Kino Lorber will release, on DVD, The Trials of Muhammad Ali, a documentary from Kartemquin Films (the producers of Hoop Dreams, The Interrupters and more) and directed by Academy Award-nominated filmmaker Bill Siegel (The Weather Underground), on April 22nd.

Ahead of that home video release, the acclaimed documentary will air on PBS tonight, April 14, starting at 10pm (check your local listings).

The powerful documentary examines the life of Muhammad Ali beyond the boxing ring to offer a personal perspective on the American sporting legend. Investigating Ali’s spiritual transformation – including his conversion to Islam, his resistance to the Vietnam War draft, and his humanitarian work – the film connects Ali’s transcendent life story to America’s struggles with race, religion, and war in the twentieth century.

This DVD, which will be out a week from tomorrow, will come with special features including: the documentary short, The Mock Trials of Muhammad Ali, and extra scenes including “Cassius Clay Meets The Beatles“, “Muhammad Ali Suspended from the Nation of Islam“, “Masjid in Miami with Khalilah Camacho-Ali“, and “John Carlos on Raising the Fist“. 

Also included are two audio commentaries, one featuring director Bill Siegel, composer Joshua Abrams, and editor Aaron Wickenden; The other featuring executive producer Gordon Quinn and journalist Salim Muwakkil. Also included are DVD-ROM educational resources: Official ITVS Community Cinema Discussion Guide, Complete Audio of Clay v. USA Supreme Court 1971, and PDF transcript of Clay v. USA Supreme Court 1971.

The Trials of Muhammad Ali had its world premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival, won the ABCNews VideoSource Award at the IDA Documentary Awards, and was nominated for Outstanding Independent Motion Picture at the NAACP Image Awards. It was an official selection of Festival Do Rio, Seattle International Film Festival, Traverse City Film Festival, AFI Docs, Montclair Film Festival, and Melbourne International Film Festival.

The film was released theatrically last year by Kino Lorber, opening in New York at IFCCenter, before going on to play in additional markets including Los Angeles, Atlanta, Dallas, Washington DC, Seattle, Philadelphia, Chicago, Toronto, Boston, San Francisco and many others.

The Trials of Muhammad Ali is the second feature-length documentary directed by Bill Siegel. Mr. Siegel’s previous film, The Weather Underground, co-directed by Sam Green, was nominated for the Best Documentary Oscar in 2002, won the Critics Week Award at the Locarno Film Festival, won the Documentary Award at the Seattle International Film Festival, and won the Golden Gate Award at the San Francisco International Film Festival.

Tune in tonight to watch it on PBS. Click HERE to head to PBS’ website for what affiliate and time it’ll air in your city.