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Muhammad Ali: Through the Eyes of the World, is the legend's definitive biography. It is a social documentary about the man, his vision, his impact and his meaning to others.
Floating, stinging, punching and prophesying, Ali transformed the sport of boxing and became the most admired athlete of all time. This film is a fresh and revealing account of the icon's life and influence and features extensive archival and personal material that has never been seen before, exploring Ali's life through memories, human-interest stories and anecdotes.
Produced with the cooperation of The Muhammad Ali Center, Muhammad Ali: Through the Eyes of the World is told in part by those closest to him. The production team filmed in every continent around the globe to speak to not only the celebrities who know Ali but also the common man with a story to tell. From Nelson Mandela to a fisherman from a small village in Egypt, each story allows for a greater perspective on the influence of a celebrated life.
Divided into "chapters," the program reveals the facets of the man who began life as Cassius Marcellus Clay on January 18, 1942 in Louisville, Kentucky. It traces his childhood and his amazing boxing career as an Olympian and a professional, including all of his famous bouts with Sonny Liston, Joe Frazier and George Foreman.
Combining rare archival material plus extensive fight footage, it recalls the boxer's controversial conversion to Islam, his draft evasion, which engendered widespread hatred, and his stalwart championing of the Civil Rights Movement.
The impressive list of interviewees includes BB King, Tom Jones, James Earl Jones, George Forman, Angelo Dundee, Lennox Lewis, Henry Cooper, Maya Angelou, Cathy Freeman, Rod Steiger, Billy Crystal, Richard Harris and many others.
Unlike many contemporary documentaries, there is no narrator. Each contributor's recollection becomes pieces of a mosaic, which when finally pieced together make for a clearer and larger picture -- a picture that does justice to the greatness that is Muhammad Ali.(WHYY) |
