FACING ALI

Written by Hombre Divertido

Like all boxing matches some solid shots are landed in Facing Ali, but more often than not, this documentary swings and misses.

The story of Muhammad Ali’s career has been told and documented many times in many forms, so finding a new slant was certainly a challenge. Nonetheless, producers Derik Murry and Paul Gertz, and director Pete McCormack found a way to tell Ali’s story and the stories of other legendary boxers that was unique and exciting. Unfortunately, somewhere in the process, it appears that they got a bit off track.

The packaging for the DVD states, “Ten of the sport's finest fighters tell what it is like to battle Muhammad Ali”. It also mentions, “This brutally honest documentary recounts Ali’s incomparable journey as seen through the eyes of those who stepped through the ropes and into history.” To some extent, the footage of Ali throughout his career both in the ring and out, and the interviews with George Chuvalo, Sir Henry Cooper, George Foreman, Joe Frazier, Larry Holmes, Ron Lyle, Ken Norton, Ernie Shavers, Leon Spinks, and Ernie Terrell does accomplish what the documentarians set out to do, but ultimately the goals touted were not achieved.

It is always good to leave an audience wanting more, but, it is not good for a documentary to leave so many unanswered questions. Whether it is poor interviewing or poor editing is not clear, but more insight into what it was like to be in the ring with Muhammad Ali certainly was available, and yet, not found in Facing Ali.

In the opening segment of the film, Ernie Terrell recounts a story from 1958 where he tells of Cassius Clay (Muhammad Ali) walking into a room and saying “I want everybody who weighs 175 pounds to stand-up. I just want to let you know who is going to win this thing here tonight; it’s gonna be me.” What room? Where was this? What “thing” was he going to win? The questions remain, and this was just a glimpse of more incomplete interviews to follow.

The discussions with the fighters are candid and entertaining, but one could easily expect that a documentary titled Facing Ali would delve deeply into what it was like to prepare for and fight the legendary fighter. The actual accounts of what it was like to be in the ring with Ali are few and far between, and there is even less time dedicated to preparation. More frustrating is the obvious questions that are not answered. What would seem like a natural course to have taken would have been to discuss rematches with Ali. The rematches with Cooper (1), Chuvalo (1), and Norton (2), are not acknowledged, and only Ali vs. Frazier I and III are chronicled here. At only 100 minutes, time certainly could have and should have been spent on what it was like to go back into the ring and face Ali again.

The bonus material primarily focuses on the making of the documentary, and it is clear both from listening to the filmmakers and viewing the final product, that a great deal of time and energy was put into making the archival footage and the film as a whole look great. The final product does indeed look amazing; it is the content that is frustratingly lacking.

The “Animated Trivia Cards” of each of the ten fighters interviewed is a nice touch.

Recommendation: Though we are led to believe that we will see “ten of the sports finest fighters tell what it is like to battle Muhammad Ali” that is not actually what we get. Yes, the majority of the fighters interviewed are engaging and entertaining, and that does make the product enjoyable, but this film could have been and should have been better.

True fans of boxing are going to enjoy the time spent with the legendary fighters interviewed. Fans of Ali can find better accounts of the champ's career. Those looking for insight into what it was like Facing Ali will be frustrated with this incomplete product.

THRILLA IN MANILA

Written by Hombre Divertido

In the twentieth century there was no single title in sports more coveted than that of Heavyweight Champion of the World, and two of the greatest fighters to hold that title were Smokin’ Joe Frazier and Muhammad Ali. These amazing athletes fought a trilogy of fights that are arguably three of the best of all time. The third was titled the Thrilla in Manila and is chronicled in a Time Life Entertainment single-disc release that hit shelves on June 2nd.

With Mixed Martial Arts rapidly growing in popularity, boxing slowly continues to lose fans as the stars of the sport become harder and harder to market simply due to a lack of recognition. Though MMA is producing stars, it has yet to produce a rivalry that even comes close to that of Ali/Frazier.

This 110-minute documentary covers the history between these two great men, but the title is misleading as this is Frazier’s story. Though certainly informative and entertaining, the story certainly paints Frazier as the victim, and Ali as the bully. Input from Ali in the form of footage, interviews, or comments from anyone in his camp are sorely lacking, with the exception of Ali’s corner man and former boxing analyst Ferdie Pacheco. Unfortunately, Pacheco’s comments are so poorly communicated that they actually add weight to the case made by Frazier, his family, and supporters. When watching this endeavor, one cannot help but question some of the allegations simply due to a lack of an even perspective.

Perspective is not the only thing lacking from this documentary. Producers attempts to give the final product an urban feel worthy of the era and the streets from whence Joe Frazier stems result in what simply appears to be poor production value. Footage from the first two fights, that were included when the documentary aired on HBO, are now replaced with still photos, and the overall feel of the documentary is that of something thrown together to reap profit for those in need. The bonus material adds to the hodgepodge as the numerous additions, though informative from a boxing and human interest perspective, have little or nothing to do with the Thrilla in Manila.

The absence of Howard Cosell’s involvement, not only in this legendary fight, but also in boxing of the era, and in the careers of Ali and Frazier may be the most significant absence.

Joe Frazier was a great fighter and a classy, all-business champion, who certainly may have deserved better than he got. Muhammad Ali too was a great fighter and champion, but was also a sports-marketing genius who was well ahead of his time. Many things can be said about Ali’s antics outside of the ring as well as his religious and political choices, but few could argue that he did more to make the business of boxing successful than anyone in history.

Recommendation: These two men were amazing athletes who did indeed participate in one of the most legendary battles in the history of pugilism. The Thrilla in Manila certainly provides insight into this historic event, and is a worthwhile investment of time for both fan and non-fan alike, but it may leave you with a bad taste in your mouth as you long for not only the other side of the story, but an impartial perspective as well.

Muhammad Ali: Made in Miami

Written by Hombre Divertido

Due out August 12th from PBS Paramount, this sixty-minute documentary chronicles the champion’s formative years in the magic city. The title of the new release stems from legendary fight physician Ferdie Pacheco, who once said, "Cassius Clay was born in Louisville, but Muhammad Ali was made in Miami."

Anything that features the charismatic Ali is certainly going to be entertaining, and this well-made documentary is no exception. Picking up from the eighteen-year-old Ali’s gold medal win in the 1960 Olympics in Rome, the documentary follows Ali to the famed Fifth Street gym in Miami where he would develop into the greatest of all time under the tutelage of Angelo Dundee.

The documentary contains wonderful footage, and insightful commentary from key players in the Ali camp as well as news sources and historians who weave the story instead of the standard narrator. The lack of a customary narrator was a bold choice, and resulted in an extremely effective and engaging final product. The film is well paced, and produced.

The challenge here is that this is not the first telling of this story, and contains little new information. It excels in detailing the relationships and eventual triangle of Ali, Malcom X, and Elijah Muhammad, and contains a pleasant account of Ali’s meeting with the Beatles, but focuses too much on the first Liston fight, which has been told at length in numerous other projects. Though the goal as listed on the product was to explore the critical role that Miami played in the evolution of Ali, it tends to drift too far from that goal, and Miami is more of a footnote.

As this story focuses on Ali’s time in Miami, it certainly leaves the audience wanting more. The story is well told, but is incomplete in that it leaves off at a critical time in the champ’s life.

Not much here to speak of in the way of bonus material. A preview of the documentary, and a filmed conversation with the two producers are good, but the preview serves little purpose packaged with the actual film, and the conversation, though mildly informative, is filmed like something on public access and is tough to watch though the appearance of what appears to be a moth in the studio is humorous.

Recommendation: This is a well made and enjoyable sixty-minutes and if you don’t own any DVD’s on the life of the icon that is Muhammad Ali, you could certainly do worse, but you will want to buy other films to complete the story.