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Ali<\/a><\/em>\u00a0(2001)<\/p>\n Michael Mann’s films\u00a0are focused on\u00a0individuals struggling with identity issues.\u00a0 In Manhunter<\/em> (1986), Will Graham is torn between his safe, normal life and the world of the psychotic serial killers he chases. \u00a0In Last of the Mohicans <\/em>(1992), Hawkeye\u00a0must choose between the society he grew up in and the Native American culture he comes to love.\u00a0 The two primary characters in Heat<\/em> (1995),\u00a0<\/em>Vincent Hanna (Al Pacino)\u00a0and Neil McCauley (Robert DeNiro) are, in many ways, two manifestations of\u00a0the same, work-obsessed person.\u00a0 McCauley’s work is crime;\u00a0Hanna’s is stopping it. In this film, Muhammad Ali<\/a> (Will Smith) is struggling with his private identity versus his carefully crafted public persona.<\/p>\n Most of\u00a0Will Smith’s roles such as Captain Steve Hiller<\/a> or Agent J<\/a> don’t ask him to do anything but exude charisma, but here he has to make us believe in the man behind the charisma.\u00a0 This may not be his best film, but\u00a0it is his most complete performance. He does an excellent job embodying the complexities of Ali: a devoted\u00a0husband and philanderer;\u00a0\u00a0an adoring\u00a0son who threw away his father’s name;\u00a0\u00a0a devoutly religious man disillusioned with the politics of his faith. Quiet and thoughtful when at home, once the camera was on, Ali transformed into a confrontational braggart.<\/p>\n In the early stages of his career, this brash public persona was seen as a villain, and\u00a0Ali was happy to play this role because it brought him fame and attention, but after his suspension for refusing induction, public perception changed.\u00a0 The movie frames\u00a0Ali’s fight with George Foreman<\/a> as a turning point.\u00a0 After this fight, boxing’s biggest villain, became the good guy.<\/p>\n The mutually beneficial relationship between Muhammad Ali and Howard Cossell (Jon Voight) changed the way we view sports. Before, sports reporting was narrative based, telling us what happened. Now, it’s entertainment based, making viewers feel emotionally connected to the event and its participants.<\/p>\n Jon Voight\u00a0is perhaps best known as Angelina Jolie’s dad, but, at\u00a0one point, he was a\u00a0counter-culture icon<\/a> in Midnight Cowboy (<\/em>1969) and Coming Home<\/em> (1978).\u00a0\u00a0 <\/em>Playing a historical figure is tricky, too many actors resort to an impression\u00a0because they’re afraid the audience will compare them unfavorably to their own memory.\u00a0 Voight\u00a0manages to straddle the line, evoking the historical Cossell,\u00a0while creating a\u00a0believable character.<\/p>\n This movie is not kind to organized religious\u00a0institutions like the Nation of Islam<\/a>, but is respectful of individual belief such as Ali’s and casts his decision to refuse the draft as both a personal choice\u00a0emanating from deeply held convictions and a business decision.<\/p>\n This movie asks important questions about the duality of public life. Is it disingenuous to portray a character in public or should we expect honesty and transparency in public figures?<\/p>\n Ben-Hur<\/a><\/em>\u00a0(1907)<\/p>\n This short, silent film features the chariot race from Lew Wallace’s story of Judah Ben-Hur<\/a>.<\/p>\n Because the producers of the picture did not ask for permission to make the movie, Lew Wallace’s estate sued them, and the resulting lawsuit set a precedent requiring filmmakers to obtain the rights before making a film based on a preexisting work<\/a>.<\/p>\n This is interesting because of its place in establishing modern practices of film rights, but it’s a boring film.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Ali\u00a0(2001) Michael Mann’s films\u00a0are focused on\u00a0individuals struggling with identity issues.\u00a0 In Manhunter (1986), Will Graham is torn between his safe, normal life and the world of the psychotic serial killers he chases. \u00a0In Last of the Mohicans (1992), Hawkeye\u00a0must choose between the society he grew up in and the Native American culture he comes… Continue reading The greatest chariot race<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[104,123,130,350,435,535,562,725,741,887],"class_list":["post-519","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-daily-progress","tag-ben-hur","tag-biographical-films","tag-boxing","tag-howard-cossell","tag-jon-voight","tag-michael-mann","tag-muhammad-ali","tag-silent-films","tag-sports-films","tag-will-smith","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/tenkmovies.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/519","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/tenkmovies.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/tenkmovies.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/tenkmovies.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/tenkmovies.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=519"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"http:\/\/tenkmovies.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/519\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14611,"href":"http:\/\/tenkmovies.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/519\/revisions\/14611"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/tenkmovies.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=519"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/tenkmovies.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=519"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/tenkmovies.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=519"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}<\/p>\n