When We Were Kings

PG

Released Feb 14, 1997

1 hr. 24 min.

Documentary

List

98%

51 Reviews

Tomatometer

94%

5,000+ Ratings

Audience Score

On October 30, 1974, perhaps the most famous heavyweight championship boxing match of all time took place in Kinshasa, Zaire: the "Rumble in the Jungle" between champion George Foreman and challenger Muhammad Ali. In historical footage and new interviews, this documentary explores the relationship between African-Americans and the African continent during the Black Power era in terms of both popular culture and international politics, including the brutality of then-dictator Mobutu Sese Seko.

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Critics Consensus

An engrossing documentary that's as much about a time and a place as it is about a fight.

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Jay C

This Documentary is the Greatest!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

09/29/23

Full Review

Chief B

Beautiful!! RIP Muhammad Ali the real life superhero

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

05/16/23

Full Review

Diane B

What a wit! So fit! When I was a little kid, I remember two times my dad called us to gather on the couch in front of the TV. One was for Elvis in Hawaii. The other was for the Ali-Foreman bout. The price Ali paid to stand by his beliefs. The incredible drive and charisma and curiosity and wisdom. It all comes through here ... and the Foreman you see in this film bears no resemblance to the cheerful guy hawking grills in K-mart. He looks like he wants to murder Ali through the film.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

08/13/22

Full Review

dave s

To be clear, you do not need to be a boxing fan to enjoy Leon Gast's documentary When We Were Kings. The primary focus of the film is the legendary ‘Rumble in the Jungle' heavyweight title fight between the confident and charismatic Muhammad Ali and the morose, powerful George Foreman, but the movie is about so much more, including concert footage of James Brown, B.B. King and The Spinners. In addition, When We Were Kings touches on the tyranny of Zaire's (the location of the film) President Mobutu, mysticism, social injustice, and the healing power of music. The documentary also includes insightful commentaries by Norman Mailer and George Plimpton, who were covering the fight as journalists, as well as a few words from Spike Lee. And, for boxing fans, the fight coverage is fantastic. Beautifully paced and shrewdly edited, there is never a dull moment.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

03/30/23

Full Review

jordan m

For how old this documentary is (preceding Ali's death by 20 years) and how much time had elapsed between its release and its subject matter, this was a wildly entertaining viewing experience. I love George Plimpton & don't believe he's ever had a bad take on anything. I'm a big MMA nerd but have never truly been interested in boxing; I even take some mild offense when boxing matches are referred to as fights as that's just not what they are, but the way the documentary sets up the match as an absolute spectacle and the way one can retrospectively see how much heart it took for each man to do as well as they did, I find myself bending on the beliefs I held before I watched this. I am especially relieved they did so well with this because I watched it as homework in advance of some other movies where Ali is portrayed by others so as to judge how well they did; this doc made doing that much easier than it might have done.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

Audience Member

91%. Clearly an old school doc but very well done. Ali vs foreman in the DRC. Ali was super confident and knew he'd win. But in the dressing room before it was super quiet because his whole camp thought he'd lose. After the second round one reporter said they saw fear in his eye for the first time. But he had a crazy strategy to lean on the ropes and let foreman wear himself out and it worked. Ali TKOed him a few rounds later.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

01/30/23

Full Review

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Leon Gast

Director

Muhammad Ali

Actor

George Foreman

Actor

Don King

Actor

B.B. King

Actor

Mobutu Sese Seko

Actor

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Reece Pendleton

Chicago Reader

Gast does a nice job of building the suspense leading up to the fight, fleshing out the story with some good color commentary...

Rated: 3/4

Jun 15, 2022

Full Review

David Ansen

Newsweek

Both a tribute to Ali and an evocation of a bygone era, it's about the transformative moment when black America, flexing its newborn pride, encountered black Africa.

Mar 2, 2018

Full Review

Lisa Schwarzbaum

Entertainment Weekly

Rated: A

Sep 7, 2011

Full Review

Graeme Tuckett

Stuff.co.nz

When We Were Kings as not just one of the greatest sports documentaries of all time, but also one of the greatest concert movies.

Dec 29, 2021

Full Review

Matt Brunson

Film Frenzy

At the time, it was a given that Foreman was going to slaughter Ali in the ring; the beauty of this movie is that it shows in amazing detail the process through which Ali stepped up to the challenge and succeeded against all expectations.

Rated: 3.5/4

Oct 27, 2019

Full Review

Renee Schonfeld

Common Sense Media

Thrilling boxing docu covers race, politics; some profanity.

Rated: 5/5

Jun 28, 2016

Full Review

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Synopsis

On October 30, 1974, perhaps the most famous heavyweight championship boxing match of all time took place in Kinshasa, Zaire: the "Rumble in the Jungle" between champion George Foreman and challenger Muhammad Ali. In historical footage and new interviews, this documentary explores the relationship between African-Americans and the African continent during the Black Power era in terms of both popular culture and international politics, including the brutality of then-dictator Mobutu Sese Seko.

Director: Leon Gast
Executive Producer: David Sonenberg
Distributor: Gramercy Pictures, Polygram, Image Entertainment Inc.
Production Co: PolyGram Filmed Entertainment
Rating: PG
Genre: Documentary
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Feb 14, 1997, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Nov 14, 2019
Box Office (Gross USA): $2.7M

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