On the back of epics on The American Civil War, Vietnam, the Roosevelt’s and Hemingway, Ken Burns takes on another giant of American historical and cultural life, Muhammad Ali. The PBS documentary is new to BBC two in the UK and takes viewers on a journey through the life of the man Norman Mailer called “Very spirit of the 20th century”. The 4 part series (split into 8 for U.K. Television) uses Burns’ trademark style of rare archival footage and photographs, meticulous research, and atmospheric narration to give new voice to boxing’s most brilliant story.
Burns as always has deployed his virtuoso talent and finding footage. The archive footage is often so rare it seems new to even the most well versed Ali afficanado and has been restored to phenomenal quality for the small screen. Ali’s early fights especially glow with vigour and excitement, giving a 21st century audience the exhilaration of being ringside in the early 1960’s.
The behind the scenes footage and too gives an incredible look at the man as well as the boxer, it breathes life into the caricature of Muhammad Ali. It shows what was really at stake in his fight for freedom, his very life. One particularly moving exchange is narrated over a photograph of him playing with his daughter Miriam, where the champion states that the struggles are all for her, so she can one day walk with her head held high. Burns contrasts scenes like this with footage of the political turmoil in America, riots and the war in Vietnam to give us a real sense of scope. Muhammad Ali at the micro and macro, showing a real man caught up in shaping the future of his country and the world.
The vast and diverse cast of contributors offer insightful commentary. Muhammad’s brother and closest confidant, Rahman Ali, gives a beautifully close look at the man who would become an icon in impactful but sparsely scattered interview segments. Ali’s daughters Hana and Rasheda Ali take a look at the family man, the father. Khalilah Ali (Belinda Boyd), the second Mrs Muhammad Ali is a force of nature, showing in her interview clips why she was every bit his foil.
Retired fighter Micheal Bentt is a pleasure to listen to, giving excellent technical insight that only someone who’s been both a world heavyweight champion and Hollywood actor could. Hall of fame Promoter Bob Arum shows why he is still operating at the top level in his centennial decade, explaining the business behind boxing that formed a backdrop to Ali’s extraordinary career.
A 91 year old Jerry Izenberg is at his poetic and candid best showing why he has remained a force in boxing for nearly 70 years. Other Journalists, writers and scholars; David Remnick Dave Kindred, Todd Boyd, Johnathan Eig, Walter Mosley, Howard Bryant, Gerald Early, Gay Talese, Robert Lypste and Salim Muwakkil, all speak elequently and give fresh and interesting views on the events of Ali’s life. Wole Soyinka too delivers a heart wrenching poem on the great man.
Those who were there helpfully chip in; Muslim minister Abdul Rahman, manager Gene Kilroy, promoter Don King, friend and hall of fame basketballer Kareem Abdul Jabar, Adversary, sparring partner, and friend Larry Holmes, all speak well. The voice of the late writer Norman Mailer also seeps in constantly through quotations.
Keith David’s narration is constantly captivating. A strong African American voice he breathes soulful life into every frame. His booming diction dictates the narrative with drive and ferocity where necessary and delicate emotion where appropriate. He gives the footage a timeless quality transcending the decades of Ali’s career and giving voice to America as it looks on at the most exciting and interesting figure it has ever had.
The sound design is almost as flawless as the images it accompanies. It flows seamlessly complimenting the story and pushing the narrative as it goes through the years of Muhammad Ali’s life. The Soundtrack is an ambitious mixture of modern and period songs that flow through the story. Sam Cooke, The Beatles, Charles Bradley, James Brown and Nina Simone are some of the highlights.
Malcolm X’s voice bleeds into the piece, as it did Muhammad’s life. Ultimately no one influenced Ali’s life and theology more than X. He changed the course of Ali’s life and through the man formerly known as Clay he changed the attitude towards civil rights in America. However Ali’s relationship with Malcolm and the ideological fault lines within the Nation of Islam represents Ali’s failings, hypocrisy and frailty. Burns shows this and acknowledges that even the most noble of us are flawed and human.
To this end there is also no shying away from the more dated beliefs espoused by Elijah Muhammad and the Nation of Islam and regurgitated by Ali. Racial segregation theory is represented accurately, and although it was later rennounced by Ali and therefore would have been easy to leave out, Burns remains honest. He uses his portrait not to paint a Saint or a sinner, just a man, worts and all.
Ali’s pride too is examined. His bouts against Patterson and Terrell are demonstrated to show his cruelty. They show Muhammad’s tendacy to humiliate, domainate and punish those who refused to give him respect he deserved. This documentary treats with impeccable neutrality the righteousness of the cause, contrasted with the almost unjust level of viciousness Ali showed to those who disrespected his political beliefs.
The highlights of the documentary though are the portions of deep analysis of Muhammad Ali’s relationship with his greatest adversary, Joe Frazier. All boxing fans know the fights but Burns holds the mirror up to the great juxtaposition between the men. The fights are shown in glorious technicolor, in all of their splendid violence, they appear like the great gladiator spectacles of old, where there is far more at stake than the bout itself. The two fighters couldn’t have been more different but they were bonded as brothers through two inescapable factors, the blood they forced each other to shed in the ring and their experience as black men in America, something Burns explains well.
If there are criticisms they are menial at best. In a piece this well thought out and planned it takes an extremely critical eye to find any flaws. One though is that the tragic Death of welterweight Benny Paret I showed in full and played off with relative levity. Although this serves a small purpose in Ali’s story it seems distasteful to show it without the full devastating context of the death of a great champion in one of the most important incidents in boxing history.
Despite the huge cast however there were some notable absentees. George Foreman and Neil Leifer are absent despite being heavily involved in similar projects in the past. Also I think voices of those who have passed could have been better utilized. I have no doubt there are reams and reams of footage of Drew Bundini Brown, Angelo Dundee, Howard Cosell and Herbert Muhammad, the people who knew Ali best and spent more time with him than anyone, although they do not appear.
These critiques though are tiny in the face of what is ultimately overwhelming quality throughout.
This documentary Gives incredible context to the achievements of Muhammad Ali, it shows the enormous weight of his responsibility to his people. The immense powers of government and law that tried to crush him. The racists and sceptics who undermined and defamed him at every turn. The dangerous men who tried to take him out in the ring. It shows how in spite of it all, The man born Cassius Marscellus Clay, shrugged them off, wearing a smile. The story perfectly plots the growth of the consciousness of a nation. It charts the transcendent state of America through the turbulent changes of the post war period. Through the story of one sporting figure the documentary is able to show how one individual can change the world.
Personally I think this documentary sits alongside Howard L Binghams beautiful photo anthology “Muhammad Ali: A Thirty Year Journey”, Spike Lee’s Oscar winning film “When We Were Kings” and Thomas Hauser’s meticulous biography “Muhammad Ali: His Life and Times” as one of the best attempts to bottle the lightning that was the Greatest, Muhammad Ali.
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