Some films take years to make. Others take decades. A rare few become even more powerful because of it.
When We Were Kings, directed by Leon Gast, is one of the unusual projects that required extraordinary patience, taking more than 20 years to complete before finally reaching audiences. Eventually, Gast's film was ranked among the best movies of all time by Rotten Tomatoes.
The documentary centers on the legendary 1974 "Rumble in the Jungle" boxing match between Muhammad Ali and George Foreman in Zaire (now the Democratic Republic of the Congo). But, the film goes far beyond the fight itself, capturing the cultural and political significance of the event, as well as the global spotlight it brought to Africa.
"Ali had said over and over again, 'How's [Forman] gonna hit me? I'm gonna dance. I'm too fast for him,' and everybody expected he would run," Gast told Charlie Rose of the now-iconic fight. "And when he came out, he immediately ran across the ring. [...] Ali was not afraid of him and he wasn't dancing. He realized that George was a lot faster than he was, and the ropes were slack. He could lean back and Foreman punched himself out. And eventually, Ali had conserved his strength and in the later rounds he was able to knock him out."
Filming began in the 1970s, but the project quickly ran into financial and legal setbacks, leaving much of the footage unfinished for years. It wasn't until the 1990s that Gast was finally able to return to the material, assembling decades-old footage into a cohesive and deeply compelling narrative.
"There was something about Ali that just his presence and how he was conscious of the camera, but in a way different than anybody I had ever worked with," Gast told BBC.
When it was released, the film was met with widespread acclaim.
When We Were Kings went on to win the 1997 Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature, with critics praising its ability to blend sports, history and culture into a richly layered story. Its immersive approach and emotional depth helped it stand out as one of the most important documentaries of its time and in all of sports history.
Today, When We Were Kings stands as both a cinematic achievement and a testament to determination, proving that even after decades of delays, a story this powerful can still leave an unforgettable mark.
Related: 1964 International Film, Rediscovered After 31 Years, Ranked Among ‘Best Movies of All Time’
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