Opening

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—— Fill the Void May 24
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Coming Soon

—— After Earth May 31
—— Now You See Me May 31
88% The East May 31
100% The Kings of Summer May 31
When We Were Kings

When We Were Kings (1996)

tomatometer

98

Average Rating: 8.4/10
Reviews Counted: 43
Fresh: 42 | Rotten: 1

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

100

Average Rating: 8.2/10
Critic Reviews: 14
Fresh: 14 | Rotten: 0

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

audience

91

liked it
Average Rating: 4.1/5
User Ratings: 8,346

My Rating

Movie Info

In 1974, boxers Muhammad Ali and George Foreman came to the still-emerging and politically unstable African nation of Zaire for what Ali called the "Rumble in the Jungle," a highly publicized world heavyweight championship fight. Documentarian Leon Gast flew to Zaire to film both the fight and a music festival (featuring B.B. King, The Pointer Sisters, and Miriam Makeba) organized by promoter Don King. Gast's footage was shelved for 22 years due to legal and financial problems, but when it was

PG,

Documentary, Sports & Fitness

Sep 14, 1999

Gramercy Pictures

Cast

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All Critics (44) | Top Critics (15) | Fresh (42) | Rotten (1) | DVD (5)

If anyone deserves an award, it is Ali; his charisma makes the film.

August 4, 2008 Full Review Source: TIME Magazine
TIME Magazine
Top Critic IconTop Critic

Enormously entertaining.

March 26, 2007 Full Review Source: Variety
Variety
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No comedian was ever funnier, no fighter ever faster than Muhammad Ali, who is caught at the top of his game in Leon Gast's valentine, When We Were Kings.

March 26, 2007 Full Review Source: Washington Post
Washington Post
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A penetrating emotional analysis of the boxing which is nothing short of inspired.

January 26, 2006 Full Review Source: Time Out
Time Out
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When Muhammad Ali achieved victory in Kinshasa on Oct. 30, 1974, he did far more than win a prize fight.

May 20, 2003 Full Review Source: New York Times
New York Times
Top Critic IconTop Critic

By portraying the young Ali as hero -- and moving beyond the media image of the poetry-spouting peacock -- Gast reminds us that Ali didn't follow the path of earlier black superstars or earn his stripes by conforming to white society's expectations.

June 18, 2002 Full Review Source: San Francisco Chronicle
San Francisco Chronicle
Top Critic IconTop Critic

Gast never makes a mistake by turning the camera on Ali-he comes through like a champ

March 3, 2011 Full Review Source: Old School Reviews

A film as deserving of respect as its subjects.

August 4, 2008 Full Review Source: Film4
Film4

Wonderful sports documentary covering the 1974 heavyweight championship fight in Zaire.

May 24, 2007 Full Review Source: Ozus' World Movie Reviews
Ozus' World Movie Reviews

The intersection of sports, politics and culture enlivens Leon Gast's entertaining documentary about the heavily promoted 1974 heavyweight championship bout between Muhammad Ali and George Foreman.

March 26, 2007 Full Review Source: TV Guide's Movie Guide
TV Guide's Movie Guide

This is the real deal.

December 6, 2005 Full Review Source: Film Threat
Film Threat

This is a great documentary film and a must for fans of the sport and Ali.

April 9, 2005 Full Review Source: Reeling Reviews
Reeling Reviews

I pick it to win the Oscar for best documentary feature.

June 25, 2004 Full Review Source: Courier-Journal (Louisville, KY)

Audience Reviews for When We Were Kings

"Muhammad Ali, he was like a sleeping elephant. You can do whatever you want around a sleeping elephant; whatever you want. But when he wakes up, he tramples everything."

A documentary of the 1974 heavyweight championship bout in Zaire between champion George Foreman and underdog challenger Muhammad Ali.

REVIEW
The story of Muhammed Ali and the famous "Rumble in the Jungle" is the stuff of legend; the world's best boxer becomes a hate figure for middle America and is banned for political reasons; he returns but has lost his edge; he gets a last shot at the world title in a fight to be held in Zaire, whose kleptomaniac dictator is willing to put up his people's cash to pay for it; and against all the odds, he astonishingly beats the superior puncher George Foreman through a combination of wit and bravery. Ali was beautiful and clever as well as violent; his "art" destroyed him, but it's easy to tell his story as a kind of noble myth. Which is exactly what 'When We Were Kings', a documentary that relies relatively little on talking heads (because the whole drama was a kind of performance, and filmed) does. The film even gets its soundtrack for free thanks to the musicians brought in to publicise the fight. When We Were Kings shows a historic fight and the surroundings around it and you can't help but be thankful that such an important event was captured in such a great form.
July 1, 2012
LorenzoVonMatterhorn
Lorenzo von Matterhorn

Super Reviewer

Not exactly the movie I thought it would be: it's much more about the spectacle of the Rumble in the Jungle than it is about the boxing. Still a solid documentary, though, and one that puts its finger on what the rise and redemption of Muhammad Ali truly meant to American (counter?) culture, and that culture's place in the world.
January 11, 2008
danperry17

Super Reviewer

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