When We Were Kings (1996)
Storyline
It's 1974. Muhammad Ali is 32 and thought by many to be past his prime. George Foreman is ten years younger and the heavyweight champion of the world. Promoter Don King wants to make a name for himself and offers both fighters five million dollars apiece to fight one another, and when they accept, King has only to come up with the money. He finds a willing backer in Mobutu Sese Suko, the dictator of Zaire, and the "Rumble in the Jungle" is set, including a musical festival featuring some of America's top black performers, like James Brown and B.B. King.
Directors
Writers
Cast
George Foreman, Spike Lee, Don King, Malick Bowens, James Brown, George Plimpton, Muhammad Ali, Joe Frazier, B.B. King, Miriam Makeba, Drew Bundini Brown, Norman Mailer, Howard Cosell, Mobutu Sese Seko, Thomas Hauser, Lloyd Price, The Spinners, Odessa Clay, Wilton Felder, Wayne Henderson, Stix Hooper, Stewart Levin, Alan Pariser, Danny 'Big Black' Rey, Dick Sadler, Joe Sample, Philippé Wynne, Archie Moore, Lola Love, Sonny Liston, Jersey Joe Walcott
Trailer
Reviews
100
On a deeper level -- and this is where When We Were Kings exceeds its expectations and becomes a great film -- Gast examines African American pride.
90
Gast does a nice job of building the suspense leading up to the fight, fleshing out the story with some good color commentary by a handful of people (filmed by director Taylor Hackford, who wisely convinced Gast that these reminiscences and remarks would fill in some historical gaps).
90
Film Threat
The seemingly total access and seemingly total coverage the film makers enjoy makes us forget at times that this isn't some Hollywood fabrication.
90
The New York Times
Mr. Gast skillfully blends photographs, celebrity interviews with Norman Mailer and others, and colorful forays into the Zairian countryside, where Ali fostered black brotherhood and became a huge favorite, in a film that ''gazes well beyond the ring and seeks engagement with history''.
90
For those who want to relive Ali's glory days, and for those who think Ali was nothing but a prizefighter, this movie, which took the struggling Gast 20 years to get financed, is required viewing.
Other Movies You Might Enjoy
Jun 14, Jun 2006A/k/a Tommy Chong (2006)
May 27, May 2016Bobby (2016)
Apr 16, Apr 2016The Happy Film (2016)
Mar 10, Mar 2024Resynator (2024)
Oct 28, Oct 1983Richard Pryor… Here and Now (1983)
Jun 26, Jun 2003Private Diary (2003)
Jan 27, Jan 2017Trumped: Inside the Greatest Political Upset of All Time (2017)
Jan 1, Jan 2026Wild London (2026)