The Greatest (1977)

Directors:

Tom Gries
Monte Hellman

Writers:

Muhammad Ali (book)
Richard Durham (book)

Release Date:

19 May 1977 (USA)

Genre:

Biography | Drama | Sport

Tagline:

The story of a legend that took the world by storm.

Plot:

Plot Keywords:

Black American | Victory | Defeat | Black Boy | Microphone

Awards:

1 win

Cast

Muhammad Ali	...	Himself
Ernest Borgnine	...	Angelo Dundee
Sally Bondi	...	Bess
Richard Gullage	...	Commission Doctor
Arthur Adams	...	Cassius Clay Senior
Dorothy Meyer	...	Odessa Clay
Rahaman Ali	...	Himself
Howard Bingham	...	Himself
Richard Venture	...	Colonel
Stack Pierce	...	Johnson
W. Youngblood Muhammad	...	Himself
Ven Medina	...	Ronnie (as Ben Medina)
Paul Mantee	...	Carrara
Skip Homeier	...	Major
Lloyd Wells	...	Himself

Runtime:

Sweden:102 min | USA:101 min

Country:

USA | UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Netherlands:12 | Finland:K-12 | Iceland:L | Sweden:15 | UK:PG | USA:PG | West Germany:12

Filming Locations:

Atlanta, Georgia, USA

Company:

British Lion Film Corporation

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Blue Nude (1977)

Pretty average

Maybe the producers of this film thought it would be highly original to have Ali play himself. I can picture them sitting down and saying that really there is no actor who could do this man justice (this was before Will Smith was born!). However, Ali just couldn't act. Its sad watching him play himself as a young man when he's so obviously overwieght older and out of shape. Also I think that at the time this film was made, he was beginning to develop Parkinsons. His speech was already becoming slurry. The filmakers surround Ali with a professional cast of actors like James Earl Jones and Ernest Borgnine as Angelo Dundee, but Ali just wasn't right for this. Maybe this is one film that should never have been made. The lead up to the climatic Rumble in the Jungle with Foreman where he regains the title is done very well, it shows him training and running. They show quite a bit of footage from Ali's fights which is fine because they are from his best fights, the only thing is they keep playing the same damn music OVER AND OVER for them! It got kind of irritating. It was thrilling though in the end when Ali went up against the younger and stronger George Foreman and beat him in a stunning upset by using that "rope a dope" strategy. The final words of the film are of the fight commentator when he says "Foreman goes down, Muhammad Ali has done the IMPOSSIBLE! He has regained the Heavyweight Championship of the World"