In 1964, a brash, new pro boxer, fresh from his Olympic gold medal victory, explodes onto the scene: Cassius Clay. Bold and outspoken, he cuts an entirely new image for African Americans in sport with his proud public self-confidence and his unapologetic belief that he is the greatest boxer of all time. Yet at the top of his game, both Ali's personal and professional lives face the ultimate test.
Acting
Smith's physical transformation is genuinely insane.
Cinematography
Digital video fights look like you're ringside, bleeding.
Direction
Mann's obsessive detail: every jab, every bead of sweat.
Director
Michael Mann
Will Smith
Muhammad Ali / Cassius Clay
Jamie Foxx
Drew 'Bundini' Brown
Jon Voight
Howard Cosell
Mario Van Peebles
Malcolm X
Ron Silver
Angelo Dundee
Jeffrey Wright
Howard Bingham
Mykelti Williamson
Don King
Jada Pinkett Smith
Sonji Roi
Nona Gaye
Belinda Ali
Michael Michele
Veronica Porche
Joe Morton
Chauncey Eskridge
Paul Rodríguez
Dr. Ferdie Pacheco
Bruce McGill
Bradley
Barry Shabaka Henley
Herbert Muhammad
Giancarlo Esposito
Cassius Clay, Sr.
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Smith trained for nearly a year, gaining 35 pounds of muscle; his punching speed was clocked at 80% of prime Ali's.
Mann shot on early digital video to capture boxing's immediacy — critics hated the 'soap opera' look then, but it predicted modern sports broadcasting.
US
