| Muhammad Ali's Greatest Fight | |
|---|---|
 Television release poster | |
| Genre | Drama |
| Based on | Muhammad Ali's Greatest Fight: Cassius Clay vs. the United States of America by |
| Written by | Shawn Slovo |
| Directed by | Stephen Frears |
| Starring | |
| Composer | George Fenton |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| Production | |
| Executive producers |
|
| Producer | Scott Ferguson |
| Cinematography | Jim Denault |
| Editor | Mick Audsley |
| Running time | 97 minutes |
| Production companies |
|
| Original release | |
| Network | HBO |
| Release | October 5, 2013 (2013-10-05) |
Muhammad Ali's Greatest Fight is a 2013 Americantelevisiondrama film about boxerMuhammad Ali's refusal to report forinduction into the United States military during theVietnam War, focusing on how theUnited States Supreme Court decided to rule in Ali's favor in the 1971 case ofClay v. United States. The film was directed byStephen Frears, from a screenplay written byShawn Slovo based on the 2000 bookMuhammad Ali's Greatest Fight: Cassius Clay vs. the United States of America byHoward Bingham andMax Wallace.[1][2] It premiered onHBO on October 5, 2013.
The film has a rating of 38% inRotten Tomatoes.
Hank Stuever ofThe Washington Post commented that the film, focused as it was on the behind-the-scenes legal discussion of the Supreme Court's justices and law clerks, and depicting one of Harlan's law clerks (a character that was "a fictional composite of several clerks") as playing a central role in the court's decision to free Ali, was at times "too much like a substandard episode ofThe Paper Chase" and "moreWikipedia entry than story, as characters speak to one another in long paragraphs of legal exposition".
The Post did have positive comments about the lead performances of Langella and Plummer.[1] Christopher Howse ofThe Daily Telegraph said the film "was worth watching in the comfort of the home, but if it had been shown in a cinema, it would hardly have been worth stirring from the fireside for."[3]
Mary McNamara of theLos Angeles Times also commented on the excellent performances of the cast, while concluding that "[t]he legal wrangling of eight old white men behind closed doors simply pales in comparison" to Ali's part of the story.[4]
Ali is not portrayed by an actor in the film, but instead Frears made repeated use of actual television news clips of Ali boxing, giving interviews, and performing. These clips of the actual Ali are mentioned in multiple reviews as among the best elements of the film.[1][3][4]
