I Am Ali

When making a documentary about such a known figure as Muhammad Ali, the tough thing is trying to cover material that hasn't already been beaten to death. Fortunately, "I Am Ali" manages to do that, keeping the material fresh and looking at the subject matter from an angle I hadn't seen before.

The "gimmick", so to speak, of this documentary is that it releases a number of "audio journals" (phone conversations) between Ali and his family members. This shows a side of Ali not usually seen by the press or in his public life. It is more of a father talking to his children, and that is kind of neat to hear from such a legendary figure.

That being said, the journals are indeed kind of a "gimmick" in that they aren't used nearly as much as the trailer for this documentary would indicate. Instead, where this film really succeeds is in the wide range of people they talk to about Ali's life both in and out of the ring. This isn't just the "usual suspects", instead including such people as...

-Daughters Hana & Maryum, son Muhammad Jr., brother Rahman, and wife Veronica. -Celebrities Tom Jones & Jim Brown -Manager Gene Kilroy -Marvis Frazier (son of Joe Frazier) -Fellow pugilists George Foreman & Mike Tyson

All of these individuals share some of their unique experiences with Ali, providing stories spanning the emotional range from dramatic to romantic to comedic and everything in between. In this way, "I Am Ali" kind of follows the same format as previous documentary "Facing Ali" (which had many of Ali's opponents give their thoughts about The Greatest).

Overall, "I Am Ali" is a great documentary for casual boxing/Ali fans or those who already "know it all". It is a bit sympathetic to Ali's personal side (he was also a carouser and terribly used by the Muslim Brotherhood, but those topics are not brought up much), but that is excusable because it really wants to focus on Ali's relationships with certain key individuals sans politics. As a whole, this doc may not be quite as good as "Facing Ali", but it is still a five-star effort that accomplishes the difficult task of gleaning something new out of the Ali story.

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.

Of course some can argue whether Ali was that so great or not (each one has your own conclusion), but the main point here is that this is really a very good movie and worth to be watched.

The movie is very educational for those who just arrived from Mars and know nothing about that remarkable character, and very enjoyable to the ones already familiar with Ali's career. Whatever it is your case, the movie will catch your attention by covering some important moments of Ali's career mixed with some of his personal life.

Throughout the film, there are testimonies of people who were present in the life of Muhammad Ali during his time as a great heavyweight fighter in boxing. This includes coaches, editors, journalists and family members, describing memorable passages of the life of Ali at that time.

Beyond that, there is no way to deny he was one of the greatest figures from the past century, far beyond the sport scenario, and with a great story above all.

Muhammed Ali is still a divisive figure in the USA. Lot less so in other parts of the world. In 1999 he was voted the greatest sportsman of the 20th Century by a BBC sports review programme. Ali got more votes than the rest of the top 10 sports personalities combined.

We now live in a day when sportsmen thank their business managers, accountants and stand up for something only when it has been first approved by their publicist.

It were different days back then and Ali divided America and rest of the world by changing his name, religion and refusing to be drafted into the US army and go fight in Vietnam.

There is nothing new here but it is a good documentary if you know little of Ali and wanted to understand and know more of the man.

Ali does not appear apart from old film footage. However there is an emphasis on his personal and family life by way of various audio recordings he made which he gave to one of his daughter's which is new. You also get to see the usual stuff like his exploits in the ring, his politics, religious conversion etc.

The film does show us a little of this complex even contradictory man. Veronica Porsche confirms that she was seeing Ali while he was still married. He had children from many women but wanted his kids to know each other and seems to have maintained good relationships with his ex wives.

There is good use of soul music, it is good to hear from members of his family, past and present as well as other celebrities. It is not ground breaking but a good introduction of Ali.

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!"