Hacker Cinema
When We Were Kings
1996 · Film · documentary · 89 min
Directed by Leon Gast
It's 1974. Muhammad Ali is 32 and thought by many to be past his prime. George Foreman is ten years younger and the heavyweight champion of the world. Promoter Don King wants to make a name for himself and offers both fighters five million dollars apiece to fight one another, and when they accept, King has only to come up with the money. He finds a willing backer in Mobutu Sese Suko, the dictator of Zaire, and the "Rumble in the Jungle" is set, including a musical festival featuring some of America's top black performers, like James Brown and B.B. King.
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7 comments on Hacker News
Recommended George Foreman movie, When we were Kings.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/When_We_Were_Kings
You said it, what a legend. Highly recommend the documentary "When We Were Kings". RIP Big George.
Of the many recollections of Muhammad Ali -- books, documentaries, movies -- When We Were Kings is the most effective at capturing the spirit and the charisma of the man. The event it covers is well past his political controversies and banishment from boxing, and he is a big underdog going into the fight. It really is a brilliant movie.
I actually wondered if there was an uptick in boxing after Muhammed Ali had his fight in Zaire.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Rumble_in_the_Jungle
Here is a great documentary on that fight:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/When_We_Were_Kings
Only because no one has mentioned it yet, "When We Were Kings". About The Rumble in the Jungle. We forget that, at the time, people were worried that Foreman, the hardest hitter who ever lived, might _kill_ Ali in the ring.
The savvy of Ali's "rope a dope" strategy, combined with the way he got in Foreman's head, whispering in his ear in the clinches, was genius. IMO, you can't watch this film and not agree -- GOAT.
If you want to understand Ali's genius then I highly recommend When We Were Kings, an Oscar-winning documentary about Ali's 'Rumble in the Jungle'.
After watching it, I finally understood that he wasn't just another athlete with a big ego and mouth, but a brilliant, courageous competitor, far beyond the rest.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0118147/
I think that video is from his training in Africa for the George Foreman fight. it might be in this movie:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/When_We_Were_Kings
It's a great documentary.