When We Were Kings
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Movie Reviews of When We Were Kings
Movie Review: Ali and Foreman as told through footage from the time and commentary by people who were there
Summary: 5 Stars
This is a very good film about the "Rumble in the Jungle", the fight between Muhammad Ali and George Foreman. It captures the craziness and hype that went into the buildup to this clash and the highlights of the fight itself. It is really about Ali and centers on his career from the time he became a pro. The Ali the film paints is one who is true to himself, who stands up against the Vietnam War and who makes the comeback against a man most thought would beat him and probably should have beaten him. But Ali prevailed and prevailed dramatically.
George Foreman is cast as the enigmatic force out the crush Ali. He is shown destroying Joe Frazier and Ken Norton and appears to be a mountain ready to drop on the past-his-prime Ali. The commentary of others such as Howard Cosell, Norman Mailer, Spike Lee and George Plimpton does a great job in capturing the mood and anticipation of that time and adds a great deal to the already terrific footage.
I guess contemporary interviews with the fighters would have changed the film. George Foreman has talked about this fight and is very interesting on the way he was and what that fight ended up meaning to him. Ali cannot speak as he once did, but when he does communicate it is meaningful. I do enjoy the insights of the commentators, but it would have been nice to get something more from the fighters. I also wish Joe Frazier had a bigger part in the film. Certainly, he was one of the We who were Kings back then.
This is a film that has meaningful things to say that transcend the fight game. It is about character, our culture, the nature of hype, and the way someone like Ali transcends the normal barriers to become a worldwide icon. I am glad all this was captured not only for those of us who remember, but for the young generation that will benefit from knowing.
Movie Review: A Moment Frozen in Time
Summary: 5 Stars
"When We Were Kings" is Leon Gast and Taylor Hackford's 1996 Academy Award-winning documentary film of "the Rumble in the Jungle", the heavyweight title fight between defending champion George Foreman and once and future champion Muhammad Ali.
Today's viewers are apt to know George Foreman as a genial TV commerical pitchman and Muhammad Ali as a revered but sadly physically deteriorated symbol of the sixties. In 1974, George Foreman was the undefeated heavywieght boxing champion of the world. His size, strength, and punching had literally leveled a series of opponents. Muhammad Ali was an aging former champion, stripped of his title for his refusal to be inducted into the U.S. military against the dictates of his religion, and on the comeback trail. Very few people gave the colorful and vocal ex-champ much of a chance in the ring against Foreman. Some thought he might be killed. Only Ali seemed confident in his own destiny.
Gast and Hackford follow the action in Kinshasa as the two boxers prepare for their match and as celebrities and ring personalities circle the proceedings. At the center of the movie is the outsized personality of Ali, talking up a good fight and reaching out to the people in Zaire. By the time the two boxers entered the ring, Ali had converted Kinshasa into a home crowd.
The fight itself featured one of the more daring ring strategies ever seen. Ali spent much of the middle rounds of the fight in the "rope-a-dope," leaning far back on the ring ropes, riding out Foreman's truly awesome punching power and waiting for his moment to strike.
This movie is an absolutely superb viewing experience for fans of the fight game as it used to be, and for fans of Muhammad Ali and George Foreman at their prime as boxers.
Movie Review: Not the whole truth
Summary: 5 Stars
My DVD, bought in England, contains as extras the full-length footage, round by round, of both the Rumble and the Thrilla, with English commentary by David Frost among others. I have to agree with those reviewers who have pointed out that WWWK badly misrepresents the fight. The simple truth is that Ali won every round of the Rumble. He was right on top of Foreman from the outset, and the clever editing and dramatic spin put on the match by Norman Mailer is just so much fiction. Foreman looked like he'd swallowed some substance which was the opposite of speed: as Joe Frazier said in the live commentary, he was missing with empty air-swings and "boxing foolish". After two rounds, which was about as far as he'd needed to go in previous fights, he ran out of wind. He still tried to use Ali's body as a punch-bag, more and more feebly, while Ali was picking off blow after blow to Foreman's head as if it was a standing punch-ball. Ali certainly threw a head-punch with shattering speed. He rolled around on the ropes a lot of the time, but for the rest he ducked away and danced around grinning fit to bust, mocking Foreman with his mouth and winking to the crowd. He was in much better physical shape, superbly fit, and he boxed an extremely smart strategy in the local conditions. WWWK is still a great film, however, full of interesting comment on the politics and hoop-la of the event: but it's marred by its fake telling of the fight. Ali is presented in all his glorious charismatic uppity persona, a magnificent physical presence, funny and clever, the epitome of boxing skill. I could have done without a lot of the music etc, but it seems this was part of the original reason for making the film. Four stars for WWWK, five stars for this DVD because it has the real thing as an extra feature.Movie Review: As If You Were At The Rumble
Summary: 5 Stars
Filmmaker Leon Gast attempted to do the impossible in 1974; chronicle the build-up to the highly-anticipated "Rumble in the Jungle" heavyweight title clash in Kinshasa, Zaire, between champion George Foreman and Muhammad Ali, the fight itself and the aftermath.
While the fight went into the boxing history as one of the most exciting and controversial ever, the project was KO'd for 22 years through a number of lawsuits involving Gast and individuals who bankrolled the project.
It was well worth the wait.
The intrigue and excitement surrounding the event is captured through the participants in and out of the ring. There were questions on whether the fight would ever take place and - if it did - whether Ali could survive the onslaught of the champ who destroyed Joe Frazier to win the crown and packed destructive power in his punches.
As a sidebar, Foreman for years claimed that a water-bottle used in his corner may have been tampered with, as he could not explain why he became so exhausted during the fight. Foreman also had numerous death threats placed against him in the weeks leading to the match.
The interviews with Norman Mailer and George Plimpton are especially interesting, since both writers were at the fight and share recollections that only those covering the chaos could relate to viewers. In his book on the fight, Mailer admits that he - like many others - was afraid that Ali was at risk getting severely hurt or killed in the ring.
The film won numerous awards, including an Academy Award for Best Documentary, Features. It is a classic for those who want to capture a classic moment in boxing history when a larger-than-life Ali soldified his crown as "The Greatest of All-Time."
Movie Review: Amazing document of Boxing History! Amazing reflection of the times!
Summary: 5 Stars
When We Were Kings is pretty amazing stuff. It documents the Ali vs Foreman fight in Zaire. The fight itself is included but there is so much great footage preceding the fight along with post fight recollections. You get great insight into Ali, Foreman, Don King, and various other characters that surrounded the fighters camps. Great back stories like how Don King was able to pull this fight off and the political turmoil that was going on in Zaire at the time. There is a great irony in the fact that while this fight was promoted as a great thing for black people because it was in Africa and Don King being the first black promoter to put on a big fight but at the same time many common blacks in Zaire were displaced and brutalized in the name of security for the "westerners" that came in to view and/or cover the fight. Media celebrities of the day like Norman Mailer, George Plimpton are also prominently featured. Music celebrities like James Brown along with footage from a concert put on by King a day or two before the fight. So really its also a reflection of the times too.
Another thing I would add is although I think people sometimes over do it with their idealism of Ali I think anyone that wanted to make a case that Alis boxing career was some sort of spiritual journey could use this documentary as an example to make a case for that.