It started airing tonight (at least locally, I think PBS stations have their own schedules) and the first part was fantastic. The first chapter ends after Ali defeats Liston for the title. For those who don’t know, Ken Burns is considered probably the top documentarian of his time. His documentaries on baseball and the Civil War are among the best ever produced. I haven’t seen anything on it here so I thought I’d make a thread — to discuss it but also to make people aware.
Was talking to a longtime work buddy of mine today and he remarked on now much great film/video there is of young Ali vs. even an era or two earlier (say Floyd Patterson or Rocky Marciano). Of course Ali was a flashy personality and self-promoter so it seemed the media just flocked to him ever before he became The Greatest. This documentary makes good use of all that material.
My Pops, who turned me onto boxing at a young age, told me about it. We got to talk about the first episode a bit today (my car was in the shop and he gave me a ride to pick it up). He noted that, at least so far, there’s no great revelations of secret, hidden knowledge — it’s for a wider audience, not people like us who probably know every nook and cranny of the Ali saga — but that the presentation is excellent and they found some really good people to talk to, to add flavor and background. Not to mention all of that footage that’s just been lying around here and there getting pulled into one place. If you’re a boxing fan, I’d think you’d want to savor this.
