ITH NO OLYMPICS, and the World Cup set for Christmas, the schedules seem comparatively sport-light this summer (relief for some, no doubt). More room, then, for two major new studies (iPlayer) is the old-school contender, and a family affair. Overseen by the revered Ken Burns with his daughter Sarah and son-in-law David McMahon, it benefits from expert talking heads and irresistible archive footage of a subject who was born to be filmed, a showman as compelling outside the ring as he was inside it. The fights are covered in exhilarating depth, extending to blow-by-blow analysis of Ali’s evolving technique; we’re shown exactly what the judges were marking. Yet what impresses most is the unflinching portrait of Ali the man: proof you can profile the greatest, without overlooking their many complications and failings.
