Doc/Fest - Sheffield

Thirty years on, the final bell in one the world’s greatest heavy weight championship battles rings on. Dubbed the ‘Thriller In Manila’, Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier were thrown into a sweltering boxing ring in the Philippines for the title, but never before were the stakes so personal. For the first time, Joe Frazier and his corner, including his trainer and his son talk about the lead up to the fight and the match itself, revealing Ali’s dubious psychological tactics and his constant vilification and intimidation of Frazier. Blowing apart the Ali myth, darker sides of his character are drawn into the light to cast a shadow over what the fight meant to sporting history and a country bearing social change. ‘Thriller in Manila’ is an example of brilliant documentary filmmaking, cutting to the core of the issue and revealing this as a battle for human dignity and integrity.