Critic
Two New Films Probe Controversies in the Legend of Muhammad Ali
Netflix’s Blood Brothers and a comprehensive documentary from Ken Burns give yet another look at the boxing legend.
The future Muhammad Ali, as 20-year-old Cassius Clay, in 1962.
Photographer: The Stanley Weston Archive/Archive PhotosMuhammad Ali is already one of the 20th century’s most excavated, dissected, and meditated-upon figures in print and film.
This month brings two more documentaries about the champion boxer. The eight-hour Muhammad Ali, from Ken Burns, who co-directed with his daughter Sarah and her husband David McMahon, is slated to begin airing on Sept. 19 on PBS. On Sept. 9, Netflix premiered Blood Brothers: Malcolm X and Muhammad Ali, directed by Marcus A. Clarke and co-produced by Black-ish creator Kenya Barris.