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Ali (11-Dec-2001)
Director: Michael Mann Writers: Gregory Allen Howard; Stephen J. Rivele; Christopher Wilkinson; Eric Roth; Michael Mann Producers: Jon Peters; James Lassiter; Paul Ardaji; Michael Mann; A. Kitman Ho Keywords: Drama, Biography, Boxing
CAST | Will Smith | ... Cassius Clay -- Muhammad Ali | | | Jamie Foxx | ... Drew "Bundini" Brown | | Jon Voight | ... Howard Cosell | | Mario Van Peebles | ... Malcolm X | | Ron Silver | ... Angelo Dundee | | Jeffrey Wright | ... Howard Bingham | | Mykelti Williamson | ... Don King | | Jada Pinkett Smith | ... Sonji | | Nona Gaye | ... Belinda | | Michael Michele | ... Veronica | | Joe Morton | ... Chauncey Eskridge | | | Paul Rodriguez | ... Dr. Ferdie Pacheco | | Bruce McGill | ... Bradley | | Barry Shabaka Henley | ... Herbert Muhammad | | Giancarlo Esposito | ... Cassius Clay, Sr. | | Laurence Mason | ... Luis Sarria | | LeVar Burton | ... Martin Luther King, Jr. | | Albert Hall | ... Elijah Muhammad | | David Cubitt | ... Robert Lipsyte | | | Ted Levine | ... Joe Smiley | | Candy Brown Houston | ... Odessa | | David Elliott | ... Sam Cooke | | Shari Watson | ... Woman Singer | | Malick Bowens | ... Joseph Mobutu | | Michael Bentt | ... Sonny Liston | | James N. Toney | ... Joe Frazier | | Alfred Cole | ... Ernie Terrell | | Charles Shufford | ... George Foreman | | Rufus Dorsey | ... Floyd Paterson | | Robert Sale | ... Jerry Quarry | | Vincent Cook | ... Jimmy Ellis | | Damien "Bolo" Wills | ... Ken Norton | | David Haines | ... Rudy Clay -- Rahaman Ali | | Victoria Dillard | ... Betty Shabazz | | Brad Greenquist | ... Marlin Thomas | | Morgana Van Peebles | ... Malcolm X's Daughter | | Maya Van Peebles | ... Malcolm X's Daughter | | Maestro Harrell | ... Young Cassius Clay | | William Utay | ... The Doctor | | Kim Robillard | ... Jimmy Cannon | | David Purdham | ... Madison Square Garden Announcer | | Gailard Sartain | ... Gordon Davidson | | Wade Andrew Williams | ... Lt. Jerome Claridge | | Guy Van Swearingen | ... Induction FBI Man | | Doug Hale | ... Judge Ingraham | | LaDonna Tittle | ... Bundini's Landlady | | Marc Grapey | ... Bob Arum | | Herb Mitchell | ... Boxing Commissioner | | Eddie Bo Smith, Jr. | ... Malcolm's Bodyguard | | Bob Stuart | ... Thomas 15X Johnson | | Patrick New | ... Room Service Guy | | Ron OJ Parson | ... Death Newsman | | Ellis E. Williams | ... Family Photo Man | | Bokyun Chun | ... Asian Cosmetologist | | John G. Connolly | ... Assistant Director | | Warner Saunders | ... Customer | | Jack Reiss | ... Referee Arthur Mercante | | Marty Denkin | ... Frazier Fight II Announcer | | Tamara Lynch | ... Flight Attendant | | Theron Benymon | ... Hampton House Announcer | | Bill Plaschke | ... Miami Weigh-In Reporter | | Steve Springer | ... Miami Weigh-In Reporter | | Patrick M. Connolly | ... Announcer | | Patrick C. Russell | ... Referee | | Robert Byrd | ... Willie Reddick | | Cedric Wills | ... Jersey Joe Walcott, Referee | | Ronald A. DiNicola | ... Prosecutor | | Moses Hollins | ... Man on Train | | Daniel E. Gurevitz | ... Boxing Commission Reporter | | Steven Randazzo | ... Reporter | | Ray Bokhour | ... Reporter | | Leonard Termo | ... Madison Square Garden Reporter | | Johnny Ortiz | ... Madison Square Garden Reporter | | Mark Salem | ... New York Reporter | | Sheldon Fogel | ... New York Reporter | | Jim Gray | ... New York Reporter | | Melvin Thomas | ... Harlem Neighbor | | Natalie Carter | ... Harlem Neighbor | | Reginald Barshem Footman | ... Harlem Neighbor | | Poe Poe | ... Harlem Reporter | | Mel Dick | ... Louisville Sponsoring Group | | Kim Taylor Coleman | ... Lana Shabazz | | Christian Stolte | ... Miami Cop | | Victor Manni | ... Dressing Room Weigh-In Guy | | Will Gill, Jr. | ... Dick Sadler | | Sylvaine Strike | ... ORTF Interviewer | | Dr. Denis Luposo | ... Kinshasa Reporter | | Sharon Wilkinson | ... Rose Jennings | | Carol Hatchett | ... Pointer Sister | | Judith Mwale | ... Pointer Sister | | Keabetswe Motsilanyane | ... Pointer Sister | | Richard Katanga | ... Mobutu Aide / Military Aide | | Thomas Kariuki Matheri | ... Lt. Nsakala | | Larry Hazzard, Sr. | ... Zack Clayton | | Derrick Brown | ... Larry Holmes | | Rommel Hyacinth | ... The Pilot | | Graham Hopkins | ... London Banker | | Daniel Janks | ... CIA Man | | Bradford E. Lang | ... Black Pilot | | Michael Dorn | ... Black Pilot | | Daniel Robbertse | ... Reporter in Zaire | | Graham Clarke | ... Reporter in Zaire | | Dimitri Cassar | ... Reporter in Zaire | | Frank Notaro | ... Reporter in Zaire | | Mark Mulder | ... Reporter in Zaire | | David Hess | ... Reporter in Zaire | | Henrikennyo Mukenyi | ... Bula | | Nathaniel Malekane | ... Archie Moore | | Millard Arnold | ... Doc Broadus | | Edda Collier | ... Blonde French Reporter | | Wei Yi Lu | ... Chinese Delegate | | Lee Cummings | ... Hunter Thompson | | Zaa Nkweta | ... Foreman Fight Announcer | | Themba Gasa | ... Idi Amin | | Andrew P. Jones | ... Don King's Aide | | Marc Kulazite Mboli | ... Additional Aide to Mobutu | | Cimanga Kalambay | ... Additional Aide to Mobutu | | Jean Bikoi | ... Additional Aide to Mobutu | | James Gilbert | ... Sparring Partner in Africa |
REVIEWS Featured review by [[Mark Tapio Kines]]: An old teacher of mine once said that if you were to dramatize a famous person's life (i.e. make a "biopic"), it would be most effective to stage your story on one day -- preferably a critical day of that person's life -- rather than try to recount the entire cradle-to-grave scope of their existence. That's a bit extreme, but I agree to some extent. So, too, does [[Michael Mann]], it seems, as instead of covering the whole first 60 years of [[Muhammad Ali]]'s time on earth, he focuses on the former boxer's 10 most dramatic: from his victory over Sonny Liston in 1964, winning the heavyweight championship, through his conversion to Islam, his friendship with [[Malcolm X]], his notorious refusal of the Vietnam draft, his first two wives and finally wrapping up in 1974 when, at 32, he reclaimed the heavyweight title against [[George Foreman]] in their legendary "Rumble in the Jungle" fight in Kinshasha, Zaire. A wise choice: subsequent bouts with the forgettable [[Leon Spinks]] and Ali's eventual slide into the heartbreak of Parkinson's disease are things we really don't need to relive. Still and all, Mann seems less interested in telling a story (after all, his hero is pretty much in the same place at the end of the film as he is in the beginning) or even painting a portrait of the man's soul than he is in showcasing the former Cassius Clay as a symbol for what is arguably the most turbulent time in America's history, from its ideological dawning in the mid-60's to its exhausted flop into the me-first mid-70's. Because of his race, because of his fame, because of his integrity, because of his attitude, Mann sees Ali as the embodiment of all the good and bad that happened in that era.
An ambitious goal. Too bad Ali isn't as ambitious as this notion, not to mention as ambitious as the man himself. Part of this might lie in Mann's last film, the excellent [[@movie::the-insider-1999]]. Mann finally settled on a mature visual style with that film, and he uses it again here, note for note, in Ali. It's an exciting style, one of the most energetic around today: the tight focus, the off-center framing, the bold cuts, it's all there and it's all good. It's just that was all there in The Insider too, and there it served a tighter story that, for me anyway, had more immediacy (though Ali comes close). As for [[Will Smith]] in the title role, he more represents Muhammad Ali than impersonates him. His much-noted muscle gain is crucial to the part. But although he fast-talks it like the champ, he doesn't try to ape Ali's famous rasp or his bug-eyed glower. Which is an interesting choice, given that [[Jon Voight]] is rendered completely unrecognizable under pounds of make-up as sportscaster [[Howard Cosell]]. (He's terrific, by the way.) Though we may not learn much about Muhammad Ali that we hadn't already guessed -- that he loved the limelight, that he was a ladies' man, that he was a great boxer -- watching the film is an undeniably visceral and thought-provoking experience. And if nothing else, you'll get a real sense for how physically exhausting a few rounds in the ring can be, even for "the Greatest."
Review by Michael Lesch (posted on 5-Oct-2010) While it obviously could be referred to as a boxing picture, this nice Michael Mann biographical effort is more a character study of the one of the most charismatic figures ever to step into the squared circle. Mr. Mann shifts gears appropriately from his heavy action yarns (Thief, Last of the Mohicans, Heat) to provide an insightful look into the life of this legendary boxer as Will Smith pulls off the title role rather well yet regrettably holds back much of the wit, humor and unpredictable antics Ali was known for. As a result, viewer's eyes actually will be more fixated on the dynamite supporting cast including Ron Silver as Ali's longtime trainer Angelo Dundee and Mario Van Peebles playing a formidable Malcolm X. Both of these memorable characters are only to be outdone by an almost unrecognizable Jon Voight as he dons the patented yellow ABC sport jacket and gives an incredible, Oscar nominated performance as the exuberant and controversial Howard Cosell who always seemed to be where Ali roamed the globe. While the film does span 10 years of the famous boxer's life, the major disappointment of the film is the 157 minute which could have been shortened by needles/monotonous training footage sequences.
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