Story of movie The Greatest 1977 Film : The Greatest is a 1977 film about the life of boxer Muhammad Ali, in which Ali plays himself. It was directed by Tom Gries and Monte Hellman. The film follows Ali's life from the 1960 Olympics to his regaining the heavyweight crown from George Foreman in their famous "Rumble in the Jungle" fight in 1974. The footage of the boxing matches themselves are largely the actual footage from the time involved.
| The Greatest | |
|---|---|
Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Tom Gries Monte Hellman |
| Produced by | John Marshall |
| Written by | Muhammad Ali (short) Herbert Muhammad & Richard Durham (book) Ring Lardner, Jr. |
| Starring | Muhammad Ali Ernest Borgnine James Earl Jones Robert Duvall |
| Music by | Michael Masser Lee Holdridge |
| Cinematography | Harry Stradling, Jr. |
| Edited by | Byron Brandt |
Production company | British Lion Films EMI Films Columbia Pictures |
Release date | 19 May 1977 |
Running time | 101 minutes |
| Country | United States United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
The movie is based on the book The Greatest: My Own Story written by Muhammad Ali and Richard Durham and edited by Toni Morrison.
The song "The Greatest Love of All" was written for this film by Michael Masser (music) and Linda Creed, (lyrics) and sung by George Benson; it was later covered by Whitney Houston.
Screenplay
- Muhammad Ali as Himself
- Ernest Borgnine as Angelo Dundee
- John Marley as Dr. Ferdie Pacheco
- Lloyd Haynes as Herbert Muhammad
- Robert Duvall as Bill McDonald
- David Huddleston as Cruikshank
- Ben Johnson as Hollis
- James Earl Jones as Malcolm X
- Dina Merrill as Velvet Green
- Roger E. Mosley as Sonny Liston
- Paul Winfield as Draft Lawyer
- Annazette Chase as Belinda Ali
- Mira Waters as Ruby Sanderson
- Drew Bundini Brown as Himself
- Malachi Throne as Payton Jory
- Richard Venture as Colonel Cedrich
- Arthur Adams as Cassius Clay Sr
- Stack Pierce as Johnson
- Paul Mantee as Carrara
- Skip Homeier as the Major
- David Clennon as the Captain
- Nai Bonet as Suzie Gomez
- Chip McAllister as young Cassius Clay/Muhammad Ali
Rahman Ali, Howard Bingham, Harold Conrad, Don Dunphy, Lloyd Wells, Pat Patterson, and Gene Kilroy appear as themselves.
There are many uncredited roles in the film including some major characters, such as Ruby Sanderson and his girlfriend, Belinda Board, who became his wife, and Herbert Mohammed, son of Elijah Muhammad, who was Ali's manager at one point.
Lonette McKee was originally going to portray the role played by Annazette Chase.
All music composed and produced by Michael Masser, and arranged by Masser and Lee Holdridge.
| Side 1 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Lyrics | Length |
| 1. | "The Greatest Love of All" (George Benson) | Linda Creed | 5:32 |
| 2. | "I Always Knew I Had It in Me" (Benson; version 1) | Gerry Goffin | 7:14 |
| 3. | "Ali's Theme" (Masser) | — | 5:18 |
| Side 2 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Lyrics | Length |
| 1. | "Ali Bombaye (Zaire Chant) I" (Masser and Mandrill) | — | 3:42 |
| 2. | "Ali Bombaye (Zaire Chant) II" (Masser and Mandrill) | — | 3:00 |
| 3. | "The Greatest Love of All" (Masser) | — | 3:14 |
| 4. | "Variations on Theme" (Masser) | — | 2:34 |
| 5. | "I Always Knew I Had It in Me" (Benson; version 2) | Goffin | 5:21 |
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