Boxing documentary on the 1974 world heavyweight championship bout between defending champion, George Foreman, and the underdog challenger, Muhammad Ali.Boxing documentary on the 1974 world heavyweight championship bout between defending champion, George Foreman, and the underdog challenger, Muhammad Ali.Boxing documentary on the 1974 world heavyweight championship bout between defending champion, George Foreman, and the underdog challenger, Muhammad Ali.
- Won 1 Oscar
- 12 wins & 5 nominations total
- Self - Artist
- (as Malik Bowens)
- Self - Ali's Ass't Trainer
- (as Drew 'Bundini' Brown)
- Self
- (as The Crusaders)
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaWhen the film won the Academy Award for Best Feature Documentary, George Foreman and Muhammad Ali came to the stage with the filmmakers to show they had made peace. Foreman helped Ali, stricken with Parkinson's Disease, climb the steps to the stage.
- Quotes
Muhammad Ali: It is befitting that I leave the game just like I came in, beating a big bad monster who knocks out everybody and no one can whup him. That's when little Cassius Clay from Louisville, Kentucky, came up to stop Sonny Liston. The man who annihilated Floyd Patterson twice. HE WAS GONNA KILL ME! But he hit harder than George. His reach is longer than George's. He's a better boxer than George. And I'm better now than I was when you saw that 22-years old undeveloped kid running from Sonny Liston. I'm experienced now, professional. Jaws been broke, been knocked down a couple of times, I'm bad! Been chopping trees. I done something new for this fight. I done wrestled with an alligator. That's right. I have wrestled with an alligator. I done tussled with a whale. I done handcuffed lightning, thrown thunder in jail. That's bad! Only last week I murdered a rock, injured a stone, hospitalised a brick! I'm so mean I make medicine sick!
Don King: Bad dude!
Muhammad Ali: Bad, fast! Fast! Fast! Last night I cut the light off in my bedroom, hit the switch and was in the bed before the room was dark.
- ConnectionsEdited from The Rumble in the Jungle (1974)
The producer, David Sonenberg had the idea of hanging the footage on a series of interviews with Norman Mailer, George Plimpton and Spike Lee. Lee's contribution are mainly the effect of Ali on the black community at the time - being a positive role model and also showing a different image of Africa than Hollywood does. His opinions are interesting but you can't help feel like he's seeing the impact with hindsight.
However both Mailer and Plimpton were at the fight and have many different perspectives and stories to put the bones on the story. This really gives you a good impression of what it was like and how everything happened. This includes the history of the fighters, background of the dictatorship of Zaire and a walk through of the fight itself. The film doesn't totally have a focus as it tries to look at every element of the proceedings - Ali, Don King, the chaos around the fight etc.
However this isn't a complaint. The film is only 90 minutes long but it absolutely flies by, there isn't a dull moment in it. Many documents only appeal to groups with an interest in the subject matter, however this is so very good that I can imagine that anyone could watch this and enjoy it.
A well put together documentary that mixes excellent, detailed footage with recent contributions to produce a film that deservedly won an Oscar.
- bob the moo
- Dec 4, 2001
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Languages
- Also known as
- Kelebek Gibi Uçar Ari Gibi Sokarım
- Filming locations
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Gross US & Canada
- $2,789,985
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $12,479
- Oct 27, 1996
- Gross worldwide
- $2,789,985
- Runtime1 hour 28 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 1.85 : 1
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