A poet vs a statue. Who do you think would win?

inspirational doco

I'm a huge fan of the sport. I'm not the biggest Ali enthusiast, but there is no doubt that the man was great, and his colorful manner makes him easy to watch and hang on his every word. I also recommend "Thrilla in Manila". This was a documentary following Ali's 3rd and final bout with Joe Frazier, which was also possibly the fight largely responsible for his condition today. His antics leading up to the match and defamation of an honorable fighter sort of left a sour taste in my mouth.

Watching Ali trashtalk is a joy in itself, and Gast does a good job of showing us how larger-than-life he was, but poor pacing lets the whole thing down: it's very one-sided, has little narrative flow, and relying on a photo montage at one point just seems lazy. That said, the vibrancy of the subject matter and the enthusiasm of the interviewees makes a lot of its failings forgivable.

A little dry at times, but watching Ali both in and out of the ring is a delight.

Magic.

I only watched as part of a class assignment, booooooring. Nothing really happens in it and there certainly could be a lot more educational content. A fair amount is forgiven however, because my god, watching Ali trash-talk is watching a artist create a masterpiece.

The documentary isn't perfect, but what makes this one of the best ever made is the merging of the images and the sportswriters giving commentary during the fight scene. Their language is so evocative and perfect that it's almost like reading a book at times, with the moving picture being a bonus.

Ali is mesmerizing. It is appropriate that in any scene that he is in, everyone revolves around him. Very well put together doc.

An extraordinary, in depth look at one of the greatest fights in boxing history told through stock footage, with Plimpton and a very lucid Mailer commenting with insightful bits of boxing trivia. On a side note, Muhammad Ali would be incredibly irritating to hang out with for more than an hour.

One of the greatest documentaries I've ever seen. Captures an amazing combination of Ali and Foreman's personalities, racial tension in the US, and African politics in the 1970s. The run time was absolutely perfect as well. A lesser director would have spent 5 hours on this subject, yet instead the selected 84 minutes presented here are absolutely perfect.

The best sports documentary ever on a celebrity athlete. It's such a moving piece and about so much more than just boxing.

Maybe the best documentary of the last 10 years.

A well-done documentary of an event we've heard about many times over. It doesn't quite give Foreman a fair shake, and Ali's a bit too glamourized, but the events leading up to the fights and its implications are given the screen-time they deserve.

Great documentary about one of the greatest boxing matches of all time.