The Greatest

Rating:
Summary: Chip Mcalister
Review: Chip was excellent in this movie and I know what happened to him. I ran into him in San Clamente, Ca and ate lunch with him. He seems to be doing very well. Good actor and good guy. 11/16/02

Rating:
Summary: I thought I was renting a documentary
Review: Expecting to see a documentary of the great man I was rather surprised when I realised this is in fact a film starring Ali himself detailing what he sees as the key points in his life.

As the three stars indicates this film is a mixed bag. Ali does a solid job of portraying himself and the ever brilliant Ernest Borgnine does a good job as Angelo Dundee. The storyline is somewhat disjointed and seeing an old Ali replaying his youthful antics is only a limited success.

There are points in the film where Ali is acting like a prize ..., whether he intentional meant to show this or whether he still didn't realise considering it was still only 1977 when this was made I am not sure.

Like the life of Muhammad Ali himself there are some areas of the film which age very well whilst others already seem rather embarressing and will only get worse as time goes on.

Ali's risking prison by refusing to be inducted into the military is a great example of a principled stand, something that will never be diminished.

However the three stages of Ali's interest in women is an example of the rather dated attitudes of the day. First we have Ali with the white hooker, thankfully saved ...by the calling of Malcolm X. The not so subtle message of this encounter equating white women as basically [easy] who are there to tempt the black man from the righteous path is racist nonsense. Ali is then saved by the perverted ideology of the Nation of Islam as spoken by Malcolm X (bizzarely played by James Earl Jones) and their "blue eyed devil" hate filled speaches. Next he moves to a transitional stage where he is with a black woman who is swiftly got rid of once she dares to dress provocatively and heaven forbid is willing to talk, even flirt with the devil white man. Finally Ali gets the perfect girl, your classic submissive and virginal young black muslim girl who needs her parents permission to go on a date.

The scenes where Ali encounters racism is no more or less convincing than the usual Hollywood stuff. Ali looks all noble whilst some small time actor is paid to stand there and call him "boy" and generally give him grief.

All in all this is probably only going to be enjoyed by the Ali fan. As someone who is a huge fan of the man despite recognising his many shortcomings I found it interesting. Someone with a limited knowledge would perhaps be better off with the modern day Wil Smith epic.

ps. I noticed they didnt include Ali getting pole-axed by 'enrys Hammer (Henry Cooper) in London. Where only the quick thinking of Angelo Dundee ripping Ali's glove and thus stopping the fight for five minutes and allowing Ali to recover prevented him from losing. ;)

Rating:
Summary: Big Fights Inc. always delivers.
Review: I have previously read this Beautiful peice of information. Ali was still boxing when this book was published. It is one of the truely "Greatest" written sports compilations ever. END

Rating:
Summary: This book is one of The Greatest!
Review: I have previously read this Beautiful peice of information. Ali was still boxing when this book was published. It is one of the truely "Greatest" written sports compilations ever. END

Rating:
Summary: Chip McAllister
Review: I think that the actor that portrayed Muhammad Ali as an adolescent, in The Greatest, did a fantastic job. Whatever happened to him? I think his name was Chip McAllister

Rating:
Summary: Chip McAllister
Review: I think that the actor that portrayed Muhammad Ali as an adolescent, in The Greatest, did a fantastic job. Whatever happened to him? I think his name was Chip McAllister

Rating:
Summary: Not as bad as you might think.....
Review: Muhammed Ali, acting, and 1977 might all have added up to a recipe for disaster, but the overall result is rather entertaining. I saw this movie on the late show and ended up watching the whole thing. Movie traces Alis career from his Olympic victory to the George Foreman fight in Zaire. Unlike some of the media reviews above, I thought Ali made a fine actor, mostly because he was playing his larger-than-life self. Some scenes had the feel of a documentery, as Ali's quips fly a mile a minute. Ali deserves credit for portraying some of his flaws as well. Not suprisingly, the boxing scenes consist of actual footage. A not-too-shabby supporting cast includes Robert Duvall, James Earle Johnes and Ernest Borgnine. Paul Winfield and John Amos also have brief roles. Overall, it's a good capsule of Ali's razor-sharp wit and charisma that unfortunately has been silenced by Parkinsons disease.....

Rating:
Summary: More compelling than ALI with Will Smith
Review: The day after I paid to see the film ALI, starring Will Smith, THE GREATEST, starring Muhammad Ali (playing himself), showed up on cable television. I had high hopes for ALI and low expectations for THE GREATEST.

The better picture? THE GREATEST. That's not saying much (if you saw ALI), but if nothing else THE GREATEST is worth a look for Muhammad Ali's charming performance. THE GREATEST offers several compelling scenes, even if they don't add up to a coherent film, all anchored by the ever-watchable Ali.

As the 5/30/00 review points out, Muhammad Ali doesn't sanitize himself in THE GREATEST. However, the movie's 1960s documentary fight footage followed by Ali, age 36, playing himself at age 22, breaks your concentration. Thankfully, talented actors, including Ernest Borgnine, James Earl Jones and Robert Duvall, help Ali pull it together. See THE GREATEST.

Rating:
Summary: It was a nice movie, if not the Greatest
Review: This was a nice movie. It was enjoyable. To take this movie to seriously might not be a good idea, but if you just wanna see Ali its good to watch. The acting is terrible, the only actors who were good in the movie were Ali himself and James Earl Jones. It was obviously a low budget movie, and if your not an Ali fan you might not like it. But Ali himself was charming in the movie and it's worth buying. If you want to see what Ali was like you should get this, if you want to see the events of his life in a clearer more serious way, get Ali with Will Smith.

Neither movie however does Ali's whole life full justice, so you might want to get an Ali documentary if you want to have a fuller look at Ali.

Rating:
Summary: Chip Mcalister
Review: To sum it up, "The Greatest" is not a very well made movie. There are a few very taltented actors in it, but overall the movie lacks that certain special somthing that a movie needs to be good. Most of the scenes are dull, long and drawn out. And i don't believe that Muhammad Ali was the perfect choice to play Muhammad Ali, he really is not a good actor. But I did enjoy the movie, because I am a huge Muhammad Ali Fan. Many that ive heard have tried to compare this movie and the recently released "Ali" on DVD. But you can't really compare the two movies. "The Greatest", even though it's not a very good movie, its does portray what happened in Muhammad Ali's life very well. But the movie "Ali" does not portray his life, It just portray's Muhammad Ali himself, not his life. So I would say that this movie is a must for those who want to know more about Ali. Then after wards, rent or buy "Ali" to understand Ali's mind. when you do that, you'll have a great understanding of what kind of person, what kind of things he had to go through, and a much higher respect for "The Greatest."