When We Were Kings

Dublin Core

Title

When We Were Kings

Subject

African-American, racism, masculinity, sports, documentary

Description

Video used for teaching race in documentary.

Date

1996

Contributor

George Foreman
Muhammed Ali

Format

VHS

Language

English

Type

Documentary

Coverage

In 1974, Leon Gast traveled to Africa to film Zaïre 74, a music festival planned to accompany an unprecedented sports spectacle: the Rumble in the Jungle, in which late-career underdog Muhammad Ali would contend with the younger powerhouse George Foreman for the boxing heavyweight championship title—“a fight between two blacks in a black nation, organized by blacks,” as a Kinshasa billboard put it. When the main event was delayed, extending Ali’s stay in Africa, Gast wound up amassing a treasure trove of footage, observing the wildly charismatic athlete training for one of the toughest bouts of his career while basking in his role as black America’s proud ambassador to postcolonial Africa. Two decades in the making, When We Were Kings features interviews with Norman Mailer and George Plimpton that illustrate the sensational impact of the fight, rounding out an Academy Award–winning portrait of Ali that captures his charm, grace, and defiance. -Criterion Collection

Abstract

"A documentary of the 1974 heavyweight championship bout in Zaire, "The Rumble in the Jungle," between champion George Foreman and underdog challenger Muhammad Ali." (IMDB)

Extent

89 minutes

Moving Image Item Type Metadata

Duration

89 minutes

Producer

Leon Gast
David Sonenberg
Taylor Hackford

Director

Leon Gast

URL

Buy DVD/VHS on Amazon
https://pluto.tv/us/on-demand/movies/65e8fb1c16305f00134d724a?utm_medium=textsearch&utm_source=google

Player

watch streaming here

https://brooklyn-cuny.yuja.com/V/Video?v=11719325&node=51535218&a=128387648

Files

Citation

“When We Were Kings,” VHS Activism Archive , accessed June 19, 2025, https://activismvhs.omeka.net/items/show/674.

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