Intro

It’s amazing what will suddenly resurface. This 1977 effort would no doubt have continued to languish in obscurity if it were not for the theatrical release of Ali. Here’s your chance to see the man’s story as performed by the man himself.

Synopsis

The film covers the period of Ali’s life from his Olympic gold medal win to his recapture of the heavyweight champ title after it had been stripped from him for refusing the draft. Along the way, Cassius Clay becomes Muhammad Ali under…the influence of Malcolm X (James Earl Jones). This is fairly standard biopic stuff, no different from what would now turn up on TV. The novelty lies primarily in the notion of the having the subject played by himself.

Audio

Mono. Nothing wrong as such with the mono – it’s clear and undistorted. But it’s also uninteresting, and a stereo remix would have jazzed this release up considerably. Still, maybe it’s better not to hear the title credits song in surround.

Video

The credit sequence sets a new standard in ugly: faded, scratched, dirty, ugh. Then, as soon as we flash back to the Olympics, the picture improves so dramatically one can’t help but suspect the awful opening was the result of deliberate, if dubious, artistic decision. At any rate, the rest of the movie looks fine, if uninspiring. Some speckles and grain recur periodically. The film is presented in both 1.85:1 and 1.33:1 formats.

Features

Well, you’ve got trailers for The Greatest, The Natural, and Brian’s Song, and you access them through your standard, still, silent menu. Not too exciting.

Closing Thoughts

The bare-bones nature of the DVD suggests no one was hugely interested in its re-release. The film has some curiosity value, but is otherwise very pedestrian.

Special Features List

• Theatrical Trailers