ALI 2001
by
Michael Mann
Muhammad Ali was not just a boxer, he was a movement. You just could not take you eyes off him, and yet it was difficult to place him.
"Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee,
Your hands can't hit what your eyes can't see".
The man's indomitable will and inordinate ambition matched his pugilistic skills. His capacity to bear pain was extraordinary, and he was completely unapologetic about owning up to who he was.
Women he could not keep away from, but drink he did give up after embracing Islam. He was a champ of psy-war. He would insult, provoke, taunt, play with the minds of his opponents before his fights. And he would lift himself up with one-liners and rhymes which became legends. Ali knew how to manipulate the camera and how to punch with words. The man became a phenomenon hugely cheered on by public.
The film doesn't feature the medal throwing incident in Ohio river, but begins in 1964, when Clay (not yet Ali) is itching to get his first title shot. After being blinded in the fourth round, Clay takes down the 'ugly bear' in the seventh round. Post his victory, he announces his association with Nation of Islam and his closeness with Elijah Muhammad and Malcolm X. Elijah gave him the name Muhammad Ali, and Cassius Clay quickly became a swear word for the champ.
"Cassius Clay is a slave name, I didn't choose it and I don't want it. I'm Muhammad Ali, a free man..."
During the late 60s, Ali became a conscientious objector and refused conscription to fight in Vietnam. This refusal to serve turned him into a global icon, especially of the counterculture movements of 1960s.
"I ain't got no quarrel with them Vietcong.
Ain't no Vietcong ever called me a nigger.
Yeah, I know where Vietnam is; it's on TV. Southeast Asia? It's there too!"
The champ sacrificed almost five years of his boxing prime after defeating Liston in the 1965 rematch. He was stripped of his titles, found guilty of refusal to join army, and his boxing license was revoked. He kept out of jail by way of appeals. The US Supreme Court finally upheld his appeal in 1971, and Ali was cleared to fight again. In the meantime, Joe Frazier had become the heavyweight champion of the world. Ali got a title shot against Frazier in 1971, but Smokin' Joe defeated him by unanimous decision in what is dubbed as the Fight of the Century.
Ali was eager to get a rematch versus Frazier, but in the meantime, George Foreman knocked Frazier down and became the Champion. Foreman Vs Ali was scheduled in Kinshasa, the capital of Zaire and was promoted as "Rumble in the Jungle".
Ali reached Zaire to wide public cheers and loud cries of "Ali, bumaye" (Ali,kill him). There was such support for Ali that Foreman was unnerved. But the fight did take place, and Ali's rope-a-dope strategy worked. Foreman spent himself in early rounds by hitting Ali's body even as the latter found himself sidelined on ropes. But he knocked out the big George in later round to reclaim the title. The film ends here, but not Ali's story.
In the meantime, Malcolm X was assassinated, and Muhammad Ali himself had been debarred from entering Nation of Islam mosques. But there was a rapprochement for Ali realized the need for boxing management. Later on, Ali parted ways with NOI and became a Sunni Muslim. He remained a steadfast crusader of Black rights, and a critic of white man's attitude.
Ali is a great film. Will Smith and Michael Mann put in their heart and soul into it, and the result is a truthful depiction of the Greatest's most tumultuous years (1964-1974). John Voight is unrecognizable as Howard Cosell, the ABC Sports journalistic who was sympathetic towards Ali and provided him a platform to rant out his lines and play to the gallery. Voight was nominated for Best Supporting Actor Oscar for this role. Women are gorgeous, and boxing scenes are shot with rare honesty and sense of purpose. In fact, many ex-professional fighters were handed licenses to hit Will Smith as hard as possible provided they did not knock him flat out.
Comments
Post a Comment