Ali is a 2001 American
biographical sports drama film directed by
Michael Mann. The film tells the story of
the boxer Muhammad Ali, played by
Will Smith, from 1964–74 featuring his capture of the heavyweight title from
Sonny Liston, his conversion to
Islam, criticism of the
Vietnam War, banishment from boxing, his return to fight
Joe Frazier in 1971, and, lastly, his reclaiming the title from
George Foreman in
the Rumble in the Jungle fight of 1974. It also discusses the great social and political upheaval in the
United States following the assassinations of
Malcolm X and
Martin Luther King, Jr. during the presidency of
Lyndon B. Johnson.