When We Were Kings! A review of the documentary

When We Were Kings! A review of the documentary

No sports figure was as polarizing as Muhammad Ali in the sixties. So it's ironic that one who was so demonized on his religious beliefs and his position on the Vietnam War, which was at that time politically incorrect, should wind up being the most beloved national sports figure ever. No professional athlete at the height of his career has ever sacrificed as much as Ali, let alone any entertainer period, especially when he also happened to be Black. Ali was a champion not only in the boxing ring, but also a champion who set an example for those who believed in something greater than himself, namely the human race, and he did it in a time when the risk for doing so was not just losing his livelihood, but also his life.

When We Were Kings is Mr. Leon Gast's 1996 Academy Award winning documentary of the hype and preparations leading up to one of the greatest upsets in sports history, 1974's Rumble in the Jungle boxing contest between Ali and George Foreman, who, at that time was perceived by the pundits as virtually indestructible. In this doc we get to see Ali out of his boxing element as he was then: cocky, defiant, funny, as good as a promoter as he was a fighter. We get to hear, in his own words, why he is the greatest, that his fight against Foreman is only a microcosm of the struggles of his people in America and Africa against injustice. We get to see him courting the sentiment of the Congo people by characterizing Foreman as a pawn of the White establishment. We also get to see a very young Don King with his black hair (now white) shooting up, building up the hype, bringing in America's hottest Black musicians and entertainers like James Brown,B.B. King, The Spinners (my all-time favorite group), Bill Withers, Big Black,etc. We get to hear the music, which serves as the soundtrack to the fighter's public training camps. We get various perspectives from the most influential writers of that time like George Plimpton and Norman Mailer (and also Mr. Spike Lee), who were both also ringside and provide lots of anecdotes, often very funny, of a lot of behind the scenes stuff, including ringside blow-by-blow descriptions of the fight itself.

This film is very entertaining and a great artifact for young people who have heard of but have no idea who Ali was, what makes him the great icon that he is, and why he is considered the greatest in and out of the Boxing ring. I can't say enough about this documentary. I've seen it maybe 3 times in the past month. It's that good. Back then, there was a lot of swagger and that's what this film is essentially about. When men, like Ali, were regarded as Kings, as larger than life, who walked among us like giants. Took me a long time to see this film and it was well worth the wait. Think I'll see it again in a couple of weeks.