Independent Lens

The Trials of Muhammad Ali

The Trials of Muhammad Ali is the story of Ali's toughest bout: his battle to overturn the five-year prison sentence he received for refusing U.S. military service. The film explores Ali's exile years when he was banned from boxing and found himself in the crosshairs of conflicts concerning race, religion, and wartime dissent.

Coming Soon to Independent Lens: Trials of Muhammad Ali

30s

A story of the famed boxer's toughest bout of all: his battle to overturn the prison sentence he received for refusing U.S. military service. The film explores Ali's exile years when he was banned from boxing and found himself in the crosshairs of conflicts concerning race, religion, and wartime dissent.

Previews + Extras

  • Trials of Muhammad Ali: Confronted and Redeemed: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    Trials of Muhammad Ali: Confronted and Redeemed

    S15 E16 -

    In this opening excerpt from the Independent Lens documentary Trials of Muhammad Ali, the famed boxer appears via satellite on Eamonn Andrews U.K. talk show in 1968, where he's confronted by David Susskind, a U.S. TV host, who calls Ali "a disgrace to his country and a convicted felon." This is contrasted with a more recent moment of redemption: Ali receiving the Medal of Freedom in 2005.

  • Trials of Muhammad Ali: "Why Are We Called Negroes?": asset-mezzanine-16x9

    Trials of Muhammad Ali: "Why Are We Called Negroes?"

    S15 E16 - 23s

    In this excerpt from the Independent Lens documentary Trials of Muhammad Ali, "Captain Sam," a minister in the Nation of Islam in Miami, recalls his first meeting with the famed boxer. Ali, inspired by Malcolm X, asked rhetorically, "Why are we called Negroes… why's everyone else making progress and yet we lag so far behind?"

  • The Trials of Muhammad Ali: Inspired By the Greatest To Be H: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    The Trials of Muhammad Ali: Inspired By the Greatest To Be H

    S15 E16 - 4m 15s

    In a boxing gym in San Francisco, Muhammad Ali continues to inspire. Meet National Boxing Champion and US Olympic hopeful Nargis Shaghasi, an Afghan American female boxer whose success inside and outside of the ring come from bridging her passion and determination for boxing and culture.

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