Rating: 
Summary: Don't waste your money
Review: If you like boxing, don't waste your money. You see a glimpse of a few rounds, but this is not a boxing movie.If you like left-wing political documentaries, you'll love this one.
Rating: 
Summary: Amazing event in sports history
Review: At rare points in history, things from all levels just come together. "When We Were Kings" captures such a moment. Muhammad Ali emerges from prison after refusing to submit to the Vietnam draft, and is pitted again world champion George Foreman. Don King begins his long association with the sport of boxing by arranging a ...[few] million dollar match in Zaire, and collects Afro-american musicians like James Brown and BB King to perform in an international festival for dark-skinned people. As Ali starts his famous word-fighting pre match, we watch are George Foreman pounds holes into punching bags like they were soft-down pillows, and complications delay and frustrate the event endlessly. ... I have seen very few people with such a command of the english language as Ali, and he is a huge inspiration for african-americans for the last 30 years. And this is the style of athlete that Ali is, at least as portrayed in this film. His physical power and skill are under complete control and service of his monumentous intellect. The fight itself is entirely a battle of wits.... ...Watch the film.
Rating:
Summary: Probably my favorite DVD I own.
Review: Normally, I don't like documentaries. But I am a huge fan of Ali, probably his biggest fan. So when I saw this DVD on amazon, I definatly wanted to see it. Just about a week later, I saw it in the movie rental place, and I got it imediatly, and later, I got it for christmas on DVD. It shows all the details of what was behind the Ali-Foreman fight. It has good fitting music, and the footage is wonderfully entertaining. It changed my entire prespective on documentaries. I love hearing Ali in the press conferance near the beginning. Actually, writing this review is getting me all worked up, and I think im gonna go watch it right now. So take it from me,
It is well worth your money.
It is very entertaining
And Muhammad is funny. So don't waste your time,
Don't sit and ask how.
Get off your chair
And go buy it right now.
Rating:
Summary: A documentary for the Ages
Review: This film is so huge in scope that it should be viewed only on a Projection TV! The biggest names in boxing met on the biggest continent and the result was...History.
The culture of Zaire is beautifully arrayed and the Western "Soul/Jazz" blends in effectively with musicians like B.B.King, The O'Jays, and James Brown (who provides a couple of numbers not included on the CD soundtrack release!).
I can understand the inclusion of present-day commentators like Spike Lee, George Plimpton, and Norman Mailer, but their segments are mostly superfluous. Why not bring back some of the original participants?
Rating:
Summary: Ali himself is a better film star than Will Smith
Review: If you have seen the fairly good Will Smith portrayal of Ali but have not seen this documentary, then you're missing out. Ali in his prime was a political icon, a brilliant entertainer, and a superb athlete. I was inspired by this documentary and overwhelmed by the scope of the event that was "The Rumble In The Jungle." Good film making and an important piece of historical documentation.
Rating:
Summary: An Outstanding Documentary
Review: Unfortunately for me, I was born in 1972 and missed so much of what was the greatest career in sports. Ali is the best example of a sportsman.
This documentary is about The Rumble In The Jumgle, when Ali was truely at his peak in his career. The charisma that radiates from Ali in this movie is one of the most memorable things in this Oscar winning film. For someone who missed it, items like this is as close as I am going to get to experiencing Ali's career. Not just for boxing fans, not even just for sports fans, this is a real movie about one of the greatest men ,if not the greatest man, in sports, and an outstanding human being.
Rating:
Summary: See the Will Smith "Ali" movie. Then see When We Were Kings
Review: Or do it the other way around, like I did. I liked the Will Smith movie a lot, but I saw it on opening night with surly teenagers who left still asking what was so 'great' about Ali. This movie has the answer. While the Will Smith "Ali" is definitely worth seeing and covers a lot of ground not touched in this 1996 documentary, "When We Were Kings" does a far better job of accurately conveying the climate of the 1970s and the aura surrounding the fight. It shows how whites and blacks viewed themnselves and each other and how we in America and around the world vested the fights between Ali and his major opponents, Foreman and Frazier with mythic importance. The menacing inarticulate George Foreman of the 1970s will be a revelation to those who only know him as the cuddly HBO commentator and pitchman trying to sell us grills and mufflers. Again, the 2001 Will Smith movie is fine for those of us who already know the story. Will Smith has the lines down pat, and credibly imitates some of Ali's ring style. But this is the movie young people who weren't around back then to see, to grasp the essence of Muhammed Ali, and the significance my generation invested in him. I'm going out to rent it again and show it to my kids this weekend.
Rating:
Summary: ALI WAS AND STILL IS "THE KING"!!! WATCH THIS FILM AND SEE!!
Review: "When We Were Kings" has some rather memorable and interesting moments of Ali never before seen before the release of this film. If this was a fictional movie then Ali would be nominated for Best Actor in a film. Ali was a very charismatic personality which was a significant reason why he was so popular and still is to this very day and this film is highly profiled proof of it. The 1970's footage shot before and after the fight was going to be used to focus on the musical acts for this fight that featured James Brown which is the reason why they take up a significant portion of the film but Ali's personality was so interesting that he unintentionally stole the show. He was such an interesting personality that the musical acts became a somewhat peripheral topic despite it being terrific music. I really didn't care too much about the musical acts because Ali was so humorous and captivating. One other interesting piece of footage is of Ali sparring with his soon to be succesor ; a young Larry Holmes in 1974. The footage is very brief but , for fight fans , extremely interesting to watch because you see a still competitive Ali sparring intensely against the younger Holmes and it makes you wonder 'what if...?'. Its so ironic to see this clip considering what happened 6 years later but if BOTH were in their primes on October 2nd 1980 it would have been an intense battle. Unfortunatly , by 1980 , father time finally caught up to The Greatest. Man , what if...? The documentary does a decent job in telling the story of The Rumble In The Jungle but I wished that they could have interviewed Ferdie Pacheco and Angelo Dundee ; two significant men who were actually in Ali's corner. I don't mind getting the point of views of George Plimpton , Norman Mailer , and Spike Lee as long as they had good comments to add , which they did , but I really would have enjoyed hearing Pacheco's and Dundee's first hand takes on the moments before , during , and after the historic fight for this particular documentary. The DVD is a two-sided disc with standard on one side and letterbox on the other. The extras feature an interview with the director Leon Gast , film/cast bios , and French and Spanish subtitles. This is a fine documentary that captures Ali in all his 1970's glory. He was a king and , on grand levels , still is.
Rating: 
Summary: Inspiring film but not so successful as record of events
Review: First let me tell you that I am a boxing and Ali and Foreman fan and I looked forward to seeing this film.I would like to make a few points.Most of the film is overwhelmingly devoted to Ali to the near total exclusion of Foreman.Foreman -like Ali an Olympic gold medallist- was a product of the Jobcorp program set up by the Johnson administration to give vocational and educational training to post school age youths.Unlike Ali he came from a very deprived background.He was concious of the positive role American government policies had created in helping him out of a life of poverty and violence.His benign view of the American government and the need to support its policies especially in Vietnam was a view taken by many older black figureheads such as Jackie Robinson and Joe Louis. Also Ali's political viewpoints seen to be sanitised.All of his unpleasant statements supporting the racialist views of Elijah Muhammad and Louis Farrakhan seem to have been left on the cutting room floor. Secondly the strongman of Zaire president Mobutu receives a comparatively mild treatment.It is indeed mentioned in passing that he executed nearly a hundred criminals in the run up to the event as a public control measure.What is not mentioned is that he also bankrpted Zaire in financing the Ali-Foreman fight and other loss making ventures and fled the country most of its remaining wealth to die in exile.We also don't get to know most of the entertaining shenanigans and backdealing that went on behind the scenes with Don King in staging the fight which cemented his place as boxings biggest promoter.Also,later in the decade he would ironically prove to be the actual nemesis of both Ali and Foreman. The musical interlude is overlong and not particularly relevant to the developments in hand.As regards,the depiction of the fight,which incidentallyI have seen in its entirety on tape I find it hopelessly fixated on Ali's rope a dope strategy.I remember in the uncut fight that Ali seemed to quite comfortable throughout the rounds scoring points with good jabs and bouncing off the ropes scoring combinations and swaying away from Foreman's headshots by lying on the loosened ropes and absorbing whatever he had to give.For whatever reason poor George seems to punching in slow motion and almost falling asleep even from the third round onwards.To be truthful I could name dozens of greater heavyweight fights.When We Were Kings is inspiring no doubt;the sight of relatively youthful Ali,unburdenned by disease,cracking jokes and reciting his poetry and commanding by the sheer force of his personality is unforgettable.But I think the film-makers have made a mistake in elevating the broader significance of this fight and in doing so, simplified the political and social complexities of the time surrounding this fight;I think When We Were Kings can be seen as a feelgood drama in which the individual triumphs against unsuperable odds despite the best efforts opponents and forces both internal and external.With a protagonist like Ali it is rarely dull.
Rating:
Summary: Half Great film. Doesn't get the fight right
Review: There is a large hole in this film, and it is in the depiction of the actual fight itself. Everything that led up to the fight is brilliantly presented. This is Ali in all of his greatness. You see his fight strategy unfold as the film progresses. He turns the people of Zaire into his hometown crowd. You watch him psyche himself up by raising the stakes. The fight became more then the heavyweight championship. Ali was going to "walk down the alley ways and sit with the wine heads, and talk to the prostitutes on the streets..." Ali was going to better the world, and restore the black mans pride. All he had to do was beat Foreman first. And he loved to be the underdog. He loved to shock the world when nobody gave him a chance in hell of winning. You see him asking an audience of fight writers, "Who's got George picked? Raise your hands. Who thinks George is gonna whup me?" At a news conference he told Don King, "I know you got George picked, but I'm gonna show you all just how great I am." By the time Ali stepped into the ring, Foreman didn't stand a chance. Ali was almost a decade past his prime, and Foreman was in the middle of his, but Ali was about to shred him, and this is where this film falls short. The fight is simply not accurately depicted. The film focuses almost exclusively on Ali's rope-a-dope strategy. You are left with the impression that Ali was pounded on the ropes for 8 rounds, only to explode in a moment of glory, knocking out a tired and caught of guard Foreman. That is simply not the way it happened. There were 8 rounds in this fight, and Ali won all 8 of them. True, he did lay on the ropes a lot, but that was only a portion of his strategy. He demoralized Foreman by taking his best shots, and scoffing at them. Ali would taunt Foreman, "Is THAT all you got George?" Then Ali would hit him with blistering combinations, almost at will. Foreman was staggered, several times. He was the perfect opponent for Ali because his head was a stationary target. Ali used it for a speed bag. Foreman's face was puffy and swollen by the third round. Ali's didn't have a mark on it. Even Joe Frazier, who was doing commentary during the fight had to admit, "I don't think George is gonna make it." He said that somewhere around the 5th. Jim Brown, who was also doing commentary, repeated over and over again, "Muhammad Ali is unreal." But you see none of this in this film. Despite what the film shows you, Ali picked Foreman apart. He was way past his prime, but this was, no doubt, his finest hour. Had Ali fought Foreman, or Frazier, or Norton, or anyone for that matter, when he was in his prime, their names would have been forgotten like all of the others that Ali disposed of early in his career. The name Joe Frazier would be familiar only to avid fight buffs, in the way the name Zorra Folley is now (one of Ali's early victims). Buy this DVD. What it does well, it does very well. But I strongly encourage you to follow it up by watching the entire fight. You can see it on "Muhammad Ali, The Greatest Collection." Then you will know the entire story.
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