Muhammad Ali

A revealing look at one man's journey to greatness
Edited by Jill Zayszly and Mary Eileen O'Connor

Although he is never completely out of the public eye, this year's release of the critically-acclaimed movie Ali, starring Will Smith in the title role, has once again shone a spotlight on the man many believe is the greatest athlete of the 20th century.

Considering some of Muhammad Ali's most famous quotes over the years, being the center of attention is something with which he is quite comfortable. But while films often take artistic license when depicting a person's life, Muhammad Ali: Through the Eyes of the World, airing Tuesday, May 14 at 9 p.m. on WHYY TV12, 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.

Time magazine recognized Muhammad Ali as one of the most important people of the 20th century. The Guinness Book of World Records has called him "The Most Written About Human Being Who Ever Lived," having surpassed, in order, Abraham Lincoln, Jesus Christ and Napoleon. He has perhaps the highest name recognition of anyone or anything worldwide.

Muhammad Ali: Through the Eyes of the World explores Ali's impact around the globe from every conceivable angle while tracing his life story. The former champion's ongoing battle with Parkinson's disease has perhaps overtaken our image of his cocky, youthful exuberance. But when his trembling hands lit the torch at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia, Ali was finally embraced as a true American hero.

Muhammad Ali: Through the Eyes of the World airs Tuesday, May 14 at 9 p.m. on WHYY TV12.