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I Am Ali (Blu-ray) Official AVSForum Review

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2K views 8 replies 9 participants last post by  jbug 
#1 · (Edited)


Check out our review of this intimate and heart-warming look at the man behind the legend - as we've never seen Muhammad Ali before.



The Review at a Glance:
(max score: 5 )

Film:


Extras:


Audio/Video total rating:
( Max score: 100 )

85



Details:

Studio and Year: Universal - 2014
MPAA Rating: PG
Feature running time: 112 minutes
Genre: Documentary

Disc Format: BD-50
Encoding: AVC
Video Aspect: 1.78:1
Resolution: 1080p/24

Audio Format(s): English DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio, Spanish/French/German/Portuguese DTS 5.1
Subtitles: English SDH, Spanish, German, French, Portuguese, Japanese, Danish, Finnish, Dutch, Norwegian
Written & Directed by: Clare Lewis
Music by: Simon Bass
Region Code: A,B,C

Blu-ray Disc release Date: November 11, 2014


"The man behind the legend, an intimate portrait"


My Take:

I Am Ali provides unprecedented access to Muhammad Ali's personal archive of "audio journals" as well as interviews and testimonials from his inner circle of family and friends are used to tell the legend's life story.


I Am Ali is an intimate and heartwarming look at the legendary athlete, beloved father, humanitarian, and activist as he has never been seen before. With exclusive access to Ali’s personal archive of “audio journals,” I Am Ali features touching interviews and testimonials from his inner circle of family and friends, legends of the boxing community—including former heavyweight champions Mike Tyson and George Foreman—and Ali’s longtime friend and business manager, Gene Kilroy. The film shares the champion’s extraordinary history as a fighter, lover, brother, father, and friend as told by insiders and by the man himself for the very first time.

I love Muhammad Ali. As a child growing up I idolized and emulated him. He is an icon that has been engrained in our pop culture. His advanced stages of Parkinson’s disease have left him barely able to speak or leave his home. I watched him regain the Heavyweight Title twice in the 1970’s and followed his career until his final bout in 1981. With the advent of home video I was able to see all of his early fights as well as several excellent documentaries about his life/career. I Am Ali comes from the producers of the terrific “Searching for Sugar Man[/i] documentary and is different from other documentary films that I have seen about him. It contains a series of personal tape recordings he made of telephone conversations, predominantly with children that he made, as well as many clips, interviews and personal stories from three of his children, associates, family, friends, and opponents.

The film does a wonderful job of touching on him not just as a boxer but offers insights into his life as a father, humanitarian and icon who stood up for his beliefs and always said what he meant and did what he said. He wasn’t perfect but he strove to and achieved larger than life status that made him beloved by millions the world over. I miss seeing him.

I Am Ali is a compelling, heartwarming and defining tribute to the man, the myth and the legend. There will never be another like Muhammad Ali.


Parental Guide:

The rating is for thematic material and language.


AUDIO/VIDEO - By The Numbers:
REFERENCE = 92-100/EXCELLENT = 83-91/GOOD = 74-82/AVERAGE = 65-73/BELOW AVERAGE = under 65

**My audio/video ratings are based upon a comparative made against other high definition media/blu-ray disc.**



Audio: 84
(Each rating is worth 4 points with a max of 5 per category)


  • Dynamics:
  • Low frequency effects:
  • Surround Sound presentation:
  • Clarity/Detail:
  • Dialogue Reproduction:
  • Low frequency extension * (non-rated element): NA


Video: 86
(Each rating is worth 4 points with a max of 5 per category)


  • Resolution/Clarity:
  • Black Level/Shadow Detail:
  • Color Reproduction:
  • Fleshtones:
  • Compression:


I Am Ali comes to Blu-ray Disc from Universal Studios Home Entertainment featuring 1080p AVC encoded video that has an average bitrate of 25 Mbps and lossless DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio sound that has an average bitrate of 3.4 Mbps.

This filmed documentary is a mix of interviews, still photos and vintage footage. The new interviews/footage appears lucid, with crisp definition, natural color, stable contrast and punchy blacks. The lower resolution elements are softer while occasionally exhibiting minor artifacts that don’t rise to problematic levels. I had no real complaints with the video quality and on a whole thought that this presentation looked quite good.

The high resolution DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack has excellent dynamic range and refining detail. Dialogue is articulately reproduced through the center channel and maintains a position of prominence within the front soundstage. This isn’t an active surround mix but when applied the surround channels generate an involving atmosphere. Front and rear channel imaging is excellent as sounds and spatial cues mate perfectly with the events transpiring onscreen. All of the music featured throughout the film sounds open, airy and wonderfully detailed. I must to admit to finding this lossless audio presentation to be much better than anticipated.


Bonus Features:
  • (HD) Fighter: The legendary boxer – 3 minute featurette
  • (HD) Brother: The Civil Rights supporter – 4 minute featurette
  • (HD) Lover: The people’s champion – 4 minute featurette
  • (HD) Father: The family man – 5 minute featurette
  • (HD) The Music: Telling the story – 4 minute featurette
  • Bonus DVD
  • Ultraviolet Digital Copy





Final Thoughts:

I Am Ali is a compelling, heartwarming and defining tribute that paints an intimate portrait of the man, the myth and the legend. It comes to Blu-ray from Universal Studios Home Entertainment featuring excellent high definition video, crystal clear lossless sound and a middling supplemental package that provides further interviews from those close to Ali. As fan I will admit to being a bit biased but I would be remiss if I didn’t recommend that you give I Am Ali a look on Blu-ray.






Ralph Potts
AVS Forum Blu-ray Reviews



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Stewart Filmscreen - Studiotek 130 G3 100” 16x9 Screen
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Sherbourn Technologies - 7/200 Seven Channel Amplifier
B&K Reference 200.7 Series 2 Seven Channel Amplifier
Oppo BDP-103D Universal Disc/3D capable Blu-ray Player (With Darbee video processing)
Panasonic DMP-BDT310 3D capable Blu-ray Player (HDMI Audio/Video)
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#5 ·
I've always been a Frazier fan so I'll pass on this.
 
#7 ·
Will definitely add this one to my ali collection. I grew up watching the great ali fights. To me boxing died when Ali was no longer in the ring. Frazier, Foreman. Ali are the best of the best. I feel he is the greatist boxer of all time. Or should I say the smartest. Long live the legend.
 
#8 ·
I love Muhammad Ali. As a child growing up I idolized and emulated him.
So did I.:) In fact, my uncle, Johhny Persol, beat Ali's sparring partner, Jimmy Ellis, to win the 1960 N.Y. Golden Glove championship and lost to Ellis in 1967 on the Ali/Foley undercard match. :( But, I may sit this one out as I have too many Ali videos, and you can view all you want to see of Ali on youtube. This will be on Netflix or Amazon prime, soon.
 
#9 ·
I watched it via Netflix (can't remember if I got the disc or streamed it). It is a much different take on the man and it does an excellent job of presenting him from a different angle. Hard to see a person once so active and so full of life and spouting interesting words silenced.
 
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