Upper Cut
By Daily Bruin Staff
Feb. 9, 1997 9:00 p.m.
Monday, February 10, 1997
After struggling for over two decades, documentary director Leon Gast will let his praised boxing documentary ‘When We Were Kings’ give audiences a powerful punch of Muhammad Ali’s charisma.
By Ricky Herzog
Daily Bruin Contributor
Most films take only about a year to be completed. Leon Gast’s film took 23 years to reach the big screen.
Gast took on the role of editor, producer and director for his critically acclaimed documentary "When We Were Kings." Because the film took over two decades to make, the long process was difficult for Gast at times.
"There were times when it was very frustrating," Gast says of his attempts over the years to find financing. "I thought I had deals so many times and companies would pull out for one reason or another. At one time I was ready to sell all the film to somebody. Thank God I didn’t."
"When We Were Kings" chronicles the famous "Rumble in the Jungle," a fight that took place in Zaire between Muhammad Ali and George Foreman which turned into a huge international event, drawing such musical talents as James Brown and B.B. King to perform at the three-day music festival that became a part of it. The movie documents the entire event, but the focus lies on Ali.
"My primary concern is for people to hopefully get a sense of Muhammad Ali the man, not just Muhammad Ali the fighter," Gast says. "This was a man of principles, especially in this day of athletes who are concerned with how they are going to be able to commercialize on their success. There’s nobody that I have met or known in sports or in anything who has the purity of Ali. He had no ulterior motives other than ‘I can help my people.’ He’s one of a kind."
The movie attempts to capture these humanitarian impulses displayed by Ali. One incident that will not show up in the film is a story Gast relates about Ali’s concern for his fellow humans.
"Ali was in New York watching the afternoon news on television and he saw a report about a Hebrew home for the aged that was being closed down because of taxes and rent and other bills," Gast recalls. "Ali went out to the home, walked in and said, ‘What’s the problem?’ The boss told him, ‘We have to be out of here in 60 days because we’re in debt $180,000.’ Ali gave him two checks totaling $280,000 and said, ‘But I don’t want you to tell anyone where you got it."
This kind of philanthropy was not uncommon for Ali. According to Gast, his humanitarian impulses drew emotional responses from unlikely subjects.
"People have no idea of the kinds of incredible things that he did for his fellow man. There were real hard-ass boxing guys that would tell me stories and in the middle of their story tears would be running down their face from just remembering the kindness that Ali displayed."
To capture Ali and his humanitarian impulses fully, the director and his crew went to Zaire, where the fight was going to take place, and spent their time filming Ali, Foreman and all the music and media coverage surrounding the event. The time spent in Zaire was enjoyable, due in a large part to the warmth of the host nation.
"I loved it there," Gast recalls. "I thought that the people were warm. It was a fabulous experience and I went back several times after."
However, there was a bit of short lived tension in the beginning of the project between the African Americans on the crew and Gast. They felt that as a white man he would not be able to adequately capture the experience of a black man returning to the land of his fathers.
"It was before we had started filming, and somebody told me that black members of the crew were meeting in Don King’s suite and they felt that I wasn’t competent to make the film," Gast remembers. "And I went up and re-addressed it and they said that they didn’t feel that a white person had the sensitivity to make a film about black people in Africa. Don King mediated back and forth and finally after about half an hour it was straightened out and there wasn’t really tension after that. And hopefully all of these people who felt I wasn’t capable get to see the film and will think that I am capable after all."
Despite this momentary conflict, Gast went on to successfully complete the documentary. Throughout his career, he has made numerous documentaries, including films chronicling the Grateful Dead and the Hell’s Angels. The medium is appealing to him because of its powerful realism.
"I like documentaries because they’re real," Gast says. "It’s verite. It’s truth. It’s what’s happening. You can’t script what tomorrow’s reality is going to be. You just have to go there and hope you can get yourself in a position where you’ll be able to document what’s happening. That’s the nature of it. I like to make films about reality."
To achieve this realism, Gast recorded over six weeks of footage of the event, turning the editing into a grueling process. In fact, Gast dedicated more time to "When We Were Kings" than any of the other documentaries he has worked on.
"Nothing compares to this project," Gast says. "When I started out, my kids were in grade school; I’m a grandfather now. I’ve spent half my life working on this project. I had 280,000 feet of film in my house all over the place. It became my obsession."
Now that the film is finally completed, Gast hopes the story can reach a new generation and teach them about one of the legends of American sports.
"I hope that a young audience gets to see it. Whether or not they see it in schools or theaters or however, I hope they’ll get a chance to see that one inspired human can make a difference."
Gramercy Pictures
Muhammad Ali feigns shock while supposedly spying on the Zaire training camp of opponent George Foreman in the Leon Gast film "When We Were Kings," about their 1974 bout dubbed the "Rumble in the Jungle."
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