Muhammad Ali fans will get to see the boxing legend in a brand-new documentary. On Thursday, Sept. 9, Netflix will release Blood Brothers: Malcolm X & Muhammad Ali, and it will take a closer look at the relationship between the two iconic figures. The documentary is directed by Marcus A. Clarke.
The official synopsis states that Ali and Malcolm X “forged a brotherhood that would not only change both men but change the world. Blood Brothers: Malcolm X & Muhammad Ali tells the extraordinary story behind the friendship —and the ultimate falling out— of two of the most iconic figures of the 20th century.” The documentary will also feature “never-before-seen footage to chart this most complex of friendships, tracing the near simultaneous and symbiotic rise of the charismatic and outspoken Olympic champion who charmed the nation, and the ex-con-turned intellectual revolutionary who railed against oppression.” Some of the notable figures interviewed in the documentary are Malcolm X’s daughter Ilyasah Shabazz, Ali’s brother Rahman and daughters Maryum and Hana as well as Cornel West and Al Sharpton.
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Ali, who died in 2016, was very close to Malcolm X. He met the civil rights leader in 1962, and at the time, Ali went by Cassius Clay. Malcolm X became Ali’s spiritual and political mentor, and the name change for Ali happened in 1964. A fictional story of their friendship is talked about in the movie One Night In Maimi. Regina King directed the film, and it tells the story of when Ali, Malcolm X, Sam Cooke and Jim Brown all met up at the hotel in Miami.
“I was not familiar with the night at all,” King said to Buzzfeed earlier this year. “I was familiar with Cassius and Malcolm’s friendship, and I knew Cassius and Sam had a friendship, but it wasn’t until I read the script that I was aware that they had spent that night together. It wasn’t until I did my research that I even saw pictures of Cassius and Jim Brown together. I mean, it makes sense, but I didn’t know that.”
Ali is considered to be one of the best heavyweight boxers of all time. He won multiple heavyweight titles and stared his career with 31 consecutive wins. Ali, who also won a gold medal at the 1960 Summer Olympics, finished his pro boxing career with a 56-5 record.
