When we were kings [DVD]

The heavyweight title fight between Muhammad Ali and George Foreman in Kinshasa (Zaire) on 30 October 1974 - `The Rumble in the Jungle’ - is enshrined as one of the great sports events of the century. It was also a cultural and political happening. Utilizing original footage of the fight, the film is on one level a lost documentary revealing never-before-seen images of the Fight of the Century between a then relatively unpopular, but fearsome, boxer named George Foreman and his nearly mythical antagonist, the incomparable Muhammad Ali. Filmmakers Gast and Hackford also construct a riveting story of the drama and significance of an event which signified the beginning of a new age of black culture and identity. Complete with performances by B.B. King, James Brown, and Miriam Makeba, marked by the launching of the career of notorious promoter Don King, and overshadowed by the ominous presence of Zaire’s President Mobutu, this is a discourse on what it meant to be black in America in that tumultuous time. Not only does the film deal with issues of segregation and integration and the emergence of black pride and black consciousness, but most critically, it describes the return to Africa of black American visitors. At the centre of the film is Ali, who, both as athlete and entertainer, persona and man, is a compelling figure, deeply committed to issues of racial, religious and political justice. The film also features insights and commentary from Norman Mailer, George Plimpton, and Spike Lee.