WHEN WE WERE KINGS
A film review by Michael John Legeros
Copyright 1997 Michael John Legeros
(Gramercy)
Directed by Leon Gast
Produced by David Sonenberg, Taylor Hackford, and Leon Gast
Featuring Muhammad Ali, George Forman, Don King, James Brown, B.B.
King, President Mobuto Sese Seko, Spike Lee, Norman
Mailer, George Plimpton
MPAA Rating "PG"
Running Time 90 minutes
Reviewed at The Colony Theatre, Raleigh, NC (28MAR97)
==
This year's Best Documentary is about rhythm. The rhythm of the blues. The meter of soul. The cadence of verse, fist, and dance. Director Leon Gast journeyed to Africa in 1974, to film a festival of music that was to accompany the championship contest between Muhammad Ali and George Foreman. The fight was postponed for six weeks, the festival went ahead as scheduled, and Gast stuck around, becoming increasingly interested in both the politics and the personalities involved. He shot some great concert footage and also pinned down the fighters, the promoters, and, even, Zaire's dictator, President Mobutu Sese Seko. Two decades passed before Gast could finish his film. To the hundreds of hours of footage, he added interviews, including writers George Plimpton and Norman Mailer, both of whom were originally ringside. (And both of whom get a little too much screen time.) The result is an immensely entertaining time capsule that rocks with an electrifying rhythm. And it's funny! From Ali's rhyming rants to Mailer's description of Don King's hair, there's a hearty sense of humor here. In fact, all that's missing is a modern-day encounter with the champs. What we saw at the Academy Awards should've also happened in this movie.
Grade: A-
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Mike Legeros - Movie Hell legeros@pagesz.net - http://www.n-vision.com/hell/
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