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Studio: Lions Gate Home Ent. Release Date: 12/29/2009 Run time: 100 minutes Rating: RHe rocked the sport, shook the world, and changed their lives. Now, several decades after they met in the ring, ten of the sport's finest fighters tell what it was like to battle Muhammad Ali, the man many consider the best boxer ever. This brutally honest documentary recounts Ali's incomparable journey as seen through the eyes of those who stepped through the ropes and into history. Join these respected fighters as they weigh in on "The Greatest" and pay tribute to a living legend in this powerful and unforgettable film.
WHEN WE WERE KINGS - DVD MovieDecades ago, documentary filmmaker Leon Gast attempted to complete a feature about the 1974 "Rumble in the Jungle" championship bout between boxers Muhammad Ali and George Foreman in Kinshasa, Zaire. Sundry complications, though, held up the project until its release in 1996. It was well worth the delay. From Gast's per! spective of modern history, the six weeks Ali and Foreman were! forced to spend waiting in Africa for their fight to take place now looks like an important moment in America's cultural understanding of African American roots. In a nutshell, Ali had been stripped of his heavyweight champion title because his opposition to the Vietnam War-era draft had landed him in prison. Reigning champ Foreman agreed to a Don King-promoted match in Kinshasa, but after all parties got there the fight was put off. Gast captures the charismatic Ali, in the ensuing days and weeks, going out among the people and getting to know them while the more reclusive Foreman keeps to his own company. Meanwhile, King brings over black American artists such as James Brown and the Spinners to mix it up with African musicians. The sense of excitement and connection is thrilling, as is the boxing footage of Foreman and Ali finally taking swings at one another in a titanic duel. Writers George Plimpton and Norman Mailer, each of whom was covering the fight as journalists, are on h! and to recollect the details. Whether you're a fight fan or not, this is a unique experience and a fascinating insight into America's sense of identity.
--Tom Keogh TYSON - DVD MovieIn his younger days, the former heavyweight champ liked to say, "No one really knows Mike Tyson." Director James Toback, who befriended him while making 1999’s
Black and White, allows Tyson to speak for himself as he illustrates his words through archival footage and fight clips, culminating in a subjective portrait that begins in empathy before ending somewhere more enigmatic. Neglected as a child, the Brooklyn-born youth took solace in his pigeons--much like Marlon Brando's boxer in
On the Waterfront--before turning to stealing and brawling in his teens until legendary trainer Cus D'Amato spotted his talent and helped him to develop the discipline and self-confidence he lacked. Tyson fought many of his most famous bouts after D'Amatos death, but never quite recovered fro! m the loss. Toback tracks the fighter’s rise in the 1980s, f! ollowed by his fall in the '90s and ‘00s: the turbulent marriage to actress Robin Givens, the infamous ear-biting incident, and the notorious rape conviction (about which he maintains his innocence). The filmmaker captures his now-retired subject in a reflective mood, and Tyson comes across as considerably more humble and eloquent than his reputation suggests--he describes boxing impresario Don King as "wretched, reptilian, and slimy" and has a special fondness for the word "skullduggery"--but continues to battle loneliness and feelings of abandonment, even fighting back a few tears at times.
Tyson may disappoint those looking for the trash-talking pugilist of old, but Toback proves there's more to Iron Mike than meets the eye.
--Kathleen C. Fennessy Stills from Tyson (Click for larger image) "Brunt does an excellent job of bringing his subjects out of the shadow of the Greatest! , recounting their often poignant tales of life before and aft! er their dates with the champ. In the end, of course,
we learn more about Ali. What stands out is their almost unanimous expression of affection for Ali. A worthy addition to any boxing
collection." -Library Journal
Muhammad Ali cast a blinding light on his sport, on the tumultuous times in which he reigned as champion, and on all the people who surrounded him. That included the fighters brave enough to stand alone in the ring with the greatest heavyweight champion of all time.
Ali's own story has been told often, but the tales of those who faced him have been mostly overlooked. For each, the moments alone in the ring with Ali changed their lives. Facing Ali tells the stories, in the fighters' own words, of fifteen men from around the world-from famous names like Joe Frazier, George Foreman, and Henry Cooper, to lesser lights like Tunney Hunsaker, Jergen Blin, and George Chuvalo. Facing Ali offers a unique per! spective on what it was like to fight Ali, and gives new insights into the character of a boxer who is arguably the most recognized man on the planet.
'Smokin' Joe Frazier and Muhammad Ali fought three times, but it was their third and final epic encounter in the searing heat of the Philippines on October 1, 1975, that cemented
their rivalry and ended so dramatically that it continues to
provoke controversy. Combined with electrifying archival footage and exclusive interviews, Thrilla in Manila is Joe Frazier's story an absorbing, sad account of bitterness, religion, politics and racism, conveying both the depths of their rivalry as well as the explosive racial politics in America at the time. The pair had once been friends, with Frazier supporting Ali
when he was stripped of his boxing license for refusing to fight in Vietnam. But once Ali was back in the ring, their friendship soon turned into a vicious feud: Ali accused Frazier
of being a ! traitor to his people and went from an anti-war and civil righ! ts leade r to an opportunist and narcissist willing to do anything to promote himself in the spotlight.
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