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When We Were Kings (The Criterion Collection) [Blu-ray]
Product ID: 147504844
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In 1974, Leon Gast (Our Latin Thing) traveled to Africa to film Zaire 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, capturing 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. BLU-RAY SPECIAL EDITION FEATURES • New, restored 4K digital transfer, with 5.1 surround DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack • Soul Power, a 2009 documentary about the Zaire 74 music festival directed by Jeffrey Kusama-Hinte • New interviews with producers Taylor Hackford and David Sonenberg • Interview from 1997 with director Leon Gast • Trailer • PLUS: An essay by critic Kelefa Sanneh Review: Documentary about great epoch - Important historical documentary Review: Quality. - Original.
| Contributor | B.B. King, David Sonenberg, Don King, George Foreman, George Plimpton, James Brown, Leon Gast, Malick Bowens, Miriam Makeba, Muhammad Ali, Norman Mailer, Spike Lee, Thomas Hauser Contributor B.B. King, David Sonenberg, Don King, George Foreman, George Plimpton, James Brown, Leon Gast, Malick Bowens, Miriam Makeba, Muhammad Ali, Norman Mailer, Spike Lee, Thomas Hauser See more |
| Customer Reviews | 4.8 out of 5 stars 173 Reviews |
| Format | Blu-ray, Subtitled |
| Genre | Special Interests |
| Language | English |
| Studio | The Criterion Collection |
T**Q
Documentary about great epoch
Important historical documentary
A**R
Quality.
Original.
A**I
Great!
Great documentary about two great men.
J**.
Outstanding Documentary about The Rumble in the Jungle
This has terrific live footage of the prep going into the Ali/Foreman fight, the politics involved, and the fight—the historical context is educational for me.
A**R
Excellent documentary and presentation
I'm usually bored by documentaries, but this was fantastic! It never bored me and it was legitimately interesting. (I never realized how funny Ali was)
M**K
Stunning
The best documentary about boxing ever made and I dont even like boxing. Shows how Ali beat Foreman as much with his mind as with his body and how defeat redeemed Foreman. Its a an epic story.
P**.
Fight highlights picture quality is lacking.
I primarily bought this expecting that the entire fight would be included as a bonus feature, but it wasn't. Only fight highlights appeared during the documentary, and as another reviewer remarked, that fight footage was not presented in the pristine clarity that we've come to expect from a Criterion production. I suppose it's possible that Criterion couldn't get the rights to the entire fight, but the footage that did appear should have looked better.
T**Y
KING-SIZED COVERAGE
Great transfer...containing both this Oscar-winning documentaey...along with Soul Power, the sister documentary, covering the soul muaix concert which was held in conjunction with the Rumble In The Jungle itself. Worth the addition to your film library.
E**L
Rumble in the Jungle
This DVD arrived to my house in only 4 days and the disc played perfectly. The extra storylines were as important as the main feature . The music festival was interesting too but the actually fight was delayed 6 weeks. This loss changed George Forman forever. for the good. Ali became an ambassador of black unity.
Trustpilot
3 weeks ago
2 weeks ago