Ali is an Academy Award-nominated 2001 biographical film which tells the story of Muhammad Ali. It stars Will Smith, Jamie Foxx, Jon Voight, Mario Van Peebles, Ron Silver, Jeffrey Wright, Mykelti Williamson, Jada Pinkett Smith, Nona Gaye (in her film debut), Michael Michele, Joe Morton, Giancarlo Esposito and LeVar Burton.
The film focuses on the first turbulent decade of the boxer’s professional career, featuring his capture of the heavyweight title from Sonny Liston, conversion to Islam, criticism of the Vietnam War and banishment from boxing, return to fight Joe Frazier in 1971, and lastly his reclaiming the title from George Foreman in the Rumble in the Jungle fight of 1974. The movie also discusses the great social and political upheaval in the United States following the assassinations of Malcolm X and Martin Luther King, Jr. The film also shows the man’s private side: his numerous wives and failed marriages, and his friendships with Malcolm, broadcaster Howard Cosell, and other important figures.
