By Thomas Gerbasi
These days, if you want a quick ‘no’ from a film studio, tell them you want to put together a boxing film. If you’re looking for an even quicker boot from the office, tell them you want to make a documentary about Muhammad Ali.
And it’s not that the life and times of ‘The Greatest’ don’t make for compelling viewing; it’s just that in the years since Ali first entered the world’s consciousness as an Olympic Gold medalist in 1960, his story has been told so many times through film, books, and magazine and newspaper articles that there is really nothing left to be said.
Producer Derik Murray, whose work over the last 20 years includes many critically acclaimed sports documentaries, probably would have agreed with that sentiment, at least until he picked up Stephen Brunt’s 2003 book “Facing Ali”, which told the former heavyweight champ’s story through the eyes of the men who fought him. It was a brilliant and unique concept for a book, and Murray thought that a film would also achieve the same purpose.
“The fact of the matter is that everything that quite possibly could have been produced, written, or published or distributed has been,” said Murray to BoxingScene.com. “The light bulb went on for me when I saw the book ‘Facing Ali’ written by Stephen Brunt. And when I read it, I said ‘wait a second, how cool would that be if the guys that actually stepped into the ring with him told the story?’ So I optioned the book, and when I went down to Lionsgate, I had the book, and I had a pitch that I created so that right front and center it was very clear that it was a new way of telling Ali’s story. Lionsgate got it in the first 15 seconds.”
The meeting with Lionsgate was on a Wednesday. By the following Monday, a handshake deal was in place, and Murray got down to the business of making the film version of ‘Facing Ali’ with director Pete McCormack at the helm.
Earlier this year, the final product was released to the public, and in terms of providing a unique look at the life and career of Ali, ‘Facing Ali (which is released on DVD on December 29th) hits on all cylinders. Told by ten of his opponents (George Chuvalo, Henry Cooper, George Foreman, Joe Frazier, Larry Holmes, Ron Lyle, Ken Norton, Earnie Shavers, Leon Spinks, Ernie Terrell), the film has no outside narration, only that of the fighters (and of Ali through archival footage), and it’s one of the most stirring aspects of ‘Facing Ali.’
“At the very beginning, we made the assumption, like you do when you’re doing a documentary, that we were going to need a narrator,” said Murray. “But as we put together our research and as we were getting ready to go forward with the filming, we really sat down and said ‘if we can, let’s work to have these guys tell the story.’ So we went on the road with that mission, and a lot of the credit goes to our director, Pete McCormack, who not only researched each of these subjects flawlessly, but the history in and around boxing flawlessly.”
And almost immediately, the stars of the documentary become evident in the form of Chuvalo, Lyle, and Foreman, who not only tell of their experiences fighting Ali, but also give context to the bouts in terms of the history going on outside the ring at the time. This element broadens the perspective and also brings in two fighters who weren’t featured in Brunt’s book in Terrell and Spinks.
“We really looked at the story we wanted to tell and we wanted to ensure that we weren’t missing large spaces in Ali’s career,” said Murray, who decided to add Terrell and Spinks while opting to leave some of the other fighters in Brunt’s book such as Joe Bugner and Chuck Wepner out. “We wanted to have a cross-section of guys that could give us that full oral history and guys who would also relate to the historical moments as well, whether it was around the draft and Ali being banned from boxing or Ali staying too long in the game.”
Admirably, the film – which was done with the blessing and cooperation of Ali Enterprises - doesn’t shy away from the tough questions that have come up over the years, such as Ali’s treatment of Terrell and Frazier or what role boxing played in Ali’s Parkinson’s Syndrome. And when it comes to poignant moments, few can compare to Chuvalo telling of the tragedies that have befallen his family over the years or Norton talking about not only his near-fatal car accident, but of barely being able to make ends meet while raising his son before his first bout with Ali.
“We did not want to show up at the end of the day and deliver a boxing movie,” said Murray. “We wanted a movie that would go beyond that, that would be about these larger than life personalities telling their own stories about maybe the largest personality in life, Muhammad Ali. We set out to make it an emotional film, to give these guys an opportunity to tell their stories and also get a sense of who and where they are today, and I think that helps drive that perspective of it being more than a boxing movie. There were storylines we felt were so important because we wanted to understand what it was like being in the ring with Ali, but we also wanted to know about them, and not only who they were when they stepped in the ring and where they came from, but a little bit about them now.”
Well, call it mission accomplished for the team that put together ‘Facing Ali’ because this is more than a boxing movie, but it’s also something that diehard fight fans can embrace because this is the first time we’re seeing the Ali story told in a way that you will learn some things you haven’t before. Sure, we’ve all heard Frazier, Foreman, and Holmes tell their stories about Ali, but to hear from Lyle, Chuvalo, Shavers, and Terrell is a treat for true boxing fans.
But as far as Murray is concerned, the greatest satisfaction came during a screening in Vancouver as he saw ‘The Greatest’ himself watch the film.
“We were told by the family that he thought it was a very important part of his legacy, and something that was incredibly gratifying was that at the screening, Ali sat down, and when the movie came on, he never looked down. He was transfixed on it. That made it all worth it.”
And ‘Facing Ali’ is worth every dime you pay for it on DVD. Highly recommended.
