I had the opportunity to see this rarely shown movie yesterday at the American Museum of the Moving Image. In addition, the director was there to hold a question-and-answer session after the film. This film is way way more interesting, compelling, complex, and gloss-free than the recent film When We Were Kings (which was very good in its own right). It deals, in cinema verité style, with the weeks leading up to, and the immediate aftermath of, the 1971 Ali-Frazier fight. There are many scenes that take place on the streets of Manhattan, during which the camera eavesdrops on the passionate arguments between ordinary citizens who were of the two strictly divided Ali and Frazier fight-fan camps. The exciting fight is shown--all 15 rounds--in its entirety, without any sportscaster's narration--a conscious and brilliant decision by the director. The movie is better than When We Were Kings because it is less blatantly in Ali's camp--in that movie Foreman, a charismatic man in his own right, is portrayed as an inarticulate, unintelligent boxer who deserved no respect. In Ali: The Fighter both fighters are revealed as complicated, graceful, and intelligent boxers as well as human beings. Also--since it takes place in 1971, the Vietnam War era, when Ali was much-maligned and hated by many people for his conscientious-objector status--it makes for a much more psychologically interesting film. This is a must-see for any boxing/Ali/Frazier/documentary fan. Unfortunately it's not available on video as of yet. Apparently, plans are in the works.
