Product Details

• Actors: Muhammad Ali, George Foreman, Marv Albert, Ferdie Pacheco
• Format: Black & White, Closed-captioned, Color, NTSC
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: Hbo Home Video
• VHS Release Date: May 26, 1998
• Run Time: 109 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 6304555237
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #155,591 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The master at his greatest, February 26, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Rumble in the Jungle - Ali vs. Foreman 1974 [VHS] (VHS Tape)

Ali himself has said that the "Thrilla in Manila" against Frazier was his best fight, and it may in fact have been the toughest and most action-packed, but for sheer drama none of his fights can top the "Rumble in the Jungle" against Foreman. For anyone who doesn't remember the buildup to that fight in 1974, it would be impossible to imagine how awesome Foreman seemed at the time. He wasn't just beating every opponent, he was knocking them around the ring like rag dolls. His demolition of Frazier to capture the championship was one of the most one-sided fights in boxing history. Going into the fight (as an 8-1 underdog), Ali seemed to have lost a lot of the speed that had made him so unbeatable before his forced 3-year layoff, and many of his fans hoped only that he could get through the Foreman fight without getting seriously injured. A win seemed out of the question. Yet, in many ways, this may have turned out to be Ali's greatest fight, and magnified all the more by the fearsomeness of his opponent. As one of the ringside announcers said before the fight, Ali seemed to be the only one in the arena who wasn't nervous, and his confidence only grew as the fight went on. Whereas the "Thrilla in Manila" was a slugfest, this fight against Foreman shows the many sides of Ali's complete mastery as a boxer --- from the "rope-a-dope," to his sudden flurries of punches that threw Foreman off balance, to the way he chose his spots to suddenly stand his ground and go toe-to-toe with Foreman in the middle of the ring, to the final stunning knockout. If you want to see "The Greatest" in his masterpiece, this is the tape to buy.

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Ali at the height of his career, February 23, 2001

By 

Patrick Raszelenberg (Germany) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Rumble in the Jungle - Ali vs. Foreman 1974 [VHS] (VHS Tape)

Only a year before his sensational comeback, it appeared as if Muhammad Ali were finished for good: Norton had smashed his jaw, a rematch against Frazier was nowhere in sight, and there was a new champion: George Foreman, who had humiliated Frazier by knocking him down six times during the first two rounds.

By early 1974 however, Ali had secured two close decisions against Frazier and Norton two become the number one contender against Foreman who in the meantime had done away with Norton, too - again in two rounds. Flying off to Kinshasa, Ali was the 1:8 underdog, since Foreman had convincingly beaten precisely the two men ever to inflict a defeat on Ali. Considered the hardest puncher in the history of boxing (including Mike Tyson), he thought he was practically given the prize money for nothing ($5 mill. for both fighters, considered astronomical at the time), since Ali was eight years older than him and had never been considered a particularly hard hitter.

Before the bout, Ali rode on a wave of unseen popularity in Zaire while Foreman didn't seem to be able to adjust. When the fight started, he adjusted even less. Ali duped him with right-hand leads in the first round, quick combinations in the second through fourth, a strong and unexpected finish in the fifth and sluggish slumping in the sixth through eighth. At the end of that eighth round, Ali threw himself into a rapid flurry, the last punch of which Foreman didn't see.

Followed by a remarkable post-fight interview with Ali ("All you critics crawl! All you suckers who write the ring magazines ... all you suckers bow!"), the tape transpires the tension and excitement surrounding this memorable bout, from the pre-fight interview with Frazier through his in-between-rounds remarks to the hectic, almost frantic commentary by Bob Sheridan and David Frost who, upon realizing it's all over, yells at the top of his voice, "Muhammad Ali has done it! The great man has done it!"

While it is frequently held that Ali completely outwitted Foreman that day, he actually had no concrete fight plan. Realizing that although he had clocked Foreman a couple of times in the first round, if he went on at this pace he would be tired by the fifth. He thus allowed Foreman to bang away at him from rounds two through five, at the end of which he countered with a number of strong blows himself. In the meantime, Foreman rained "some of the hardest punches I'd ever delivered on a man" on Ali who took a serious going over, especially to the body. On top of that, Ali got hit on the jaw with two excellent right hands during the fight yet managed to conceal his pain, conning Foreman into believing he would take even more.

Foreman contended that he was counted out unjustly, and if you look at the film closely, you will see that he had merely been knocked down, not out - waiting for his corner to tell him to get up. Timing it a bit tightly, he was on his feet at nine. Graciously, he later admitted that on that day, Muhammad Ali would have probably won, anyway - maybe knocking him out later.

In retrospect, both men seem to have gained in stature: Ali by pulling off a miracle, Foreman by overcoming the defeat and following his true calling. In 1994, Foreman recaptured the heavyweight crown, becoming the oldest champion in the division.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars THE GREATEST SPORTING EVENT OF ALL TIME!, January 28, 2000

By 

agron elmazi (United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Rumble in the Jungle - Ali vs. Foreman 1974 [VHS] (VHS Tape)

This is a must own not just for sports fans but for anyone interested in watching one of the greatest events ever. This tape is well over an hour and a half and shows Ali approaching the ring and warming up--you can almost feel the pressure this great man must have felt before the fight--then Foreman enters the ring, the crowd is going wild, Ali is shouting at George the whole time--never have i seen a boxer or any other athlete destroy another man mentally like Ali did to Foreman, the fight is incredible! It is the original version, very clear. And the post fight interview is incredible--it gives you Ali in his prime after the greatest fight he ever fought and Ali in the interview is both moving and proud. Ali is the greatest fighter of all time and one of the greatest men of all time. Buy it!