Leon Gast’s documentary about the 1974 “Rumble in the Jungle” between Muhammad Ali and George Foreman is at once a documentary about one of the most important boxing matches in history as well as a look at one of the greatest boxers of all time, Muhammad Ali. It also documents the crowning achievement of one of boxing’s most ruthless promoters, Don King.
The fight, which pitted the then-heavyweight world champion, George Foreman, against an aging Muhammad Ali, was being held in Zaire, a police state run by President Mobutu Sese Seko. Mobutu put up the money for the fight, which would result in a $5 million payday for both fighters, in exchange for the influx of foreign money into his country’s economy that the fight would bring. To further ensure the money would be raised, a concert with the likes of James Brown, the Spinners and B.B. King would be held at roughly the same time.
The focus of pre-fight publicity centered around the fact that Foreman was heavily favored to win the fight. He was younger, stronger and had recently demoralized Joe Frazier in the ring. (Frazier had recently beaten Ali.) Ali, trying to swing the publicity pendulum his way, espoused his confidence that his experience in the ring would allow him to defeat Foreman. When Howard Cosell suggests that Ali should retire, Ali retorts with rage that he may not be the fighter he was ten years ago but…Cosell’s wife said he isn’t the man he was two years ago. Privately, the film reveals that even Ali had his doubts about his chances.
Gast follows the events leading up to and including the fight. Narration and interviews with Spike Lee, George Plimpton and Norman Mailer provide insight to the events of the fight and the implications that the fight has on today’s sports and cultural scheme of things. Mailer’s comments, in particular, are useful in finding the humility of Ali’s persona that was veiled behind his extravagant actions.
The film is captivating in the way it shows how Ali fueled his desire to win the championship for a then-record third time by feeding off of the crowd. There are currently, in my opinion, few current sports “heroes” willing to stand up for their beliefs like Ali did. Ali, for those that don’t know, relinquished his world title by not stepping forward to be drafted into the Vietnam War. He claimed that the Viet Cong never did anything to him, so why should he fight them. He did this during the prime of his career and lost untold amounts of fight winnings as a result. He refused to back down when it came to something he believed in. Right or wrong, his choice to stand by his beliefs is to be admired when it caused him so much personal pain and brought him so much ridicule. Ali’s feeding off the crowd in a country that admired him for his decision is something that the film captures so well. You can see Ali become rejuvenated before your eyes.
The training footage is inter-cut with footage from the concert. The music of James Brown and B.B. King provides a bed of great period music for the fight buildup. Sometimes, Gast meanders on the concert footage a bit too long, but that’s a minor distraction.
If you’re not a boxing fan, When We Were Kings is still thoroughly enjoyable as a story of one man’s quest to be the best in the face of adversity. When everyone believed he would lose, Ali believed he could win. Watching him work at achieving his goal is simply inspiring.
5.0 out of 5.0 stars
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