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When We Were Kings | Year: 1997 Classification: Documentary Directed: - Leon Gast Actors/Actresses: - Muhammad Ali - George Foreman Amazing event in sports history At rare points in history, things from all levels just come together. "When We Were Kings" captures such a moment. Muhammad Ali emerges from prison after refusing to submit to the Vietnam draft, and is pitted again world champion George Foreman. Don King begins his long association with the sport of boxing by arranging a ...[few] million dollar match in Zaire, and collects Afro-american musicians like James Brown and BB King to perform in an international festival for dark-skinned people. As Ali starts his famous word-fighting pre match, we watch are George Foreman pounds holes into punching bags like they were soft-down pillows, and complications delay and frustrate the event endlessly. ... I have seen very few people with such a command of the english language as Ali, and he is a huge inspiration for african-americans for the last 30 years. And this is the style of athlete that Ali is, at least as portrayed in this film. His physical power and skill are under complete control and service of his monumentous intellect. The fight itself is entirely a battle of wits.... ...Watch the film. Best Documentary and Deservedly So! "When We Were Kings" is a tremendous documentary of the Ali/Foreman "Rumble in the Jungle" which took place in Zaire, Africa in 1974. The fight carries the distinction of being one of the greatest heavyweight bouts of all time, which it is, but there's more to the story. People may have forgotten the circumstances of the fight. That the fight happened at all, much less in Africa, is a story in itself worthy of telling. This film tells it very well. How did the fight come to be in Africa? Was there any way that Ali could beat the younger, more powerful Foreman, who had pummeled his previous opponents? What was really going through Ali's mind before the fight? And who was this new guy Don King? Even though I knew the outcome of the fight, I was overwhelmed with excitement throughout the entire film. The fight and the events leading up to it were so incredible that similar conditions could never be repeated today. The entire entourage, including musical acts James Brown, B.B. King, and the Spinners make the fight an even bigger event. Attention is also given to the political situation in Zaire (dictator Mobutu supposedly detained 1,000 of the country's most wanted criminals in order to ensure a peaceful atmosphere for the world to see during the fight), Don King's motivation, and the incredible charisma of Ali. The film won the Oscar for Best Documentary and deservedly so. Director Gast has produced a film that stands as an important portrait of boxing, black culture, and the 70's as a decade. great background on Rumble in the Jungle 1974 event The thing that leaped out at me: Buy When We Were Kings at Amazon.com Buy posters at Allposters.com Jamster - the latest ringtones for your phone!  Search with Walhello on the Internet on When We Were Kings Search with the Priority Search Engine on When We Were Kings This page in other languages: Suomeksi | Nederlands | Deutsch
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