When We Were Kigs
| Year: | 1996 |
| Production Co: | Gramercy Pictures |
| Director: | Leon Gast |
| Producer: | Leon Gast |
| Cast: | Muhhamud Ali, George Foreman, Don King, B B King, James Brown, Norman Mailer, Spike Lee, Howard Cosell, Joe Frazier, Sonny Liston |
If you vaguely know that Muhammad Ali was a charismatic boxer in the 1970s but want to know more this film should be your first stop.
It uses documentary footage and talking heads from Ali himself to luminaries like Norman Mailer and Spike Lee to tell the story of Ali - from the myth to the man - by showing the lead-up to the pivotal match where he fought champion George Foreman in Zaire in 1974.
It also obliquely tells the story of sports marketing in the era, where shady promoters like Don King were ready to cut deals with men like the then-dictator of Zaire to stage the fight, getting some of the best black performers as support acts in the bargain.