When We Were Kings

Given a choice I'd rather have a chunk of useless flesh bitten off rather than risk brain damage from my head being belted. In that sense I'd rather be eaten up than beaten up.

But I think that most people would be surprised if Ali had done a Tyson and munched on an ear sandwich. A fellow as funny, as smart and as good looking as Ali wouldn't be expected to do a thing like that.

His engaging media presence, his supreme public relations image, would seem to put paid to any idea of the man who "floats like a butterfly, stings like a bee" actually really hurting anyone, even if he really did.

Ali always seemed to be beyond the thuggish side of boxing. He seemed to be too pretty to be vicious.

When We Were Kings is a documentary about the "rumble in the jungle", the World Championship boxing match between Ali and the mighty George Foreman which was staged in Zaire in 1974.

But When We Were Kings is much more than a very effective sporting documentary. When We Were Kings weaves a subtle and exciting aura around the event and highlights all that is good about sport and humanity.

Sport is all about excellence, and excellence that is recognisable. Most of us spend our lives doing the little things, knocking over the millions of small obstacles, in the moderate way that will keep our families and occupations ticking over. We all fight our battles, and our battles are World Championship events in themselves, but not like boxers in a boxing ring.

Sport is all about passion, like the best art.

Sport is about giving your best and having a go, no matter what level it's played at, and sport brings out the best and sometimes the worst that humanity can offer.

That's why sport is so popular and that's why a good film about sport moves us so.

When We Were Kings is uplifting and exhilarating because we see Ali winning against the odds, and because Ali is such a hero. Muhammed Ali not only won plenty of boxing matches but was both charismatic and inspiring. His refusal to go to Vietnam was courageous and public. ("No Viet Cong ever called me nigger!")

He went to jail for his beliefs, lost his world championship and coverted to Islam which also attracted nasty criticism. The fight with George Foreman was his comeback fight and was dangerous and cocky. Don King promoted the battle, had no money to do it, staked his career on it, but got Zaire to both pay for and stage the fight.

Over they went with B.B. King and James Brown and we are treated to a strange, exotic African arena, which added witch craft to the mix.

Commented on by George Plimpton and Norman Mailer, When We Were Kings offers fascinating insights into the characters of the major players, in particular Muhammed Ali, George Foreman, Don King and even the atrocious dictator of Zaire called Mobuto, who reportedly had one hundred of the local crooks assassinated to quieten down crime in the area.

He didn't want bad publicity for Zaire!