Muhammad Ali Fans

[eytonxav]

Ken Burns documentary on the life of Ali will air on PBS on 9/19. Love Ken's work and have been a big fan of Ali's, so looking forward to this one. I think it will be 8hrs in total.

 

[Car-Guy]

I don't know anything about Ken Burns but I was always an Ali fan.... He was the GOAT... I'll try to catch some of the series.

 

[Montecfo]

That sounds fantastic, will definitely watch.

 

[Koolau]

Yeah, Ken Burns always does quality and Ali was quality people. Looking forward to it.

 

[easysurfer]

Ken Burns documentary on the life of Ali will air on PBS on 9/19. Love Ken's work and have been a big fan of Ali's, so looking forward to this one. I think it will be 8hrs in total.

Thanks for the heads up. Will have to remind me to set my DVR.

I don't know anything about Ken Burns but I was always an Ali fan.... He was the GOAT... I'll try to catch some of the series.

Ken Burns in some ways is considered the GOAT of documentaries. Past documentaries are of The Civil War, Baseball, The Dust Bowl (I think ). Most recently was about Country Music which helped pass the time last year during the lockdown.

 

[steelyman]

Thanks for the heads up. Will have to remind me to set my DVR.

Ken Burns in some ways is considered the GOAT of documentaries. Past documentaries are of The Civil War, Baseball, The Dust Bowl (I think ). Most recently was about Country Music which helped pass the time last year during the lockdown.

PBS Passport offers the “Ken Burns Collection”. Excellent stuff!

https://www.pbs.org/kenburns/

[ADDED] “Unforgivable Blackness” is the story of Jack Johnson, the first black heavyweight champ way back when. Boxing fans might like it and in a sequence it mentions that Ali likened himself to Johnson after seeing “The Great White Hope”.

The voice of Johnson is done by Samuel L. Jackson who nails it.

 

[steelyman]

Reminder: this starts tonight!

 

[pb4uski]

My now 91yo mother and dad were vacationing in Miami in the 1960s and she met him in the gift shop of the Fountainbleu hotel. She said that he said hello and she recognized him and they chatted for a couple minutes and that he was a very nice gentleman.

 

[braumeister]

I ran into him once in the lobby of a hotel in 1988. His Parkinsons had already advanced so much he was obviously struggling. Brought tears to my eyes.

 

[steelyman]

My now 91yo mother and dad were vacationing in Miami in the 1960s and she met him in the gift shop of the Fountainbleu hotel. She said that he said hello and she recognized him and they chatted for a couple minutes and that he was a very nice gentleman.

That’s nice and I can believe it. I imagine him as charming in person. I wouldn’t know but I don’t recall reports of him being a nasty person. Even when he was talking trash about opponents there was always humor there.

And he was pretty. [emoji3]

 

[gcgang]

PBS Passport offers the “Ken Burns Collection”. Excellent stuff!

https://www.pbs.org/kenburns/

[ADDED] “Unforgivable Blackness” is the story of Jack Johnson, the first black heavyweight champ way back when. Boxing fans might like it and in a sequence it mentions that Ali likened himself to Johnson after seeing “The Great White Hope”.

The voice of Johnson is done by Samuel L. Jackson who nails it.

After the performance James Earl Jones does in Great White Hope, HE will always be the voice of Jack Johnson to me, especially the closing “…I’m black all right. I never let them forget it.” done to music by Miles Davis.

Have the Ali series set to record.

Always been a huge Ali fan. “ I am the Greatest!” I remember listening to the first Liston fight on my grandmother’s Philco radio when I was nine, going to the closed circuit of the first Ali-Fraser at Flint’s IMA Auditorium when in high school, and when I was in Germany for foreign study in college, getting my host family up in the middle of the night to watch the Ali-Foreman fight, which was televised on local TV there.

And then there were the Howard Cosell interviews.

It should be The Greatest!

 

[steelyman]

It should be The Greatest!

That’s the title of a Ringo song written by John Lennon for Ringo’s first album. Brings back the iconic photo of Ali knocking out all four Beatles in Miami. I wonder…

 

[Birdie Num Nums]

Maybe one of these days someone will do a film about Young Stribling.

 

[gcgang]

After the performance James Earl Jones does in Great White Hope, HE will always be the voice of Jack Johnson to me, especially the closing “…I’m black all right. I never let them forget it.” done to music by Miles Davis.

!

https://www.milesdavis.com/albums/a-tribute-to-jack-johnson/

Correction: I’m not sure the quote was in the movie. It WAS, however, at the end of the Tribute to Jack Johnson album. But now I find it wasn’t James Earl Jones, it was Brock somebody, who SOUNDED like Jones to me. Anyways, it’s a cool quote, says, “I’m JACK JOHNSON! Heavyweight Champion of the World. I’m black, they never let me forget it. I’m black, alright, I never let them forget it.”

 

[steelyman]

https://www.milesdavis.com/albums/a-tribute-to-jack-johnson/

Correction: I’m not sure the quote was in the movie. It WAS, however, at the end of the Tribute to Jack Johnson album. James Earl Jones says, “I’m JACK JOHNSON! Heavyweight Champion of the World. I’m black, they never let me forget it. I’m black, alright, I never let them forget it.”

Never heard of that album, thanks for mentioning.

In my mind, Samuel L Jackson got the Johnson attitude right in the Burns documentary.

 

[easysurfer]

I got through part of the first episode last night. The Greatest

Ken Burns documentaries are like a step into a time portal taking a tour of when things were. Enjoyable and interesting.

Ali's boxing style was so opposite of that was taught.

 

[Koolau]

Reminder: this starts tonight!

Yep! Got it on DVR. Looking forward to watching with DW.

 

[mcbraemer]

There is a very entertaining and informative Ali Museum downtown in his hometown of Louisville KY.
More than worth a trip!!!

 

[Montecfo]

There is a very entertaining and informative Ali Museum downtown in his hometown of Louisville KY.
More than worth a trip!!!

Yes, been there. Recommend.

 

[harllee]

I am taping the Ali documentary and will watch it. I love the Ken Burns documentaries--Civil War, baseball, Jazz, country music, the Roosevelts, national parks. The only one I could not watch is the Viet Nam one, just too sad for me as I lost friends in that war.

 

[RobbieB]

Saw it last night, really good!

 

[Koolau]

I am taping the Ali documentary and will watch it. I love the Ken Burns documentaries--Civil War, baseball, Jazz, country music, the Roosevelts, national parks. The only one I could not watch is the Viet Nam one, just too sad for me as I lost friends in that war.

I have to agree about the VN series. I couldn't deal with it. I lived through it on TV, as a 2S deferred student and then as a 1A hoping my number didn't come up. I often thank God I never had to serve but I knew folks who did. All were changed - as was our country - and theirs.

I guess making you feel like you were there is Ken Burns' talent. I remember many of Ali's stories as they happened. Seeing them in context reveals an amazing man who was not always appreciated until much later. Looking forward to the remainder of the series.

 

[RobbieB]

Watched part 2 last night, really good!

 

[steelyman]

Ken Burns must have an amazing research staff (Florentine?) to uncover all that material for their films.

Ali shows a lot of what many people still remember “first hand”. But the Civil War? Thomas Jefferson? (et cetera).

Looks like Sarah Burns had a big input on this one.

 

[jollystomper]

I am going to stream it from the pbs.org website. Looks good!