DVD Review: FACING ALI

Film rating: 7/10
DVD rating: 3/10

Director: Pete McCormack
Studio: Lionsgate

FACING ALI is a documentary that doesn’t take the usual approach to telling Muhammad Ali’s story. In fact, very little of the film is actually about his personal life. This film focuses mainly on his most historic fights, and the boxers who faced him. It features some of the biggest names in boxing at the time, such as George Chuvalo, Joe Fraizer, and George Foreman (yes, the grill guy).

The film is very successful in what it is trying to accomplish. It gives Ali’s opponents a chance to set the record straight, according to how they recall the events. The film delves deep into the mindset of these boxers before their fight with Ali. Most went into the fight being cocky, positive that they would win the fight, only to ultimately lose. Of course, the film also focuses on Ali’s losses, especially towards the end of his career.

The film has a very interesting look and style. Often, when introducing another boxer into the film, it will show them in a boxing stance as the camera shifts focus. This is reminiscent of boxing promos that you would see before a real boxing match. Also, another really great touch is that they have the boxers act out the important parts of the fight as they describe it. As the boxers mime the fight, it flashes to the original fight.

This was a really great documentary that I would suggest to any boxing fan, or to anyone who appreciates the historical relevance behind Ali’s career. It is well-made and feels extremely passionate, because of the personal importance of the fights to the people being interviewed. The film benefits greatly from staying focused, and not going too deep into is his life as that isn’t the point. I suggest checking this documentary out.

As for the special features of this DVD, there are a couple that are interesting, but nothing too amazing. The first feature is “Bringing the Fights to Life,” and it gives you a look into the actual filming of the documentary. It also discusses all the restoration work they put into the classic fight footage, it is incredible how they restored it. It is interesting to watch, and is one of those features that you would expect from a DVD.

The next one is “Facing Ali: From Book to Screen,” which covers how they came up with a lot of the post-production visuals. To me though, this twelve minute feature was alright, but somewhat uninteresting. The final and standout feature is “After the Bell,” which discusses what it was like interviewing the boxers. It was really cool to get a look at what the filmmakers went through to get the footage.

I do have to admit, I was pretty underwhelmed by the special features on the disc. The total run time for the features was only about twenty-eight minutes. One notable problem is that it is missing a commentary track. It would have been really great to watch this film with the commentary explanations of the interviews and stories of the filming. Another big problem is that they didn’t include extra interview footage. In the other special features, they talk about all this footage that they got, but none of it is included.

This is a really great documentary with a lot of interesting ideas, but unfortunately the special features do not have much replay value. The disappointing features keep this from being a fantastic DVD, but the film itself is definitely worth checking out.