Product Details

• Actors: Muhammad Ali, George Foreman, Joe Frazier
• Format: Black & White, Closed-captioned, Color, DVD, NTSC
• Language: English
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Studio: Hbo Home Video
• DVD Release Date: October 30, 2001
• Run Time: 248 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (21 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B00005RY9R
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #17,911 in Movies & TV (See Bestsellers in Movies & TV)

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  #4 in	Movies & TV > Sports > Boxing
  #24 in	Movies & TV > Documentary > Series & Studios > HBO Documentary

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Before Muhammad Ali, plenty of African American heavyweights boxed, but few did for the game (or for blacks) what Ali did. Ali was bold, outrageous, and controversial. His antics outside of the ring showed an often-hilarious flair for self-promotion, and his conversion to Islam and decision to avoid the Vietnam War only fueled the storm of controversy that surrounded him. The thing about Ali, though, was that he was good enough to get by with it; after all, it's hard to argue with success. In the ring, he showed a sheer prowess and technique that few before or since could approach (the bonus CD-ROM discusses the similarities and contrasts between Ali and the great Joe Louis). Outside the ring, Ali had a sharp mind, good looks, and the strength of his own convictions going for him. This DVD contains footage of Ali's 1964 fight in which he slaughtered Sonny Liston, the 1974 bout where his technique got the better of George Foreman and his fearsome punching power, and the brutal 1975 fight against Joe Frazier (all fights are shown in their entirety). There have been few heavyweight boxers who can compare favorably to Muhammad Ali, and this DVD should be in the collection of all those who consider themselves fans of the sport. --Jerry Renshaw

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

60 of 62 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This is the DVD to buy, July 5, 2004

By	Clark Magnuson (WA United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

"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

39 of 39 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars "I must be the greatest!", March 25, 2002

By	Jason A. Miller (New York, New York USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

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.

17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars THE THREE CORNERSTONE FIGHTS OF MUHAMMAD ALI ON ONE DVD!!!!!, October 12, 2001

By	Mo Lindsey (Newark, New Jersey United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Muhammad Ali - The Greatest Collection (DVD)

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.