I love this movie so much

Yawn. Poorly Filmed Snooze Fest.

terrible... so disappointed.

How wonderful it is to see this fine actress carry a film and carry it so beautifully.

To anyone born after Muhammad Ali's heyday as a boxer, it would be difficult to describe the impact he had on American life and culture. Sure, one can read about it and watch other documentaries, but there's something to be said about experiencing it in real time with Ali's name in the headlines, proclaiming himself to be The Greatest both in and out of the ring. "When We Were Kings" is probably an inappropriate title for this film, it plays more like "When Ali Was King", even though he wasn't World Champ at the time, having been stripped of the title for refusing the military draft. The picture does a credible job of presenting the behind the scenes machinations to bring the 'Rumble in the Jungle' to fruition, even with a six week delay due to a training injury suffered by Foreman.Thinking back to those days, I had never considered the implications of making the fight a black political statement, though in hindsight I would question allowing the involvement of a dictator like Mobutu Sese Seko putting up the money for the event. As described by Norman Mailer, one of the writers interviewed for the film, Mobutu was a closet sadist who rounded up a thousand criminals and put them in detention pens underneath the fight stadium to remove the threat of criminal activity while the eyes of the world were on his country.Don't expect to see a lot of the eight round fight in this documentary. What you need to know is capably explained by Mailer and fellow sportswriter George Plimpton laying out Ali's strategy and how he approached the fight. Mailer's analysis in particular is helpful in detailing how Ali's right hand leads so enraged Foreman that he used up a lot of his power and energy in trying to destroy him. Quite honestly though, I don't know quite what to make of the 'succubus' story that Plimpton seemed to be so fascinated with.Perhaps the most significant take away I had from the picture was hearing Spike Lee's comments that had nothing to do with the fight. He was speaking of black youth, but I would ascribe his remarks to all colors of a young generation today that remain completely unaware of history, and even worse, are disinterested in learning about it. Most certainly, Muhammad Ali would have something to say about that.

I don't believe the film is as flawed as some of the previous reviewers have stated. The footage was all from the early 70's and in that sense this is truly a film of it's time. This is a time and a place that doesn't exist any more, and even Zaire doesn't really exist anymore, its now the Democratic Republic of the Congo. When Ali and Foreman fought it was a dictatorship under Mobutu, who wanted a spectacular sporting event held in his country. For me, the musicians, and the black culture elements are nothing more than an interesting backdrop of a superbly talented athlete trying to overcome almost insurmountable odds. Again and again we are reminded of the lack of belief in the Ali camp as Foreman destroyed one heavy bag after another. The key moment of the film for me can almost (but not totally) be encapsulated in Norman Mailer's anecdote at the end of the first round, where he claims he could see Ali looking within himself, and slowly concluding that this was THE moment in his life. Ali was standing in a ring with a man he knew he could not bully, who was stronger than him, could hit harder than he could, and was as determined to force his will on Ali as Ali was determined to do likewise. There is no purer moment of epiphany captured in any documentary I have yet seen. Here was a man out-gunned in almost every department, who with a combination of pure skill, guile, determination, athletic prowess and self belief, managed to overcome a ferocious and worthy opponent. Foreman cannot go without mention. Every David needs his Goliath. He was awesome in ability and dignified in manner. He had destroyed both Joe Frazier and Ken Norton in spectacular fashion in the eighteen months before this fight and was at the top of his game. People would do well to remember Foreman was still knocking people out until 1997, when he KO'd Lou Savarese in the 12th round. They surely don't make 'em like they used to. Nobody except Ali believed he could overcome such an opponent. And what the documentary reveals to us is that in his darker moments, even he had doubts. He did not, however, let them stand in his way. This documentary is absolutely inspirational in almost every department. The fact that Ali was also a man of the people and recognised the dignity of African's in spite of their grinding poverty adds yet another dimension to this wonderful film, and to the man himself. As George Plimpton so concisely said "My God, the man's a politician too!" A truly great film , about a spectacular moment frozen in time, and a truly great leading man in Ali. I cannot close without commenting on the effect this loss had on Foreman. It hurt him deeply, and there is no one more pleased than I that he came back and shook the world a second time many years later.

Inspiring, amazing true story of Ali's comeback/retirement fight against George Foreman. Leon Gast, with help from Taylor Hackford, has taken the times, the black cause, and two giants of boxing and fashioned a fascinating narrative and an insightful culture study of a nation and its people. It's true the material is to die for, but Gast knew just what to do with it.I am no boxing fan, and consider the sport uncultured and physically dangerous, yet I was glued to this doco from start to finish. Especially insightful were the comments from the then fight writers, including Norman Mailer.Saturday, June 26, 1999 - Video

A documentary of the events surrounding The Rumble In The Jungle - the 1974 World Heavyweight Boxing Championship fight in Zaire (now the Democratic Republic of the Congo) between Muhammad Ali and defending champion George Foreman.This tremendous movie is both an excellent chronicle of a boxing match which was extraordinary in pretty much every way, and a wonderful depiction of it/Ali's social and cultural impact. If you ever doubted Ali's incredible fighting skill, ferocious intelligence and his importance as a prominent African American at a crucial period of history, you must see this film. The tactics he uses to outsmart and defeat a much stronger opponent are brilliant and carefully explained. His constant quips and raps, with his belligerent / comic delivery are hilarious, "I have rassled with an alligator / I done tussled with a whale / I done handcuffed lightning / Throwed thunder in jail.". Most impressive of all though is his keen mind, always working overtime, analysing people and situations and coming out with perceptive, individualistic, thought-provoking comments. Here is a man who received little education and struggled to read, but had amazing wit and insight. His political stances, his struggle for recognition and his philanthropy for the disadvantaged are inspirational. The circumstances of the fight are equally amazing; boxing impresario Don King risked a fledgling career by persuading the notorious African dictator Mobutu Sese Seko to front the prize money, and then promoted it as an international spectacle of black Americans reclaiming their cultural history. Sheer genius. For extra fun we also get plenty of footage of a simultaneous concert featuring several sensational acts, notably B.B. King's rendition of Sweet Sixteen. Almost all of the 1974 footage was shot by Gast and tied up in ownership rights for twenty years, but looks sensational and is cleverly intercut with insightful comments, particularly by Mailer. A superb documentary.