in Manilla]
p) 1978 Leon Spinks
q) 1978 Leon Spinks rematch
r) 1980 Larry Holmes

This is the genuine Muhammad Ali. I was hesitant to purchase this DVD at first, because with its flimsy cardboard box it seemed a quickie release. What tipped the balance for me was the HBO logo on the box -- produced to their boxing division's highest quality, this is a real winner.

The 1964 Liston-Clay fight in Miami has already become legend, even though the fight itself lasts just six rounds. Here on disc, with every second preserved, is Clay's taunting the champ, then momentarily losing his vision (did Liston rub liniment on his gloves?). Shockingly, Liston quits on his stool before Round 7, and Clay shouting into the camera, "I'm a bad man! I shook up the world! I shook up the world!". No actor sincehas been able to recreate the rawness of this moment. Presented on DVD is the closed-circuit theater version of the fight, called by Steve Ellis, with color commentary by Joe Louis in between rounds. This is, of course, not Louis's finest hour.

Next is Foreman-Ali in Zaire in October, 1974. Notable here are the color commentators: Ali friend and former football star Jim Brown, and longtime Ali rival (and, they say, bitter enemy) Joe Frazier, along with the obnoxious David Frost. The fight itself is also the stuff of legend (and an Oscar-winning documentary). Ali invents the "rope-a-dope" seemingly on the fly, and wins the fight without ever seeming hurt by massive George Foreman's punches. The fact that 20 years later, Foreman would be champ and Ali would be seriously impaired, adds only a bittersweet irony to the finale.

The final fight is Ali-Frazier III in Manila, the Thrilla in its entirety. Along for the commentary ride are entertainers Hugh "Wyatt Earp" O'Brian, and Flip Wilson -- whose presence at ringside is revealed only by his repeated assertion that "Frazier is starting to smoke now!". Most interesting, former Ali rival Ken Norton delivers an excellent blow-by-blow analysis for lead man Don Dunphy.

If you know Ali, you've seen these fights already, but the DVD presents a unique digital opportunity to examine them again, punch by punch, word by word, from ringside ceremonies to Ali's impromptu post-bout conferences (the world has missed his repeated use of the word "Moose-lim"). I could question the decision to remove most of the original TV graphics and impose a running clock over every second of every round of every fight, but these digital additions help more than they harm.

The menus are simple and easy to navigate. The key extras here are the fighter biographies (of Ali, Foreman, Frazier, Liston, and also Archie Moore and Larry Holmes), and subtitles. This latter addition makes it easier to make out what the analysts are shouting over the action, particularly Louis and Dunphy.

The final feature is a 1981 documentary, produced by HBO in the days before they were famous for that sort of thing. It's a walk through Louisville, Kentucky, illustrated by some footage, but mostly still photos of, Ali's matches from pro debut to brutal beating at the hands of Larry Holmes. The hour seems more a space-filler on an already packed DVD, and predates both Ali's final defeat at the hands of Trevor Berbick, and ascendancy to global icon status in the '90s. However, you'll enjoy the dated '81 graphics and soundtrack.

If you are a collector of boxing matches then this DVD is a must have for all collectors and fans of boxing and Muhammad Ali. You get Clay vs. Liston I , Ali vs. Foreman , and , what is considered one of the best and most grueling boxing matches ever , Ali vs. Frazier III ; The Thrilla in Manilla. You also get the one hour tribute to Ali called "Boxings Best:Muhammad Ali". Some other VHS copies of these fights only give you the rounds fought with limited pre and post fight footage. Here in this DVD you see all fights in their entirety from the pre-fight footage to ring walks to between round footage to post fight footage. Jim Lampley is your host but you only see him before and after all three of the classic programs , which is great , and its all courtesy of HBO Sports. It , also , comes with a CD-Rom called "The Ali Influence".

Each round is split up as chapters which allows you to go straight to a favorite round. You will get the inconsistencies and flaws unique to the original sources of footage , otherwise , you get top digital performance from this DVD. These are pretty clear copies of the fights. Now that these fights are on DVD a fan can now analize these fights further by freeze framing and slow motioning the fights to see fighting techniques , punches landed , etc.

In Clay-Liston 1 you see at the end of the fight that Howard Cosell was the first announcer to get to Clay but the mother of all post fight interviews was saved for announcers Steve Ellis and Joe Louis when Clay shouts "I Shook Up The Word!" almost shouting Ellis through the ropes. Its so funny to see Ellis struggling to maintain decorum while bedlam broke out and Clay was shouting his famous words. You see the whole post fight segment up to Clay leaving the ring. Post fight interviews would never be the same after that. It was historical and funny.

In Ali-Foreman you see the ring walk of Ali and the ring "run" of Foreman. Before buying this DVD I never knew when after Ali entered the ring that Foreman made him wait about 7 minutes in the ring. You see all 7 minutes here and the entire pre fight ceremony. After the fight you see the celebration not only in the ring but also in the dressing room. You see Ali pointing straight into the camera and shouting down the critics who picked him to lose. Remember that Ali's title was taken away from him for not fighting in Vietnam because of his religious beliefs. So after about a 3 year exile from boxing , his return to boxing , his struggle to regain the championship after losing to Frazier and Ken Norton(Norton breaking his jaw) , critics saying that he's old , washed up , and a joke , then beating Frazier and Norton in 2 long fights , and to finally win back the title he was stripped of in his prime 7 long years earlier , against a man who many people thought was going to destroy Ali was a monumental achievement for Ali. It was the epitome of perseverance. In this post fight interview you see all of the fustration and anger from those 7 years and happiness from finally getting his title back come out because he proved to the world that he was the true king of the heavyweights. It is footage that is rarely shown completely and the interview is shown right up to Ali chanting "Louisville is the greatest!".

So if you have a DVD player and you are a Muhammad Ali fan then you must get this DVD. Clay-Liston I , The Rumble in the Jungle , The Thrilla in Manilla , a tribute to Ali , all on one DVD and an Ali CD-Rom. It doesn't get much better than this.

This is a must have for boxing fans, really.

All three fights are supurb quality even for there shown dates, and unlike the Ali fight videos you normally buy, which might show you a recording of the fight as it was on TV. It shows almost every single bit of camera that was filmed at the time, joined together in order.

It even showed the complete Ali-Liston fight which I already have a video off, and it has MUCH more footage.

The extra DVD is also great taking you step by step through almost every single of Ali's professional fights.

The commontry and sound in general is also awsome!

Supurb-

If you love Boxing like me you are a real fool not to buy this, really.

There's no video or DVD that've covered these three fights better than "The Greatest Collection". Only minus for die-hard boxing fans is that you don't get the post fight interview in his dresssing room in "The Thrilla in Manila". The DVD "Ali The Whole Story" does. Otherwise an excellent DVD.

After watching this DVD I was reminded just how fantastic Ali really was. To see his pranks & showboating inside & outside the ring was amazing, especially when you consider what was at stake every time he stepped in the ring. His personality and currage is an inspiration to us all. The footage of the fights is very in depth, with all the build up and after fight interviews etc. Also the Documentery is well put together, a great tribute. If you have only the slightest interest in boxing this is still a must buy, and for the fans it's a gem. Boxing in a different class!

This has three fights; Liston I, Foreman and Frazier III along with a documentary. The fights are all complete(very rare these days) and the documentary is great. If you love/hate or indifferent on Ali - get this DVD, it will change your mind!

Muhammad Ali is arguably the greatest athlete of the century, but he is undoubtably the most charismatic. This dvd is entertaining, funny, exciting, and it captures the essence of a great athlete, and a great man. It's honestly very easy to watch this dvd for hours without getting bored.

This is a great bargain! You get three of Muhammad Ali's most justly celebrated fights (Ali-Liston I, Ali-Foreman, and Ali-Frazier III), plus one hour long documentary of Ali on one DVD.

You see Cassius Clay/Ali's huge heart in surviving Liston's furious fifth round assault, then coming back to whitewash Sonny in round six. You also see Ali's resiliency and toughness in outlasting and outfighting the heavily favored George Foreman.

Finally, you see Ali against Joe Frazier in the Thrilla in Manila with Don Dunphy and Ken Norton calling the fight.

The Ali documentary was filmed in the early 1980's, so you don't get the revisionist history and reflection associated with the longer lapse of time.

This Ali DVD must be the greatest. Highly recommended.

Considering you're getting three full fights, PLUS a one hour biography, PLUS a reference CD-ROM, this is a great value. Perfect for all boxing fans, casual or serious. The "Rumble in the Jungle" fight happens to be my fave.