When We Were Kings

The Oscar winning documentary following the 1974 'rumble in the jungle' fight between Mohammed Ali and George Foreman in Zaire. The documentary footage follows the build-up to the fight, the concert that surrounded it and the fight itself. This is a wonderful capturing of the time by Leon Gast that will be of interest to both boxing fans and those who think it's all over hyped and a barbaric sport.

The producer, David Sonenberg had the idea of hanging the footage on a series of interviews with Norman Mailer, George Plimpton and Spike Lee. Lee's contribution are mainly the effect of Ali on the black community at the time - being a positive role model and also showing a different image of Africa than Hollywood does. His opinions are interesting but you can't help feel like he's seeing the impact with hindsight.

However both Mailer and Plimpton were at the fight and have many different perspectives and stories to put the bones on the story. This really gives you a good impression of what it was like and how everything happened. This includes the history of the fighters, background of the dictatorship of Zaire and a walk through of the fight itself. The film doesn't totally have a focus as it tries to look at every element of the proceedings - Ali, Don King, the chaos around the fight etc.

However this isn't a complaint. The film is only 90 minutes long but it absolutely flies by, there isn't a dull moment in it. Many documents only appeal to groups with an interest in the subject matter, however this is so very good that I can imagine that anyone could watch this and enjoy it.

A well put together documentary that mixes excellent, detailed footage with recent contributions to produce a film that deservedly won an Oscar.