When We Were Kings (1996)

25 Pictures

7.7	Rating (92 ratings)
8	IMDB rating

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Directed by

Leon Gast

Starring (View all)

Muhammad Ali
Self

George Foreman
Self

Don King
Self

James Brown
Self

B.B. King
Self

Mobutu Sese Seko
Self

Spike Lee
Self

Norman Mailer
Self - Writer

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194 votes

500 Essential Cult Movies (502 items)
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Published 14 years, 6 months ago

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Reviews

When boxing was king!

16 years, 5 months ago at Sep 18 11:22

Rollo Tomasi

2 votes

I think Spike Lee sums things up during the film when he states ‘These kids today are missing a whole lot if they don’t know about the legacy of Muhammad Ali. No matter what era you live in, you see very few true heroes’. Here Ali charms a whole African Nation with his honesty and charisma. There is no boxer today that even comes close to him inside or outside of the ring. You don't have to ... read more

A very good movie

10 years, 5 months ago at Sep 2 20:56

johanlefourbe

2 votes

Since I kept hearing many good things about this flick, I was really eager to check it out. To be honest, I’m not a huge fan of boxing as a sport, I always had a hard time enjoying watching two grown men completely beating each other up, but I can’t deny the fact that there is still something quite dramatic about this sport which works very well with movies, in contrary to most other sports. W... read more

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Description: Decades ago, documentary filmmaker Leon Gast attempted to complete a feature about the 1974 "Rumble in the Jungle" championship bout between boxers Muhammad Ali and George Foreman in Kinshasa, Zaire. Sundry complications, though, held up the project until its release in 1996. It was well worth the delay. From Gast's perspective of modern history, the six weeks Ali and Foreman were forced to spend waiting in Africa for their fight to take place now looks like an important moment in America's cultural understanding of African American roots. In a nutshell, Ali had been stripped of his heavyweight champion title because h ... (more)

Release date: 14 February 1997
UPC: 044004584722

Tags: Documentary (9), Boxing (5), Sports (4), Historical (3), 1996 (3), Independent Film (3), Color (3), Muhammad Ali (3), 89 Min. (2), History (2), Don King (2), Zaire (2), Kinshasa (2), George Foreman (2), Rumble In The Jungle (2), James Brown (2), 1990s (2), 1970s (2), Africa (2), Usa (2)

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Agent Kermit D. Fonz added this to a list 3 months, 1 week ago

Pop Culture Phenomenon Films: 90’s (1929 movies items)

" When We Were Kings is a 1996 American documentary film directed by Leon Gast about the "Rumble in the Jungle" heavyweight championship boxing match that was held on October 30, 1974, in Zaire (now the Democratic Republic of the Congo) between world heavyweight champion George Foreman and Muhammad Ali. It features archival footage of celebrities, including James Brown, B.B. King, and promoter Don King, in the lead-up to the fight and accompanying Zaire 74 music festival, alongside interview f"

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Acervo Versátil Home Video (2440 movies items)

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Top 10 best movies 1996 (16 movies items)

" Notes: To be honest, I’m not a huge fan of boxing as a sport, I always had a hard time enjoying watching two grown men completely beating each other up, but I can’t deny the fact that there is still something quite dramatic about this sport which works very well with movies, in contrary to most other sports. Well, this fight must be one of the most famous fights that ever took place and everything about it was larger than life. Indeed, you had the young George Forman who was like this huge"

johanlefourbe added this to a list 4 years, 2 months ago

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1001 Movies Chosen By Johanlefourbe (1001 movies items)

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shotswerefired posted a video 5 years, 4 months ago

when we were kings - quando eravamo re part8

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Favorite Sports Movies (87 movies items)

"#8 Boxing"

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Oscars 1997 Winners (My Version) (24 movies items)

"Best Documentary Feature! Winner: When We Were Kings! Nominees: The Line King: The Al Hirschfield Story Mandela Suzanne Farrell: Elusive Muse Tell the Truth and Run: George Seldes and the American Press"

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30 From 96: My Favorite Films From 1996 (30 movies items)

"Back during the 90's, there was a lot of talk of how Hoop Dreams is one one of the best documentary sports films of the decade. And that movie is included on Fave Films of 1994 list, which shows that I agree to that consensus on some level. But, the truth is, for me, when it comes to a film that documents the reality behind sports and their events, When We Were Kings ranks as number one. Following the build up that led to the famous "Rumble in the Jungle" heavyweight championship match betwee"