Muhammad and Larry

The Maysles are probably the best pick to shoot such a sad yet proud story - at times it hits the mood of Salesman, that aching horror of inevitability. Larry Holmes weeping after his victory is an unforgettable image, a perfect visual encapsulation of the corruption and inhumanity that killed the sport.

The more I see from the Maysles, the more I think that the second half of "Gimme Shelter" was a complete fluke. The problem here is that Holmes, a nice enough man, is no Ali when the camera turns on. What supposedly makes this story tragic is that he was really broken up about dismantling his idol before millions of viewers, but outside of a tearful post-fight interview, we don't see or hear any evidence of this leading up to the showdown so it doesn't pack the emotional punch it could have.

Standard.

It's depressing seeing someone as legendary as Ali in such a deteriorated condition, and the actual fight footage is just heartbreaking. This film does a pretty good job of presenting the mindset of both fighters in the buildup to the event.

It's far too scattered to be a well-told story, but there are lots of snippets and pieces scattered throughout this that provide such a profound look at both individuals as human beings and as mythic cultural icons. I wish the context was framed more around the actual fight, as it could have been a truly triumphant piece with the properly built context.

Most of this felt like filler because the actual fight wasn't all that dramatic. I'm not a boxing nut or anything so to hear Ali called the greatest of all time and then get beaten like a runaway slave was shocking. Larry Holmes after the fight = classic