Originally made for British television, "Muhammad Ali - Through the Eyes of the World" is a 103-minute documentary about the African American who was three times the heavyweight boxing champion of the world. Ali has led one of the most interesting lives in recent American history, and I felt well-rewarded for the time I spent watching this documentary on DVD recently.

When the man who became known later as Muhammad Ali was born, he was given the name Cassius Clay by his working-class parents in Louisville, Kentucky. The documentary shows Clay winning an Olympic gold medal in 1960 and going on to win the heavyweight crown in 1964 at age 22. I was struck by how good-looking and charismatic Clay was as he spouted doggerel verse and proclaimed he could "float like a butterfly, sting like a bee."

But the documentary shows that Clay had no sooner become the heavyweight champ than he became embroiled in the turbulent politics of his time. In 1964 he declared he considered Cassius Clay to be a slave name and that henceforth he would be known as Muhammad Ali. He further announced that he was a member of the Nation of Islam and a follower of Elijah Muhammed. In the documentary, journalist Stanley Crouch states, "He had embraced a racist cause... He had embraced a gaggle of lunatics..." I found the historical footage shown during this part of the documentary to be absolutely fascinating.

Ali defeated all challengers in the ring for the next couple of years, but in 1966 he spoke out against U.S. involvement in the war in Vietnam, and he became pretty unpopular for a while. In 1967 he was convicted of a felony for refusing induction into the armed services on religious grounds, although his conviction was eventually overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court. Nevertheless, Ali was banned from organized boxing for about three years during the prime of his life while his legal issues were being resolved.

I’m not a boxing fan, but I was still drawn in by the way the documentary handled the ups and downs of Ali’s career in the ring. I also found it interesting to learn a little about his four wives and some of his nine children. I was a little startled when Jose Torres said that Ali was taking L-dopa at the time he fought Larry Holmes in 1980, which would seem to indicate that he was already suffering from Parkinson’s disease, brought on by the blows he had taken during his long career.

I thought the special features on the DVD were of only passing interest, but I did find the "Unseen Interviews" and the "Fight Chronology" worthwhile. I’ve given a complete list of the bonus materials below.

Selected Special Features on the DVD: