Facing Ali
- May 29, 2009 (2009-05-29) (SIFF)
Facing Ali is a 2009 documentary directed by Pete McCormack about Muhammad Ali (born Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr. in Louisville, Kentucky) as told from the perspectives of ten opponents he faced during his career: George Chuvalo, Sir Henry Cooper, George Foreman, "Smokin'" Joe Frazier, Larry Holmes (also a former sparring partner of Ali), Ron Lyle, Ken Norton, Earnie Shavers, Leon Spinks and Ernie Terrell.
Production is credited to Canadian producer Derik Murray and his company, Network Entertainment, and to Lions Gate Entertainment and Spike Sports in association with Muhammad Ali Enterprises.
The fighters discuss their bouts against Muhammad Ali as well as their own lives and careers; Ali's fights against other opponents; his conversion to Islam and the assumption of the name Muhammad Ali; his relationship with the Nation of Islam organization (frequently referred to as the "black Muslims"), its leader, Elijah Muhammad (who bestowed Ali with his new name after he was briefly called Cassius X), and the Nation of Islam's most prominent minister, Malcolm X; Ali's refusal to be inducted into the United States Army to serve in the ongoing Vietnam War in 1967 on moral and religious grounds; the decision by the New York State Athletic Commission to strip him of his championship; his legal case and his reinstatement after the favorable June 28, 1970 decision by the Supreme Court of the United States. The Justices decided 8–0 (with Thurgood Marshall abstaining), that "... for the reasons stated, that the Department [of Justice] was simply wrong as a matter of law in advising that the petitioner's beliefs were not religiously based and were not sincerely held".[1]
Sonny Liston, who died in 1970, appears in archival footage. Liston and Ali fought in two notable matches in 1964 and 1965, respectively. The cover art for the DVD is Neil Leifer's iconic photograph from their controversial second fight in Lewiston, Maine in which many, such as George Chuvalo, allege that Sonny Liston deliberately lost.
Muhammad Ali's present medical condition
Former British champion Sir Henry Cooper briefly discusses the cumulative effects of boxing on Muhammad Ali's health. He states that Ali actually suffers from "Parkinson's syndrome" rather than Parkinson's disease and that Ali's doctor had personally told him that the cause was Ali taking frequent punches to the back of his neck, and that these blows killed brain cells which trigger the release of an important chemical. George Chuvalo stated that he believes Ali's condition was caused either by boxing and or a predisposition for the disease.
Awards
Although eligible for nomination for an Academy Award in the documentary feature category, it was not so honored. However, it won awards at the Vancouver Film Critics Circle and the Vancouver International Film Festival.
DVD fault
Some copies of the UK DVD release ARTF0158 have the disc chapters playing out of sequence, together with chapter selections which begin during a chapter, sections which are repeated and even one section which is missing altogether.
See also
References
- ^ Muhammad Ali - Clay, aka Ali v. United States 1967–1971
External links
- Official website
- Facing Ali at IMDb
- Facing Ali at Rotten Tomatoes
- v
- t
- e
- Boxing at the 1960 Summer Olympics
- Clay vs. Hunsaker
- Clay vs. Siler
- Clay vs. Esperti
- Clay vs. Robinson
- Clay vs. Fleeman
- Clay vs. Clark
- Clay vs. Sabedong
- Clay vs. Johnson
- Clay vs. Miteff
- Clay vs. Besmanoff
- Clay vs. Banks
- Clay vs. Warner
- Clay vs. Logan
- Clay vs. Daniels
- Clay vs. Lavorante
- Moore vs. Clay
- Clay vs. Powell
- Clay vs. Jones
- Clay vs. Cooper
- Liston vs. Clay
- Ali vs. Liston II
- Ali vs. Patterson
- Ali vs. Chuvalo
- Ali vs. Cooper II
- Ali vs. London
- Ali vs. Mildenberger
- Ali vs. Williams
- Ali vs. Terrell
- Ali vs. Folley
- Ali vs. Quarry
- Ali vs. Bonavena
- Fight of the Century (Frazier vs. Ali I)
- Ali vs. Ellis
- Ali vs. Mathis
- Ali vs. Blin
- Ali vs. M. Foster
- Ali vs. Chuvalo II
- Ali vs. Quarry II
- Ali vs. Lewis
- Ali vs. Patterson II
- Ali vs. B. Foster
- Ali vs. Bugner
- Ali vs. Norton
- Norton vs. Ali II
- Ali vs. Lubbers
- Ali vs. Frazier II
- The Rumble in the Jungle (Foreman vs. Ali)
- Ali vs. Wepner
- Ali vs. Lyle
- Ali vs. Bugner II
- Thrilla in Manila (Ali vs. Frazier III)
- Ali vs. Coopman
- Ali vs. Young
- Ali vs. Dunn
- Ali vs. Norton III
- Ali vs. Evangelista
- Ali vs. Shavers
- Ali vs. Spinks
- Spinks vs. Ali II
- Holmes vs. Ali
- Ali vs. Berbick
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associates
- Chuck Bodak (trainer, cutman)
- Angelo Dundee (cornerman)
- Drew Bundini Brown (trainer, cornerman)
- Ferdie Pacheco (personal physician, cornerman)
- Joe E. Martin (first trainer)
- Archie Moore (trainer)
- George Dillman (instructor)
- Jabir Herbert Muhammad (manager)
- Luis Sarria (trainer, cutman, masseur)
- Joe Frazier (opponent, friend)
- Richard Durham (autobiography co-writer)
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