Friday, September 12, 1997

When We Were Kings

100359 / G / US 1996 / Gast, Leon / documentary
When We Were Kings. PC: DASFilms. A PolyGram release. P: David Sonenberg. D: Leon Gast. ED: Taylor Hackford. Theme song ”Rumble In The Jungle” performed by The Fugees. FEATURING: Muhammad Ali, George Foreman. 84’. DIST: Scanbox Finland. Viewed at VET, Helsinki, on Friday, 12 September 1997. **** Kinshasa 1974, ”the rumble in the jungle”: Muhammad Ali (32) contends for the heavyweight championship of George Foreman (25). The young guy is the stronger one, but Ali wins in strategy, driving his adversary mad, wearying him out and beating him with a few ferocious blows. The film is more about spirit than brute force. Ali ”the marvellous mouth” is in top form as a showman and spiritual leader. There is great Kinshasa concert footage with B.B. King, James Brown, and Miriam Makeba. Behind all this is President of Zaire Mobutu Sese Seko, who happened to die this week.

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