Ali (2001)

A biography of sports legend Muhammad Ali, focusing on his triumphs and controversies between 1964 and 1974.

Director:

Michael Mann

Writers:

Gregory Allen Howard (story), Stephen J. Rivele (screenplay)

Stars:

Will Smith, Jamie Foxx, Jon Voight

Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 10 wins & 25 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Will Smith	...	Cassius Clay / Cassius X / 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 Roi
Nona Gaye	...	Belinda Ali
Michael Michele	...	Veronica Porche
Joe Morton	...	Chauncey Eskridge
Paul Rodriguez	...	Dr. Ferdie Pacheco
Bruce McGill	...	Bradley
Barry Shabaka Henley	...	Jabir Herbert Muhammad
Giancarlo Esposito	...	Cassius Marcellus Clay, Sr.

Storyline

In 1964, a brash new pro boxer, fresh from his Olympic gold medal victory, explodes on to the scene, Cassius Clay. Bold and outspoken, he cuts an entirely new image for African Americans in sport with his proud public self confidence with his unapologetic belief that he is the greatest boxer of all time. To his credit, he sets out to prove that with his highly agile and forceful style soon making him a formidable boxer who soon claims the heavyweight championship. His personal life is no less noteworthy with his allegiance to the Nation of Islam, his friendship with the controversial Malcolm X and his abandonment of his slave name in favor of Muhammad Ali stirring up controversy. Yet, at the top of his game, both Ali's personal and professional lives face the ultimate test with the military draft rules are changed, making him eligible for military induction during the Vietnam War. Despite the fact that he could easily agree to a sweetheart deal that would have meant an easy tour of ...

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Plot Keywords:

boxer | friendship | court | victory | induction center | 

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Taglines:

The Champ is here!

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Genres:

Biography | Drama | Sport

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for some language and brief violence

Details

Official Sites:

Sony [DVD] [United States]

Country:

USA

Language:

English French Swahili

Release Date:

25 December 2001 (USA)

Also Known As:

Али

Filming Locations:

Ghana

Box Office

Budget:

$107,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$10,216,625, 23 December 2001, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$58,203,105

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$29,510,720

Company Credits

Production Co:

Columbia Pictures Corporation, Forward Pass, Initial Entertainment Group (IEG)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

157 min 165 min (director's cut)

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Black and White (archive footage) Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.39 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Michael Mann and Will Smith always wanted Jon Voight for the role of Howard Cosell.

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Goofs

The officer at the induction center wears the belt of an Army officer (black), indicating that he is an Army captain, yet he wears his rank like a Naval or Coast Guard lieutenant (with the bars' center line bisecting the collar angle, and lacking branch insignia on his left collar).

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Quotes

Drew 'Bundini' Brown: Now I'm Jewish and he's Muslim, and because of that he tells me I need to give up certain things, like pork and white women... I can give up the Pork, but the white women? God Damn, how the hell do you do that?

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Crazy Credits

The Columbia Pictures logo rolls backwards.

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Alternate Versions

Michael Mann announced in an interview with Steve Weintraub (on January 16, 2015 for 'Collider') that he is planning to release a third version of "Ali" on BluRay: "I did a re-edit of Ali for television that I really liked and I'd like to put out a Blu-ray of that edit. That was a significant re-edit. (...) It happens to move better and it's longer. (...) It's more complete and moves better. Much more dramatic."

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Connections

Referenced in 'Hitch': Style (2005)

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Soundtracks

As the Years Go Passing By
Written by Don D. Robey (as "Deadric Malone")
Performed by Mighty Joe Young
Courtesy of Global Licensing Inc.
By Arrangement with Celebrity Licensing Inc.
Published by Songs of Universal, Inc.

User Reviews

Rather Boring Bio of Muhammad Ali

Michael Mann is a very hit-and-miss director for me. His movies either blow me out of the water ("The Insider," "Heat"), or they leave me cold ("Miami Vice," "Public Enemies"). Unfortunately, "Ali" belongs to the latter category.

Mann's filmmaking is always very assured, so when his movies miss, I'm never exactly sure why. There's just something boring about "Ali." It tells Muhammad Ali's story, and it does so with what could be mistaken for passion, but it just felt rote and lifeless to me, and far too long.

Will Smith and Jon Voight were honored with Academy Award nominations for playing Ali and Howard Cosell, respectively, but clearly I'm not the only one to be underwhelmed by the film, as it bombed with audiences and couldn't even crack 7.0 here at IMDb.

Grade: B-