‘The Rumble in the Jungle’
Continuing our screenings of contemporary documentaries, this Oscar-winning film is about Muhammad Ali and his legendary 1974 bout with defending heavyweight champion George Foreman in Zaire, now the Congo. The film contains scenes shot on location in 1974, news footage and recent interviews with commentators including film-maker Spike Lee and writer Norman Mailer, who was present at the fight as a sports reporter.
Director Leon Gast originally set out to make a documentary about the black music festival that was staged as a sideshow to the fight itself. He subsequently decided to concentrate on Ali whose presence on screen – a combination of pure magnetism, intelligence and wit – is the film’s defining quality. This is a genuinely inspiring film about one of the most charismatic sporting heroes of the twentieth century.

Oscar Winner 1996 Best Documentary

USA • 1996 • Documentary • 87 mins • Director: Leon Gast