[Program title]Chic, le sport ! Ⅳ – Etre un champion
[Film title] Muhammad Ali, the Greatest
[Date] 2013.4.6 – 4.29
[Screen time] 120 min.
[Place] Maison Hermès 10F 5-4-1, Ginza, Chuo-ku, Tokyo 104-0061
Muhammad Ali, the Greatest
1974/ France / 120 min / Color / 35mm
Director: William Klein
Music: Mickey Baker
Cinematography: Etienne Becker, William Klein, Richard Suzuki, Patrice Wyers
Editor: Francine Grubert, Eva Zora
Cast: Muhammad Ali, Sonny Liston, Angelo Dundee, Malcolm X, Floyd Patterson, James J Braddock, George Foreman, Joe Frazier, John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, Ringo Starr
Subtitle: Yoko Matsuoka
Distributor: Arte France
“Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee.” For Muhammad Ali, fighting was “dancing”. This film traces Ali’s life through ten years of glory and frustrating setbacks, beginning with the birth of the heavyweight champion in a 1964 bout against Sonny Liston and concluding with the regaining of his heavyweight title in 1974 in the “Kinshasa Miracle”. While obstinate towards his opponents, Muhammad Ali also directed his pure, explosive energy into eradicating poverty. With stylish rough cuts, this film superbly captures Ali’s charismatic figure against the backdrop of the world in which he lived, just as it was with scheming financial backers, tense conferences, Malcolm X’s testimony, the wild enthusiasm of Ali’s fans, and the children and youth of those times. This is film director and photographer William Klein at his best.