Did you people see the same film I saw?

I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

It’s sentimental, ridiculously long and only occasionally funny

Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

They say that there are only a handful of characters who are instantly recognizable the world over; they mention characters like Sherlock Holmes and Tarzan and Superman- but Holmes and Lord Greystoke and Kal-El are all make-believe. Muhammad Ali wasn't. Last night, around Midnight, I heard the news that he'd Moved On. For me, Muhammad Ali filled a gaping void in my life; he was a Role Model I could look up to (unlike my alcoholic father)- a man who Practiced what he Preached. Along with the likes of Charlton Heston and Bruce Lee and writers like Richard Matheson and Harlan Ellison and dozens of comic book writers and artists, Muhammad Ali taught me what it was to be a Man. He brought the posturing of professional wrestling to the all-too-real world of professional Boxing and made it work. He even fought and beat The Man of Steel, Superman, in an illustrated story rendered by none other than Neal Adams himself (who I came to think of as "the Muhammad Ali of comics"). Something VITAL has been Lost in this World, and we're never going to see his Like again. I remember seeing an interview with Ali, who was watching footage of himself as a young man: in the clips, he was announcing his Greatness to the World at the top of his lungs- and backing up his braggadocio against some of the most dangerous fighters in Heavyweight Boxing history (surely no God ever faced such Monsters!). "I sure was somethin', wasn't I?" he mused. Indeed.

A documentary of the 1974 heavyweight championship bout in Zaire between champion George Foreman and underdog challenger Muhammad Ali.I know a little bit about boxing, but only a little. I have followed MMA / UFC much closer (and even that is not something I am deep into). I knew very little about the Rumble in the Jungle, and perhaps most interestingly I knew very little about the skill involved.This film covers the people, the culture, the race dynamics... but it also made me respect boxing as a sport and not just as two men punching each other. The ballet-like footwork necessary to move your opponent around the ring... very interesting. A fighter's location may be just as important as his jabs.

Now, the file can be viewed as a History, a bit of Politics, good sweet, natural African music and of course one Great Boxing match between Muhammad Ali and Foreman, (while millions & millions of Ali fans chanting his name "... Ali...Bumbaye, ... Ali...Bumbaye" (meanign Ali, Kill him)). Did I forgot to mention, entertaining performance by the Great Muhammad Ali!! Well, it is Entertaining, as far as I know Muhammad Ali(of course I have limited knowledge in boxing or in any other field.) was a calm guy, who only knows Boxing & till now thought that Mike Tyson was the only great. But when I saw this movie, I came to know Muhammad Ali not only as a Great Boxer, but also, as a man who can talk on various subjects, a political and a African leader and as a Man with a cause & of course as a great Entertainer.Why I brought Mike Tyson name in an Ali's Documentary review! Well, to compare one great we need another, Mike Tyson was a great Boxer, a street kid, who fought many fights & won many matches because in coach Cus D'Amado told him to do so... & of course he won them in Style, but after his mentor & coach's demise, he talk a clear direction & purpose. When it comes to Ali, he fought & won for his community with a Noble cause, I guess at that time African countries were ruled by European Colonies, and Black people were treated there as slave and so does in US where they were discriminated, Ali Fought for Black Pride, he wanted to show his people that there are second to none in this world, he wanted them to fight for their cause and the freedom of their countries from Europeans.I read many reviews of Hoop dreams, and has to watch it, I guess this documentary will be comparable to that & it should be Ali Dreams, Ali dreamt & told the world that he is the Greatest, many did not believe at that time when a young Guy told so, but Ali proved what he meant & showed the world his Dream, I guess they all came true.So, as a Pack this movie(Documentary) got it all a bit of history, music, politics, sport & of course loads of Entertainment.

Some people see boxing as nothing more than two people standing in a big square that for some reason is called a ring, hitting each other very hard until one of them falls over bleeding onto the floor. Others see it as a tough, graceful sport that can be elevated to an art form. If any one person has ever exemplified the idea of boxing as an art, surely it is Muhammad Ali.Mostly shot in 1974, When We Were Kings follows the circus that was the famous 'Rumble In The Jungle', the fight between Ali and George Foreman that took place in Zaire – now the Democratic Republic of the Congo - in 1974. However to say that this movie is about that match is to do it an injustice. Really this is a movie about Ali himself, and what the man has come to represent.The title actually refers to the time when black people were kings of Africa, yet it is interesting to note that the only reason the fight took place in Zaire was the massive amount of money offered. Indeed Zaire, under the rule of Presedent Mobutu, was hardly a place where the common person thrived. Much is made of President Mobutu. He is described as a 'closet sadist', and there is discussion of detention rooms and prisons for thousands for people under the stadium the fight was take place in! The most frightening accusation aimed at the president is the idea that he rounded up all of the dangerous, high ranking criminals in the country, randomly killed 100 of them and released the others, just to ensure that, while the eyes of the world were on Zaire, there would be no criminal trouble. Whether or not that is true, there certainly was little trouble at all.In 1967 Ali lost the world title because he had refused to go to Viet Nam, famously saying 'no Vietnamese ever called me Ni**er', but began a comeback in 1970. In 1971 he had a shot at the title but lost to Joe Frazier. This is very important to remember as in 1974 Ali was fighting Foreman, a person who obliterated Frazier in a couple of rounds. Nobody really thought Ali was going to win this fight, a fact made clear by the documentary. Nobody, from his training staff to the commentators, believed that the former champion could stop 'Big George', no one except the people of Zaire. Everywhere Ali went there were cheers of 'Ali, Bomaye!', which means 'Ali, kill him!' I found it quite interesting when in one interview Foreman says that he wouldn't want people shouting that - a chant encouraged by Ali - but rather that the people would shout 'George Foreman loves Africa!' However in the eyes of the people of Zaire, Foreman represented America, while Ali was their champion.As well as interviews with the fighters and those associated with them there is also a lot of coverage of the massive amount of hype that went along with the match. Don King ensured that this fight was massive, and the hype that surrounded the fight, with artists such as James Brown and B.B. King performing bought anticipation to a fever pitch. Called the 'Black Woodstock' music festival, I found the emphasis the film placed on these artists and what they did just as compelling as the information about Ali.Of course there is also the fight. I must say that this was the one point of the documentary that worried me. It depicted Ali as taking a huge amount of damage during the match, on his last legs before taking the fight to Foreman. I feel that this was simply for dramatic effect. Even during the fight it was noted that Foreman was tiring himself out and Ali's tactics seemed obvious to everyone except his opponent in the ring. But this small criticism cannot overshadow what an amazing feat it was for Ali to floor Foreman in the eighth round. The final punch Ali lands is amazing, as is his performance throughout the fight.This film may not appeal to people who find boxing offensive, yet in truth the fight itself is not the main interest. Here we see people talking abut a man who during a time of massive social upheaval was a leader for his people. As Spike Lee says towards the end of the movie 'These kids, they are missing a whole lot if they don't know the legacy of Muhhamad Ali because no matter what era you live in you see very few true heroes'.