The Greatest (1977)

User Rating:

5.0/10   

Directors:

Tom Gries
Monte Hellman

Writers:

Muhammad Ali (book)
Richard Durham (book)

Release Date:

19 May 1977 (USA)

Genre:

Biography | Drama | Sport

Tagline:

The story of a legend that took the world by storm.

Plot:

Plot Keywords:

Black White Relations | Punch | Boxing Training | Based On Autobiography | Racial Relations

Awards:

1 win

Cast

Muhammad Ali	...	Himself
Ernest Borgnine	...	Angelo Dundee
Sally Bondi	...	Bess
Richard Gullage	...	Commission Doctor
Arthur Adams	...	Cassius Clay Senior
Dorothy Meyer	...	Odessa Clay
Rahaman Ali	...	Himself
Howard Bingham	...	Himself
Richard Venture	...	Colonel
Stack Pierce	...	Johnson
W. Youngblood Muhammad	...	Himself
Ven Medina	...	Ronnie (as Ben Medina)
Paul Mantee	...	Carrara
Skip Homeier	...	Major
Lloyd Wells	...	Himself

Runtime:

Sweden:102 min | USA:101 min

Country:

USA | UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Netherlands:12 | Finland:K-12 | Iceland:L | Sweden:15 | UK:PG | USA:PG | West Germany:12

Filming Locations:

Atlanta, Georgia, USA

Company:

British Lion Film Corporation

The greatest plays the greatest

I said several months ago that no one could play Ali except Ali. I was right. Muhammad Ali does a magnificent job playing himself in this movie. Maybe he's no actor, but in this case he accomplished what he set out to do, and he had several really effective scenes, such as when he explained why he didn't want to go to Vietnam, and the scene where Clay demanded that he no longer be called by that slave name.

This was the third film (as opposed to documentary) that I saw on the life of the great boxer. David Ramsey did an okay job in the first one, and Will Smith tried his best but didn't quite capture the champ as only the champ could. Smith may have been the best actor out of the three, and certainly his film was the best.

Chip McAllister made young Cassius Clay too much of a clown. He was okay, I guess, but the portrayal of the character improved dramatically at one point, and I also noticed the actor looked so much more like Clay. That's when I remembered: Ali himself was playing the character.

Ernest Borgnine did a capable job as Ali's trainer, but this was not one of his best performances. James Earl Jones did a fine job as Malcolm X, brief as the performance was.

I learned a few new details about Ali's life I didn't know before. I also found out that 'The Greatest Love of All' was written long before Whitney Houston made it a hit. It wouldn't be the last time--Houston later took a classic Dolly Parton song and made it one of the biggest records of all time.

The main reason for watching this movie was Ali himself. He was the greatest.