HBO airs Ali’s greatest fight off the ring

MANILA, Philippines - HBO will air Muhammad Ali’s Greatest Fight as it chronicles the great champion’s fight for legitimacy as an conscientious objector in 1971 as nine justices of the United States Supreme Court debated and decided on the case of the fighter’s refusal to enlist in the military on moral grounds.

The HBO original film “Muhammad Ali’s Greatest Fight” premieres on Oct. 25 at 10 p.m. exclusively on HBO Signature and HBO Signature HD. The film explores the intricate politics behind these historic decisions in a time of rapid social and cultural transformation in the American landscape.

The film stars Academy Award winner Christopher Plummer (Beginners), Academy Award nominee Frank Langella (Frost/Nixon) and Benjamin Walker (Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter) and directed by Academy Award nominee Stephen Frears (The Queen) from a script by Shawn Slovo (A World Apart).

Muhammad Ali’s Greatest Fight goes behind the closed doors of the US Supreme Court as its nine justices – Chief Justice Warren E. Burger (Frank Langella), Hugo Black (Fritz Weaver), William O. Douglas (Harris Yulin), John Harlan II (Christopher Plummer), William Brennan Jr. (Peter Gerety), Potter Stewart (Barry Levinson), Byron “Whizzer” White (John Bedford Lloyd), Thurgood Marshall (Danny Glover) and Harry Blackmun (Ed Begley Jr.) – decide the outcome of Muhammad Ali’s landmark appeal.

Justice Harlan, a respected jurist with 15 years on the court, finds himself at odds with the status quo after his perspective is challenged by the contemporary ideals of his new clerk, Kevin Connolly (Benjamin Walker).