Sundance 2009: "Thriller in Manila" Review - Written by Mathius Mack Gertz

Thriller in Manila
United Kingdom, 2008, 108min., color
Genre: Documentary
Director/Screenwriter: John Dower
Executive Producers: John Smithson, Elinor Day
Producer: John Dower
Cinematographer: Stephen Standen
Picture Editors: Nicholas Packer, Kate Spankie


Joe Frasier and Muhammad Ali fought three times. Their first highly anticipated encounter was dubbed the “fight of the century” before either boxer entered the ring. Gut it was their third and final confrontation on October 1, 1975, in the Philippines, that cemented their rivalry as one of history’s greatest.

What’s remarkable about Thriller in Manila is how dramatically it conveys both the depths of the rivalry as well as the complex racial politics of the time. Using extensive archival footage and interviews, the story is told from Frasier’s point of view. What emerges is not only a very different take on the rivalry, but on the racially charged environment in the United States at the time. Director John Dower takes a time that many of us have long ago put to bed and puts a new and disturbing spin on it. In so doing he repaints the otherwise stellar image of Ali, as an anti-war and civil rights leader, into one of opportunist, showman and narcissist willing to do anything and hurt anyone to promote himself and stay in the spotlight. A must see. Four stars.