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.

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.

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.

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.