Netflix Pick – I Am Ali
I Am Ali – Banner
No explanation should be needed as to why I Am Ali is this week’s Netflix pick. 2016 has been absolutely brutal when it comes to celebrity deaths. The world as lost a lot of greats and Muhammad Ali was, is, and always will be an absolute legend. When I found this Documentary I was searching for the movie Ali starring Will Smith. That version isn’t on Netflix but you should seek it out. I am actually glad things turned out the way they did I Am Ali is an incredibly intimate look at the man behind the legend.
The documentary is a chronicle of the life of Cassius Clay, turned Muhammad Ali. It follows him as a fighter and activist, sure, but the real meat of the film is in the audio and video recordings of Ali as a man. He had a habit of recording the conversations he had with his children and wives. With nine children in all the audio recordings are plentiful and really dig deep into how great Ali was outside the ring. He was an excellent father and loved all his children equally. His children have nothing but fond memories of their father. Even other fighters he bested seem to have nothing but fond memories of the man.
The documentary opens up setting the tone and introducing the man. There is no guess as to what you are in for within the first ninety seconds of the film. Ali is an icon now but he was also a defining pillar of the 60s and 70s. The film opens with archival footage of the jokester in that time period. It jumps way forward to some footage of Ali at his last fight, practically a senior citizen when it comes to the sport of boxing. At age 39 Ali defied the odds and stepped into the ring against a 27 year old opponent. The outcome of the fight doesn’t matter.
Early in his career, when Ali was still Cassius Clay, he decided he was going to win the 1960 Olympic games. He made this declaration in 1958 and started his reputation of trash talk and the ability to really back it up. Ali won all four of his fights, easily. He was little known when he got to Rome and many of the European press despised the cocky American. The press was seemingly alone in their distaste. Ali instantly became the ‘cool kid in class.’ His magnetic personality and infectious sense of humor made everyone in Olympic village want to know him. He talked to athletes, fans, and the press as if it was any other time in his life.
Ali vs Liston
Winning the Olympic games definitely went a long way to building the legend that would become Muhammad Ali. The fight that broke him out of the box of being a fighter and into a cultural icon seems to be the Liston fight. Everyone, everyone, thought Liston would win the fight. Everyone except Muhammad Ali of course. His unconventional style of bouncing around the ring and going at his opponents without guard drew attention and when Liston was down in the round Ali was boasting, people noticed. ‘Float like a butterfly sting like a bee’ became a chant.
The unconventional style of Ali wasn’t the only thing he introduced to the sport. People had never seen a man so big move so fast. His endurance was unmatched and the speed of his punches made even the most seasoned fighters look twice. Outside the ring Ali’s game was just as unique. Previous to Ali the promoters and managers did all the talking. Ali wasn’t one to keep quiet. His showboating, boasts, bravado, and trash talk were all ways to get in his opponents head but Ali did it in a way where it wasn’t so malicious. He had fun with it. He had fun with the crowd. Ali loved his fans and he kept them engaged every step of the way. Ali’s managers would show up to press conferences and not be able to get a word out.
Throughout the doc the fighting aspect of Ali’s career is ever present. Archived footage of his fights are highlights but not the main focus. Even the training camp that he created after his boxing license was reinstated was shown as a way for Ali to relate with his fans more than the haven of hard work and dedication it was in reality. Not focusing on the fighting itself doesn’t take away from the documentary, if anything it adds to it. George Foreman has an excellent quote that best sums up this notion. He said boxing was just something Ali did. He was one of the greatest men to ever live. There is a general consensus throughout the film that Ali would have been the greatest at whatever he applied himself to. Be it fighting, art, music, etc.
Another huge aspect of Ali’s life was Ali the activist. He used his celebrity to stand for some real causes and effected real change in the African American community. Most of his activism started around the Vietnam war when Ali refused to go fight. He avoided prison time, miraculously, but had to trade in some of his prime boxing years when his right to fight was revoked. Upon being reinstated Ali hit training harder than ever. He opened a compound that he dubbed Fighter’s Haven to train himself, and allowed others to train. In a true testament to the man he allowed press and civilians to show up everyday and watch him train, train themselves, and would even step in the ring with the common man to have fun and bolster their confidence.
Toward the end of Ali’s career he had massive influence on the second best boxer to ever lace up and step in the ring. A young Mike Tyson idolized Ali.Later in life Tyson and Ali were on a talk show together and the question inevitably came up. Each of you in your prime, who would win. Ali answers the question with a trademark way of not answering. Tyson, a man not known for being humble about anything, said that every head must bow, every tongue must confess. He’s the greatest.
The documentary itself is incredibly well crafted. With a runtime of nearly two hours there is plenty of information to get through and the time flies by. The audio recordings have been cleaned up and restored, subtitles are provided to make sure the audience gets every last word. The footage jumps between archival and newly shot with a sound track that carries the time period along with the tone of Ali. Interviews with those close to Ali are invaluable in getting to know the man. His children and former spouses get their time to say words about the man as a father and husband rather than a fighter. The other fighter’s that impacted Ali’s life, or more accurately he impacted theirs. Sportscasters, writers, trainers, managers, and even lifelong fans all get a time to speak on behalf of Ali.
This review seems more like a review on Muhammad Ali than a documentary. That’s because this doc, appropriately titled I Am Ali, is the true story of Muhammad Ali. While Ali himself didn’t have a hand in making it, it rings true and seems like the exact product Ali would have put out himself. The quality of film making is in the stories, truths, and emotional connections that shine through the footage and grab audiences of any era from as far back as the 1960’s.
