Ali The Fighter (1971)

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In what must surely set some kind of record for speedy film editing, this film, which excerpts six rounds from the Muhammed Ali and Joe Frazier title rematch of March 8, 1971, was released on March 12, 1971. A near-riot broke out at the first screening, as many of the patrons had expected to see the… More In what must surely set some kind of record for speedy film editing, this film, which excerpts six rounds from the Muhammed Ali and Joe Frazier title rematch of March 8, 1971, was released on March 12, 1971. A near-riot broke out at the first screening, as many of the patrons had expected to see the entire fight. During the fight itself, the filmmakers used a dozen hand-held cameras to record the event. In some cases, the camera angles captured the fight more revealingly than the TV cameras (in place for the pay-per-view showing) did. In others (the knockout), they do not. The movie cameras also took in some ringside happenings that did not appear in the TV coverage -- including Ali's pre-game prayers. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi