The incredible career of perhaps the greatest boxer of all time, Muhammad Ali, is dramatized in this exciting film starring Ali himself. Fresh from his gold medal victory at the Olympic Games, 18-year-old Cassius Clay is r... more »eady to seek the heavyweight championship. Under the masterful guidance of trainer Angelo Dundee (Ernest Borgnine). Clay snatches the title from Sonny Liston. Soon afterward, Clay converts to the Islam religion and changes his name to Muhammad Ali. When he is suddenly classified 1A by the Draft Board that earlier rejected him, Ali refuses the draft on religious grounds. His hard-won title is taken from him. Winning a three-and-a-half year long court battle. Ali returns to the ring for what have been some of the greatest fights of all time.« less
"Excellent fight footage and the always controversial Bert Sugar lead to a enjoyable 60 minutes of action. Bill Cayton and Bert Sugar go head to head to try to decide who is the best Pound for Pound. Since Big Fights Inc. has the largest collection of fight films the is no shortage of great fighters and fight action. A must have for the serious fight fan and enough fight action for the viewer to form their own opinion on who was the best pound for pound."
Not as bad as you might think.....
05/31/2000
(3 out of 5 stars)
"Muhammed Ali, acting, and 1977 might all have added up to a recipe for disaster, but the overall result is rather entertaining. I saw this movie on the late show and ended up watching the whole thing. Movie traces Alis career from his Olympic victory to the George Foreman fight in Zaire. Unlike some of the media reviews above, I thought Ali made a fine actor, mostly because he was playing his larger-than-life self. Some scenes had the feel of a documentery, as Ali's quips fly a mile a minute. Ali deserves credit for portraying some of his flaws as well. Not suprisingly, the boxing scenes consist of actual footage. A not-too-shabby supporting cast includes Robert Duvall, James Earle Johnes and Ernest Borgnine. Paul Winfield and John Amos also have brief roles. Overall, it's a good capsule of Ali's razor-sharp wit and charisma that unfortunately has been silenced by Parkinsons disease....."
"After listening to the audio book Sound & Fury from Blackstone Audio, this bio pix of Ali is a wonderful self promotion.
This 1977 movie had a great cast of actors. Such names as James Earl Jones as Malcolm X, Lloyd Haynes as Herbert Mohamad, Ernest Borgnine as Dundee, John Marley as Ferdy, Roger Mosby as Sonny Liston in minor roles. There are also cameos from Robert Duval, Paul Winfield, Ben Johnson, and David Huddleston. All this creative talent playing against Ali. Ali isnt acting, he is being himself...but himself works.
They skip over his religious beliefs in this film to focus on his career.
Lets be honest, the film isnt a great film..its music is wonderful. The film is minor in scope and its major starred cast.
This movie is for real boxing fans who love films like Rocky, The champ and Digsstown, this is great to add to the DVD film library
Bennet Pomerantz, AUDIOWORLD"
Perfect for the hard-core Ali fan
Jimmy Trapp | Iowa | 07/12/2002
(3 out of 5 stars)
"To sum it up, "The Greatest" is not a very well made movie. There are a few very taltented actors in it, but overall the movie lacks that certain special somthing that a movie needs to be good. Most of the scenes are dull, long and drawn out. And i don't believe that Muhammad Ali was the perfect choice to play Muhammad Ali, he really is not a good actor. But I did enjoy the movie, because I am a huge Muhammad Ali Fan. Many that ive heard have tried to compare this movie and the recently released "Ali" on DVD. But you can't really compare the two movies. "The Greatest", even though it's not a very good movie, its does portray what happened in Muhammad Ali's life very well. But the movie "Ali" does not portray his life, It just portray's Muhammad Ali himself, not his life. So I would say that this movie is a must for those who want to know more about Ali. Then after wards, rent or buy "Ali" to understand Ali's mind. when you do that, you'll have a great understanding of what kind of person, what kind of things he had to go through, and a much higher respect for "The Greatest.""
I liked this movie better than Ali
Joseph P. Ulibas | Sacramento, CA, USA | 01/29/2009
(4 out of 5 stars)
"The Greatest is the story about Muhammad Ali, the greatest boxer of all time (based on a novel of the same name). Who else could play the champ better than the man himself. Ali does a good job carrying the film but he seems to be weighed down a clunky script and pedestrian directing. I would recommend this film if you enjoy bio-pics or a fan of Ali. James Earl Jones guest stars as Malcolm X, Drew "Bundini" Brown, Howard Bingham and Ali's brother portray themselves.