I Am Ali

The name "Muhammad Ali" is a name that I grew up hearing a lot, yet knowing nothing about the man whose name it belonged to. Over time, I grew to know that Muhammad Ali was – is – arguably the greatest professional boxer the world has ever seen. But again, this is something that I just heard, but never knew for myself. A few years ago for a Christmas present, I got "Ali Rap," a collection of famous sayings and quips by Muhammad Ali, and then I finally got an idea of one of the greatest human beings to ever grace the Earth.

A year ago, I re-watched the 2001 biopic "Ali," which featured Will Smith as Muhammad Ali; I'd first seen the film around the time of its release on home video back in 2002 and was quite dazzled, and inspired, by it. Seeing the film again, after having read extensively of Ali's background, his career (he won 56 out of 61 fights total!!!), Islamic faith, family (especially daughter Laila Ali, who was undefeated in her career lasting 24 fights in total!!!), social activism and legacy as a sports and black-American civil rights icon, I had come to the conclusion that Muhammad Ali's title as "the Greatest" was rightfully earned.

Now hear I am at the 2014 documentary "I Am Ali." Clare Lewins, the writer and director, had quite a task before her to make this film, having to cover seven decades in the life of the former Cassius Marcellus Clay, Jr., in just a 112-minue feature-length running time. To this end, she achieved her goal. You can read about Muhammad Ali's life story online, in books or magazines or watch the film "Ali," but at some point you want to hear the truth from the man himself, or those who know him most intimately.

This latter part is where "I Am Ali" comes in.

While one could be disappointed in the fact that the Champ himself never makes an appearance on-screen, we do hear his voice (in taped conversations dating all the way back to the '60s and '70s) and see him in archival footage in his younger days and prime as a heavyweight boxing champion. Instead, his life story is told through these audio recordings and archival footage, and new interviews with his friends (musicians Sir Tom Jones and Kris Kristofferson, and NFL great Jim Brown), associates (trainer Angelo Dundee, manager Gene Kilroy and graphic designer George Lois, the latter of whom designed a world-famous 1968 "Esquire" magazine cover of Ali), family (daughters Maryum and Hana, chiefly, but also his older brother and son), and even former rivals (such as George Foreman, whom Ali defeated in 1974 to become the world heavyweight champion for the second time in the famed "Rumble in the Jungle").

Muhammad Ali has lived an extraordinary life for many to follow. Like any documentary, it not only covers his beautiful life and achievements, it of course also doesn't hide the darker aspects of his journey, including his fierce opposition to the Vietnam War (which cost him his title, and four years of his life – his prime time as a fighter, many have said), and his marital infidelity (which saw him sire nine children from at least three different women), and in his failure to patch up his relationship with close friend and fellow civil rights icon Malcolm X (who was murdered in 1965). All participants – including his ex-wife Veronica Porsche – are quite honest and blunt with their statements and don't hold anything back.

I wish I could describe more about this amazing documentary, but really, it must be seen in order to get the full picture.

10/10

Many people comment on this documentary based on their thoughts of Ali, and I think it is wrong. You may think whatever you want about him, but this title is for the documentary of him, that's not the place to argue his personality or whatever.

The documentary had very rare tapes and it was definitely worth watching. However, I did not like how his influence on people was covered, because many stories were short and out of context. The setup of the documentary was also quite straightforward, and it could be done a thousand times better. For instance, you can see how The Last Dance of Michael Jordan was setup, and this storyline here is not just satisfying.

All things aside, it was worth watching the human part of Muhammed Ali with its beauty and ugliness. He is one of the greatest legends of all times, and this documentary will definitely have a place in any collection about sports.

Review: I was really looking forward to this movie because it's been some time since there has been a documentary on Ali, but this movie didn't really show anything that we don't already know. I liked the footage were they are playing the hidden tapes of Ali talking to his daughter and the interviews with Tyson and Jim Brown but most of the information is things that we have heard time and time again about the legend. I was also hoping to see some footage of Ali nowadays but the director chose to stick with old footage. We all know that he was one of the greatest fighters of all time and that he didn't shy away from speaking his mind so I didn't really see the point of this documentary. It was more of a movie about him as a devoting father and how much he cared about family, even though he couldn't help playing away from home. All of the boxing footage was OK but, once again, it isn't anything that we haven't seen before. In all, it's good that they are paying respect to a man who is suffering with Parkinson's decease and has achieved so much in his life but the documentary isn't anything new. Watchable!   

Round-Up: This film really does show that Ali was a number one entertainer and that he cared a lot about his family and fans. The story about the sick kid who was dying from cancer was touching and when he let one of his fans stay in his house, it really did show that he has a loving heart. It was also good to see how he treated his family, especially his brother and his daughter when she was young but I still didn't learn anything new about the man himself. I honestly feel that the movie Ali, was more of a deep insight about the man and the people around him. Don't get me wrong, it is a watchable film and I'm sure that a lot of boxing fans, or fans of Ali, will enjoy the film but I honestly thing that there was more to the man that what the public already know. It doesn't really touch on his various relationships or how he treated his women but when you think about the amount of children he has, which is 9, he obviously was a ladies man. At 73, he is still classed as the best boxer of all time, close to Tyson in his prime, but it's sad to see him loose his sharp wit and supreme boxing skills, to a illness which must be hard to live with.

I recommend this movie to people who are into their boxing documentaries about the boxing legend, Muhammad Ali, and his devoting love for his kids and his family. 4/10

I Am Ali (2014)

*** 1/2 (out of 4)

There have been countless documentaries done about Muhammad Ali and there will probably be countless others made in the future. It's easy to see why there have been so many because there's just no doubt that Ali was one of the most interesting humans to ever live.

This documentary here features interviews with his family (sons and daughters), his ex-wife, his friends (Jim Brown, Tom Jones), his boxing opponents (George Foreman) and many others as they discuss what made Ali the man he was. Throughout all of the interviews we are given audio clips and archives interview footage with the man himself who helps talk about some of the most memorable moments in his life from early fights to his Vietnam battle to Islam. We also get his classic fights covered as well as his later days (this was filmed before his death).

If you're a fan of Ali then I'm sure you've seen countless other documentaries where this same footage was talked about so what makes this one so special? Well, it's actually just Ali and his rather amazing story. The benefit here is that so many of his children are interviewed and we get to hear stories about him as a father and we get some great audio recordings of him talking and playing with his children. There's a great story with Mike Tyson where the boxer talks about what Ali did for him.

I AM ALI is certainly a highly entertaining look at a terrific man.

People can say what they want about Muhummad Ali (Marcellus Cassius Clay) and as he once said himself "They say that the Concorde jet may soon be retired, but jets will continue to fly, and once I retire boxers will continue to box, but they will always remember the Greatest". Ali's legacy is more than what he was able to accomplish in the ring over a 21 year (1960-1981) professional boxing career. Ali's legacy will live on through the many books and documentaries such as I Am Ali.

This documentary on the life and legend of Muhummad Ali was developed with the contributions of Ali's personal audio library. It certainly reflects the extraordinary appeal that Ali exuded with not only his loyal fans, but more importantly with his children, his wives and even his greatest and toughest opponents. Ali liked to tape his telephone conversations with his children when he was away from them, and he told his children when they were older that they would grow to appreciate these intimate conversations by telephone with the passing of time and with their own maturity. My own personal opinion on why Ali may have taped these intimate telephone conversations with his children was because he may have been weary that just like the fate that struck great men such as Martin Luther King, the Kennedy brothers and even John Lennon, Ali may have feared that his mortality was imminent and that he could be assassinated at any time for his outspokenness against the war in Vietnam, for his love and pride for his black heritage and for finding the Muslim religion. Thank goodness for the worlds people that Ali continued to fight, and he continued to send his message and share his love and passion for family, as this documentary reflects.

As his children said in this film, my father Ali may have fathered many children from different wives, and girlfriends, but he never hid his infidelities and he insisted that all his children periodically meet with one another for family gatherings when he was not boxing or training. Even his ex-wives expressed their love for Ali and that he was a man apart from all others. And what he said he meant.

I have watched countless hours of historical footage on Ali and although this may not be as good a documentary as the 1997 documentary Muhummad Ali The Whole Story, I still gleaned new information about this boxing legend regarding the great respect opponents such as Joe Frazier, George Foreman and Cleveland Brown football icon Jim Brown had for Ali. George Foreman's comments about his "rumble in the jungle" in Zaire Africa are priceless. George explains that during this fight he pounded on Ali mercilessly for six rounds (and George was in his fighting prime) and what does Ali do at the start of the seventh round? He whispers in George's ear during a clench, "is that all you got George?". George tells the camera now that "yeah, that was just about all I had" and then he laughs about the incident. These are the insights that many Ali fans love to hear about and this film has several that are worth watching from the mouths of his family members and closest friends.

Ali is to this day still the most recognizable face around the world, and even with his speech impediment caused by 30 plus years of living with the debilitating Parkinson disease Ali still makes personal appearances when he is feeling up to it. Everyone seems to have a story or two about Muhummad Ali, a memory from bygone years of a great fight such as the Thrilla in Manila, or the Rumble in the Jungle, but one day hopefully while Ali is still alive one of the major movie or television studios will agree to produce a deserving 10-12 part mini series on the life of Cassius Marcellus Clay/Muhummad Ali from his early childhood, through his 21 year boxing career, and his subsequent living with Parkinson disease. I believe this mini-series would break all previous television viewing records.

I rate this documentary an 8 out of 10. Ali is who he is, but in many peoples' minds Ali "IS" and always will be "The Greatest!"