When We Were Kings

Extensive boxing footage: hard blows, knock-downs, a bloody eye injury, ferocious pummeling. Brief newsreel accounts of cruelty to Africans and African-Americans. A typhoid shot is administered on camera.

Sensual dance performances in revealing costumes; one brief glimpse of bare breasts.

"Holy s--t," "damn," three uses of the "N" word.

Parents need to know that When We Were Kings is a documentary about the World Boxing Championship fight between Muhammad Ali and George Foreman that was held in the African country of Zaire in October 1974. In fast-paced, high-energy scenes, the film takes its viewers through the initial planning, the boxers' training regimens, a long delay due to an injury to Foreman's eye, and the championship bout itself, which has long been famously known as the "Rumble in the Jungle." In addition, the filmmakers have intercut interviews, newsreel footage, and excerpts from musical performances held in Zaire along with the boxing spectacle. As a result, the film is about much more than the sport itself. It touches upon the racial politics of the time, the political implications of the event, and the growing influence of Ali. Violent action includes extensive, hard-hitting boxing sequences and historical footage of African-American people under siege. In one musical number, young women are in skimpy clothing, and one of them briefly flashes bare breasts. There's a sprinkling of profanity, including "damn," "holy s--t," and three instances of the "N" word. Muhammad Ali became an iconic figure in late 20th-century America. His boxing prowess, personality, and commitment to the betterment of his peers, despite the challenges of Parkinson's disease, made him a worldwide hero with lasting influence. This film is apt testimony to the excitement he brought over nearly a half century. Mature teens and up.

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