Ali (film)
Ali is a biopic from 2001 that tells of the most important moments in life, both athletically and personally, of the US world- class boxer Muhammad Ali , who died in 2016 . The film was directed by Michael Mann . The main role was played by Will Smith , who received an Oscar nomination for his role as Muhammad Ali .
action
The film shows the sporting rise of Muhammad Ali, which began with his first win of the heavyweight boxing world championship against Sonny Liston in 1964 , to the legendary boxing match Rumble in the Jungle against George Foreman , which took place in Zaire in 1974 .
During these ten most eventful and formative years in the boxing champion's life, he found his new identity as an African-American Muslim who has shaken off the legacy of slavery . At the beginning you learn about his relationship to the leader of the civil rights movement Malcolm X and how he distanced himself from him. Ali successfully fought against being drafted into the Vietnam War , which almost marked the end of his career. Above all, however, he went to extremes to assert himself in the fight against his opponents, whom he always fought verbally . So the film ends not only with Muhammad Ali's greatest triumph, but also at the point in time when he has become a world-famous icon of sincere fighting. His split relationship with women is also discussed. For his first very spontaneous marriage, he demanded that Sonji, the bride, convert to Islam. However, the marriage fails because Sonji does not want to adhere to the Islamic dress code required by Ali. The film ends with the still undecided “fight” of his second Muslim wife, who traveled to Zaire especially, and who does not want to lose him after one of his affairs has become public.
background
The director Michael Mann wanted to stage this special biography as accurately as possible in order to bring the importance of Ali to the next generations. Many contemporary witnesses were consulted and the film was shot on original locations as far as possible, and the main actor Will Smith , who at first could not imagine slipping into the role of one of his idols, had to complete several months of fitness, boxing and language training as well as studying the Koran and gain some body mass.
Awards & nominations
- Best Actor (Will Smith) nominated
- Best Supporting Actor (Jon Voight) nominated
- Nominated for Best Actor - Drama (Will Smith)
- Best Supporting Actor (Jon Voight) nominated
- Best Original Score Pieter Bourke, Lisa Gerrard nominated
- Won Best Male Performance (Will Smith)
- Black Reel Awards 2001
- Best Supporting Actor - Jamie Foxx
- Best Supporting Actress - Nona Gaye
- Best original soundtrack
- Best Actor - Will Smith
- Best Movie Song - Everlast - "The Greatest"
- Best Screenplay - Gregory Allen Howard
- Best movie
- Best movie poster
- Best Actor - Will Smith
- Best Supporting Actor - John Voight
- Best movie
- Best Actor - Will Smith
- Best Supporting Actor - Mario Van Peebles (Nominated)
- Best Supporting Actor - Jamie Foxx
- Best Supporting Actress - Jada Pinkett Smith (Nominee)
- Best movie
- Phoenix Film Critics Society Awards
- Best Editing - William Goldenberg, Lynzee Klingman, Stephen E. Rivkin, Stuart Waks
- Best Supporting Actor - Jon Voight
- ESPY Awards
- Best Sports Movie ESPY Award
The German Film and Media Assessment FBW in Wiesbaden awarded the film the rating particularly valuable.
Reviews
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“The initially complex approach to a complex personality flattens out in the course of the lengthy film and, above all, does not do justice to the political and ideological dimensions in Ali's life. The boxing matches, meticulously re-enacted in detail, stand like bookends between different chapters of a biography, which also lacks cinematic energy and spontaneity. "
“Controversial in international criticism, the statements fluctuate between 'given away' and 'terrific'. The truth is probably somewhere in between. 'Ali' is definitely not a bad film, on the contrary, even a good one, which nevertheless reveals weaknesses, but which are brought back into balance by the undeniable optical brilliance and strong acting performances. "
“Ali is a film that explains little, a film of openness and gaps. Instead a film that shows something and makes it tangible. A great film about the man who called himself "the greatest"; a film that will stay. "
Web links
- Ali in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- Ali in the online film database
- Blickpunkt movie entry on Ali
- Film booklet of the German Federal Agency for Civic Education (PDF file)
- Comparison of the cuts theatrical version - Director's Cut , Director's Cut - theatrical version by Ali at Schnittberichte.com
- Ali in the German dubbing file
Individual evidence
- ↑ Age rating for Ali . Youth Media Commission .
- ↑ a b Ali at Rotten Tomatoes , accessed September 21, 2014
- ↑ a b Ali at Metacritic , accessed September 21, 2014
- ↑ Ali in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- ↑ Ali. In: Lexicon of International Films . Film service , accessed March 2, 2017 .
- ^ Review of Ali at filmstarts.de, accessed on September 24, 2012
- ↑ Critique of Ali at artechock.de, accessed on September 24, 2012