Facing Ali – DVD Review

Film:

Muhammad Ali (Born Cassius Clay) is one of the few athletes that have achieved a worldwide legendary status. To this day, he is still revered as one of the most dominating boxers of his time and most dynamic outside the ring with his confident personality. His story has been told over many times from almost all possible directions except for the area chosen in this movie/documentary. Possibly the most abstract and productive way to tell Ali’s story, the very people that helped Ali become famous by fighting him in the ring are the focus for the stories and information. Ten legendary warriors from the boxing ring give their first-hand commentary on the experiences outside the ropes and the bouts between themselves and Ali.

Contributing Fighters: George Chuvalo: (73-18-2) four time Canadian Heavyweight Champion and Canadian Amateur Heavyweight Champion; Sir Henry Cooper: (40-14-1) four time British Heavyweight Champion, Commonwealth Heavyweight Champion, and European Heavyweight Champion; George Foreman: (76-5) two time World Boxing Heavyweight Champion, National AAU Heavyweight Champion, and Gold Medalist in the 1968 Olympics; Joe Frazier (32-4-1) World Heavyweight Champion and Gold Medalist in the 1964 Olympics; Larry Holmes (69-6) World Boxing Heavyweight Champion; Ron Lyle: (43-7-1) AAU Heavyweight Champion; Ken Norton: (42-7-1) World Boxing Council Heavyweight Champion; Ernie Shavers: (74-14-1) AAU Heavyweight Champion; Leon Spinks (26-17-3) World Heavyweight Champion, National AAU Heavyweight Champion and Gold Medalist in 1976 Olympics; Ernie Terrell: (46-9) World Boxing Association Heavyweight Champion.

When doing a documentary on such a historic and legendary figure, accurate information and insight are essential to making a successful one. There is no better way to reach this goal than to consult the very people that interacted with Ali inside and outside the ring, but also the ones that traded sweat and blood for years. The insight that was given by these legendary boxers provided as something very priceless. The in depth descriptions of the actual in fight footage was very entertaining. They also gave brief bios on themselves and their upbringing. The footage was also enhanced by the commentary of the opponents. Of course in some moments, competitive nature took over the commentary, but the entire documentary was a success for the most part, despite the lack of any new information about Ali.

Special Features:

Bio cards on each of the contributing boxers, behind the scenes look at the making of the documentary, an in depth look at the transformation of the DVD from the book, and a sneak peek at the latest material set to come out soon.

Conclusion:

No new information given, but it is one of the better told stories I’ve seen about Ali.

Rating: