Facing Ali (2009)

Sadly Over-hyped

Good story, Not enough for a whole film

Great movie! If you want to be entertained and have a few good laughs, see this movie. The music is also very good,

The film may be flawed, but its message is not.

The life of Muhammad Ali is told by ten of his boxing opponents; George Chuvalo, Henry Cooper, George Foreman, Joe Frazier, Larry Holmes, Ron Lyle, Ken Norton, Earnie Shavers, Leon Spinks, and Ernie Terrell. They also reveals some harrowing and deeply personal stories about themselves.This is a compelling telling of Muhammad Ali's story from another angle. He is such a magnetic personality that his opponents have been mostly silenced by his gift of gab. It's a nice retelling of the familiar story by the other voices and it does much more. These voices are allowed to tell their own stories and some of it is harrowing while others are uplifting. It's a definite must for true fight fans and fans of the human condition.

Watching mixed martial artist Georges St. Pierre hammer out a one-sided win over wrestler Josh Koscheck the other night reminded me just how much I love the sport of boxing. I grew up during what I call The Golden Age of Boxing- the Ali Era(s)- and he was a hero of mine; still is, for reasons that have nothing to do with boxing- but it was his unrivaled ring career that captivated me as a kid. He was poetry in perpetual motion- passive aggression personified, if you will- and he singlehandedly cleaned out the heavyweight division during his career (during two of his three tenures as champ), and this documentary points up that fact: the men who talk about him here were all top-ten contenders, and he faced and beat them all. Their leather-worn faces are a road map of Ali's career and if George Foreman was the Einstein of Punching, then certainly Ali was the Einstein of BOXING. If I have one gripe about this documentary, it's the sparsity of the fight footage: to this day, it's nigh impossible to lay hands on copies of the fights mentioned. One can find almost ANY mixed martial arts bout on DVD; not so most of the greatest fistfights of all time.

FACING ALI is a fantastic documentary that is a befitting tribute to the man who is undeniably "The Greatest", Muhammad Ali. I absolutely loved this "career biography" that is told by some of his most significant former opponents like Joe Frazier and George Foreman. It is easy to see why Ali is the Greatest Fighter of all time. The film has a well blended combination of historical footage and contemporary interviews beginning with his early professional fights through his last fight with Larry Holmes. It recalls his conversion from Cassius Clay to Muhammad Ali and how he stood by his principles. We also get some insight into the men who fought him as they recount some of their own history. But mostly it is an affectionate tribute to great fighter and a great man.

Not sure I understand why this film does not have a higher rating. It is a riveting look into the spirits and circumstances of some compelling people. The nature of Boxing was elevated to international proportions entirely by the character of Muhamed Ali. At the end you see the shadow of Don King, who ushered in its death. It is a portrait of a moment in time as remembered by the old dragons who lived it. It is a perfect film, describing a rare and luminous moment inside a deeply troubled country and among the black man and white society. There will never be a moment in time to match it, not in our lifetimes. Everything about this film is compelling.