He was supposed to be old, slow, done.
But when the bell rang in the Congo, Muhammad Ali delivered the most improbable miracle in sports history.
“When We Were Kings” covers the lead-up to the 1974 “Rumble in the Jungle” fight between Muhammad Ali and George Foreman in Zaire.
Trailer for “When We Were Kings”
You Can’t Make This Sh*t Up
- It took 22 years to finish the film due to massive legal and financial hurdles. The footage was originally intended to capture the Zaire 74 music fest—not the fight.
- Ali invents the “Rope a Dope” move — Ali let Foreman punch nonstop into his guard, draining his power, then struck back when Foreman was too exhausted to defend (see below for details).
- The original reels of fight and concert footage were held by a company controlled by Liberian finance minister Stephen Tolbert. When Tolbert died in a plane crash, Leon Gast had to sue in British court to get his own footage back.
- Foreman came to Zaire with his German shepherd—a breed associated with colonial oppression. It didn’t sit well with the local public.
Watch “When We Were Kings”
You can watch “When We Were Kings” on Netflix here or HBO Max here.
Check JustWatch for other streaming options.
Ratings:
- My Rating: 93/100
- IMDB Rating: 7.8/10
- Rotten Tomatoes: 94% (Audience)l 98% (Critics),
Director’s Note: Leon Gast directed this doc. He’s also done “Manny” and “Hells Angels Forever”.
Release Date: January 1996 (Sundance); March 1997 (U.S. release)
My Review of “When We Were Kings”
The Setup
It’s October 30, 1974. Muhammad Ali, age 32 and labeled washed-up, enters the ring in Kinshasa to fight 25-year-old George Foreman—the undefeated heavyweight champ with a 40–0 record and 37 knockouts.
The venue? A soccer stadium packed with 60,000 fans under the rule of dictator Mobutu Sese Seko.
The goal? Regain the heavyweight title stripped from Ali for refusing the Vietnam draft.
The doc blends concert footage, archival fight coverage, and interviews with Norman Mailer, George Plimpton, Spike Lee, and others. It’s not just a fight story—it’s a time capsule of 1970s geopolitics, Black identity, and rebellion.
More Highlights from the Doc
- Ali’s verbal mastery is on full display: he tells the press Foreman “has the brain of a five-year-old child” and hypes himself as the people’s champ.
- Intercut scenes from the Zaire 74 music festival show James Brown, B.B. King, and Celia Cruz performing—anchoring the fight in global Black pride and cultural power.
- The crowd chants “Ali bomaye!” (“Ali, kill him!”) over and over, giving Ali an almost mythical energy in the stadium.
- Foreman’s power punches, once thought unstoppable, are shown landing—but bouncing off Ali’s guard and arms, not damaging him.
- The project sat unfinished for over a decade until producer David Sonenberg and later Taylor Hackford helped revive and complete it—with fresh interviews to frame the old footage.
- Mobutu Sese Seko funded the entire event to promote Zaire on the world stage—even while ruling the country through fear and violence.
The Rope-a-Dope
This is where Ali becomes a legend. In round one, Ali stuns everyone by backing into the ropes and letting Foreman unload body shots. This was no accident—it was strategy. Ali’s “rope-a-dope” plan was to wear Foreman down, make him punch himself out, and then strike.
- Ali absorbed most of Foreman’s shots on his arms and body, leaning on the ropes to let them act like shock absorbers.
- He clinched constantly, leaning his weight onto Foreman and sapping his energy.
- In the clinches, he taunted Foreman with lines like “That all you got, George?” and “They told me you could punch!”—psychological warfare in real time.
- When Foreman finally slowed down, Ali unleashed short, sharp counters—punches to the head that wobbled the champ.
- In round eight, Ali exploded off the ropes with a flurry: a right-left-right combination that knocked Foreman down. He didn’t get up. Ali was champ again.
Lesser-Known Details from the Doc
- The event was delayed six weeks after Foreman suffered a cut during sparring—nearly derailing the entire project.
- Ali’s strategy included pushing Foreman’s neck downward in clinches, further disorienting and tiring him.
- Gast originally thought he was making a music doc. The fight was almost an afterthought—until it became one of the greatest boxing upsets ever.
Wrap Up
“When We Were Kings” shows why Muhammad Ali wasn’t just a fighter—he was a tactician, a performer, a political symbol. One of the greatest sports docs of all time.
Thanks for reading!
Rob Kelly, Chief Maniac, Daily Doc