When We Were Kings (1996)

USA, 89 minutes, documentary
Director: Leon Gast
Photography: Maryse Alberti, Paul Goldsmith, Kevin Keating, Albert Maysles, Roderick Young
Editors: Leon Gast, Taylor Hackford, Jeffrey Levy-Hinte, Keith Robinson
Appearances: Muhammad Ali, George Foreman, Don King, James Brown, B.B. King, Mobutu Sese Seko, Spike Lee, Norman Mailer, George Plimpton, Lloyd Price, Miriam Makeba

At the time this came out, not too far behind Terry Zwigoff's groundbreaking Crumb, it seemed as if the dawn of a golden age of documentaries just might be upon us. What was missed in all the charismatic pyrotechnics—which remain, and as potently as ever—is how safely isolated in the past are the incidents that When We Were Kings recounts, at the time over 20 years and now closing in on 40, and how conventionally it follows the outlines of the typical sports documentary: set the terms, tell the story, and let the athlete's performance provide the drama. In other words, there's little that's new here. The events are ripe for mythologizing and that's pretty much what we get, with all the heady passions such exercises inspire. Arguably the greatest moment of Muhammad Ali's storied career, the1974 heavyweight championship bout with George Foreman in Kinshasa, Zaire, the so-called "rumble in the jungle," pitted an aging Ali against the reigning champion, at the time a relentless engine of destruction. Throughout the preliminaries, agonizingly extended six weeks at one point because of a minor injury to Foreman, Ali dances and jabbers, playing always to the cameras and press—but more significantly, it turns out, playing with Foreman's expectations, his very head, carefully assembling the pieces of what may be his most stunning triumph. Useful commentary from Spike Lee, George Plimpton, and particularly Norman Mailer fleshes out the terms of the accomplishment (for those of us less informed on the nuances of boxing), exactly what makes it both unique and ultimately characteristic. The fight itself, the way it proceeds, comes as a complete surprise after what we've seen of Ali in the run-up. But it appears he knew exactly what he was doing, executing the only plan that could have fetched him the win. It's an amazing sequence, and nicely done. But wait, there's more. Music from James Brown, B.B. King, Miriam Makeba (unfortunately mostly used as a caricature), and others who appeared at the festivities surrounding the main event, are nearly as thrilling. In fact, I wish there were more of them (it's a pretty short movie at less than 90 minutes), but I suppose that might have diluted the impact of the fight itself. If the moment was an exhilarating one for American followers of the sport, it was even more so for the Africans who played host to it, and their enthusiasm and excitement throughout is as palpable as it is infectious, contributing to the air (and myth) of an event of unprecedented historic significance.