Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee — this is the legend before the myth.
Charting the life and times of Muhammad Ali, this documentary begins in Louisville, Kentucky, the birthplace of the future World Heavyweight champion and follows his career from his first amateur fight against Ronnie O'Keefe (for which he was paid the princely sun of $4.00) to the most famous fights of his life: "The Rumble in the Jungle" and "The Thriller in Manilla". Featuring classic footage from legendary fights, as well as interviews with his trainer Angelo Dundee and contributions from Henry Cooper, Joe Bugner and George Forman, this comprehensive guide to Ali’s life and times pays tribute to his unique, warm, and effervescent and charismatic character who took the boxing world by storm.
Production
Rare footage of pre-Cassius Clay Louisville.
Editing
Seamless weave of fights and political context.
Sound
Ali's own voice — poetry with a jawbreaker.
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Angelo Dundee appears here shortly before his death in 2012 — his last major on-camera reflection on Ali.
This 2002 release arrived during the 'Ali renaissance' — pre-Freedom of the City but post-Olympic torch moment — making it a time capsule of how America was reprocessing his legacy.
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