When We Were Kings Blu-ray

Firstly, thank you for your support over the years. It has been vital to our existence.

I think it is kind of funny that I am sitting writing this in a very cold room - my poor allocation of meager funds (buying Blu-rays to review) left a hole in the payment to heat this space where I work. It's not too bad - I can't see my breath or anything.

We had an abysmal month of September, in a financial sense, and actually the entire year to date for a few reasons:
While numbers (hits) to the site have always grown over the 18+years. The commissions payout has dropped by 69% (ie. 8%->4%->2.5%) I thought I would do like always and 'work' through it... it didn't overcome the deficit this year.

People are, understandably, buying - sometimes cheaper - directly from the Blu-ray or DVD production company's online stores (these include Criterion, Arrow, Indicator, Kino - well, many of them) Unfortunately, although I have encouraged them - these companies do not offer an affiliate commission structure.

Despite DVDBeaver selling 10s of 1000s of $ worth, to over 6 figures in a couple of cases, of their product - they do not send us screeners (these include Shout! Factory, Network, Studio Canal and Warner Archive) - so to review them - we must buy their discs.

Colin, bless him, still helps out but needs a real job. I wish him the very best. We also sell old Blu-rays to scrape together cash.

Without boring you with more details - we need your financial help... desperately. I am so grateful for those who give us a few dollars each month through Patreon or PayPal. By my calculations we need about double the number of patrons we have now.

I don't want to oversell this - but it is like buying DVDBeaver a coffee once or twice each month. I'd dearly love to meet each one of you and buy YOU that coffee one day.

If you feel the site is worth saving please become a patron, for any amount you feel comfortable. I will be indebted to you for the rest of my life.

Regards,
Gary

Search DVDBeaver

S E A R C H D V D B e a v e r

directed by Leon Gast
USA 1996

Twenty-two years in the making, this documentary chronicles one of the most famous heavyweight championship bouts in history, the Muhammad Ali-George Foreman "Rumble in the Jungle" in Kinshasa, Zaire in 1974. Along with highlights of underdog Ali's stunning victory and infamous "Rope-A-Dope" tactics, the film also covers the back-story of the event and its cultural significance, with footage of Ali's goodwill tours, concert footage featuring B.B. King and James Brown, interviews with George Plimpton, Norman Mailer and Don King, and more. Academy Award winner for Best Documentary Feature.

An unforgettable account of the "Rumble in the Jungle." With never-before-seen footage and new interviews, "When We Were Kings" takes us back to a classic moment in history. This Oscar-winning film captures all the magic of Muhammad Ali at the peak of his triumphant career.

***

In 1974, Leon Gast traveled to Africa to film Zaïre 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, observing 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.

Posters

Theatrical Release: January 1996 - Sundance Film Festival

Reviews More Reviews DVD Reviews

Comparison:

PolyGram / USA Films - Region 1 - NTSC vs. Criterion - Region 'A' - Blu-ray

Box Cover		Bonus Captures: Criterion DVD also available:
Distribution	PolyGram / USA Films Home Video - Region 1 - NTSC	Criterion - Spine #998 - Region 'A' - Blu-ray
Runtime	1:27:21	1:27:25.240
Video	1.85:1 Original Aspect Ratio Average Bitrate: 5.13 mb/s NTSC 720x480 29.97 f/s	1.78:1 1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray Disc Size: 45,142,354,063 bytes Feature: 26,670,114,816 bytes Video Bitrate: 36.00 Mbps Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video
	NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes.
Bitrate:
Bitrate Blu-ray:
Audio	English (Dolby Digital 2.0)	DTS-HD Master Audio English 2594 kbps 5.0 / 48 kHz / 2594 kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 5.0 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 24-bit)
Subtitles	French, Spanish, None	English (SDH), None
Features	Release Information: Studio: USA Films Aspect Ratio: Original aspect Ratio 1.85:1 Edition Details: • Pan and Scan version on flip side • Interview with Director (4:06) • Text Bio screens DVD Release Date: September 14th, 1999 Keep Case Chapters: 12	Release Information: Studio: Criterion 1.78:1 1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray Disc Size: 45,142,354,063 bytes Feature: 26,670,114,816 bytes Video Bitrate: 36.00 Mbps Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video Edition Details: • Soul Power, a 2008 documentary about the Zaïre 74 music festival directed by Jeffrey Kusama-Hinte (1:32:30) • New interview with producer David Sonenberg (16:15) • Interview from 1997 with director Leon Gast (4:08) • Trailer (1:39) • PLUS: An essay by critic Kelefa Sanneh Blu-ray Release Date: October 22nd, 2019 Transparent Blu-ray Case Chapters 11

Comments:

NOTE: The below Blu-ray captures were taken directly from the Blu-ray disc.

ADDITION: Criterion Blu-ray (September 2019): Criterion have transferred Leon Gast's When We Were Kings to Blu-ray. It is advertised as being from a "New, restored 4K digital transfer". Much of the documentary is archival footage, shot mostly in 16mm, and the image quality in 1080P exports this was lush heavy grain texture. The image varies as does the source of the clips used and it 'looks as it looks'. I thought it may have been slightly cropped on the right edge but then in other scenes it shows more information that the DVD. Also could it be horizontally stretched at times? Is there a teal-leaning? (see the shift in Norman Mailer's shirt). I didn't see much and can't say with any certainty. I did find that particular color shift interesting though. It looks better in the higher resolution with a tighter image - as would be obvious - but you can't overcome the film's original production values. This is just fine in-motion and the best I expect the film to look digitally.

NOTE: 29 more full resolution (1920 X 1080) Blu-ray captures for Patrons are available HERE.

On their Blu-ray, Criterion use a DTS-HD Master 5.0 track (24-bit) in the original English language (with some French and Lingala). It is another advancement in the film's audio (with separation evident; crowds noises etc.) and music. Aside from the title song, When We Were Kings, performed by Brian McKnight and Diana King, there is a host of other music in When We Were Kings with some of it as brief samples performed live; Miriam Makeba, James Brown, The Crusaders, OK Jazz, The Spinners, The Fugees, a bit of ABBA and more. It sounds great in the lossless - lively and aggressive supporting an unbridled tribal atmosphere. Criterion offer optional English subtitles on their Region 'A' Blu-ray.

Criterion include Soul Power, (in 1080P - 14,292,013,056 bytes / 18.98 Mbps / lossy Dolby - 1:32:30.545) a 2008 1.5 hour documentary about the Zaïre 74 music festival. It is described as Jeffrey Kusama-Hinte's 2008 documentary Soul Power presents footage of the legendary three-day 1974 music festival Zaire 74, which assembled America's biggest rhythm-and-blues acts of the day—including James Brown and the Mighty J.B.'s, B.B. King, the Spinners, and Bill Withers—along with the most popular musical groups of Zaire. The festival was held in Kinshasa and intended to accompany the heavyweight championship bout between Muhammad Ali and George Foreman, which is documented in When We Were Kings, on which Kusama-Hinte was an editor. Soul Power has been on Blu-ray before and is compared HERE. Also presented here is an excerpt from a 2009 statement about the film from Kusama-Hinte. There is a new, 16-minute, interview with producer David Sonenberg recorded by the Criterion Collection in New York in June 2019. He talks about the When We Were Kings, Ali and more. We also get the same 4-minute interview from 1997 with director Leon Gast as on the DVD plus a trailer and the package has liner notes with an essay by critic Kelefa Sanneh.

One of the most remarkable documentaries of all time - showcasing the unique, undying charisma and legacy of Muhammad Ali. The poetic and philosophical 'waxing' of Mailer and Plimpton can be forgiven. This was such an awe-inspiring event that transcended sports. After watching this an umpteenth time - I could do it all over again - absolutely magnificent. This is definitely a keeper Blu-ray. One of the best documentaries I can recall. It has our highest recommendation!

***

ON THE DVD (1999): Considering much of the film is archival footage, shot mostly in 16mm and the DVD being quite old (way back in 99') and it is non-anamorphic - it is acceptable to watch. Widescreen ratio has been maintained with a Pan+scan on the flipside. Interview is short but effective in adding to the appeal of this documentary film. You certainly can't beat the price and as I doubt anyone else will be producing this on DVD anytime soon... this is a must buy at less than $10.