One of my favorite things about boxing is the old men who talk about it. When George Plimpton and Norman Mailer sit down to discuss the “Rumble in the Jungle” you can almost smell the sweat and the cigar smoke. Except for baseball, no other sport is described with such poetry as boxing. Somehow, these men of prose chronicle the barbarity they witness as if it were a beautiful dance – and maybe it is. In any case, their words lend credence to a fight that stands on its own regardless of how it’s described by others. In 1974, Muhammad Ali and George Foreman fought in Kinshasa, Zaire for the heavyweight title. When We Were Kings tells that story.
As was always the case with Ali, boxing is only part of the tale. The lead up to the fight, the spectacle that followed it, and the politics behind it are just as important as fight strategies and knockouts. The location alone was a political statement, and true to Ali form, so was every word that came out of his mouth. When he so eloquently trash talks George Foreman, what he’s really doing is denouncing the system of racism and oppression that existed (still exists) in America. Ali was just as calculated outside the ring as he was inside, and with the help of Don King (in his first big fight as a promoter) and musical acts like James Brown and B.B. King, it was impossible for this to be anything but the biggest fight in history.
The footage is breathtaking. From Ali walking among the people of Zaire to Foreman destroying his heavy bag, the scene is set beautifully. Gast weaves Ali and Foreman’s fight histories and activism (or lack thereof) in such a way that a picture of the mood and attitude of the times comes clearly into view. We get to know all the players – including Zaire’s murderous dictator, Mobutu Sese Seko, who Plimpton and Mailer describe with much indignation. Naturally, though, the true star is Ali, whose words never fail to entertain and whose presence inspires whole nations and generations. We’re all familiar with his oratory eloquence, but he’s got it cranked to eleven in Zaire. It’s a sight to be seen.
The “Rumble in the Jungle” took place in Kinshasa, Zaire on October 30th, 1974. On the off chance you don’t know who won, I’ll spare the results. The fight is, of course, integral to the story but it takes up a surprisingly small amount of the run time. The sportswriters give a fascinating account of the strategies and mind games involved, but in the end When We Were Kings is more about legacies than outcomes. It’s about the roads traveled rather than the destination.
James is a writer, record collector, wrestling nerd, and tabletop gamer living with his family in Asheville, North Carolina. He is a member of the Southeastern Film Critics Association, the North Carolina Film Critics Association, and contributes to The Daily Orca, Razorcake Magazine, Mountain Xpress, and Asheville Movies.