When We Were Kings

Having first claimed the title some ten years earlier, Ali, at thirty-two years of age, was a fighter in decline. Robbed of his best sporting years (from 1967-71) for refusing to join the Vietnam war effort, his devastating handspeed had diminished and since his return he had suffered his first defeat. His opponent, the unbeaten and seemingly unbeatable George Foreman had crushed all opposition on his way to the title, including a savage two-round destruction of Ali conqueror Joe Frazier. By all accounts Ali was expected to be beaten. And heavily.

What ensues is fascinating, compelling and life-affirming as Ali, a model of self-belief, prepares to face Goliath. And what an enthralling supporting cast; the tyrannical President Mobutu, who had coughed up $10 million of his country's limited funds in order to host the fight and thus boost his profile; Don King, a fast-talking, Shakespeare-quoting hustler, the most powerful (and least trusted) promoter in the world; musical heavyweights James Brown, B.B King and The Spinners, who appeared at a concurrent festival and are all featured in performance. You couldn't make stuff like this up.

Interspersing black and white newsreel clips, fly-on-the-wall footage of events in Zaire and retrospective interviews with the likes of Norman Mailer, Spike Lee and George Plimpton, director Leon Gast depicts an indelible image of the protagonists, and in particular the irrepressible Ali. Whether he's machine-gunning one-liners to the assembled press corps, mesmerizing the locals at his open training camps or musing in private on the state of black advancement, he is always eminently watchable. By comparison, Foreman, the self-appointed bad guy, comes across as morose and monosyllabic. Which of course makes the finale, when Ali plays matador to Foreman's raging bull, all the more inspiring.

"When We Were Kings" should not only appeal purely to boxing buffs. Muhammad Ali transcended the narrow confines of his sport, and accordingly this film is much more than just a real-life version of "Rocky". There is more passion, warmth and genuine edge-of-the-seat tension in this documentary than in the entire output of Stallone, Schwarzenegger and that squat Belgian fella. Given Ali's unquestionable standing as one of the true heroes of this century, such a dazzling and endearing testimony to his greatness deserves time capsule status, never mind four quid and an hour and a half of your time.

c

FILM FACTS IN BRIEF
Directed by Leon Gast
Produced by Leon Gast and David Sonnenberg