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Soul Power
James Brown, Sister Sledge and B.B King feature in this stunning concert film, shot during the Ali-Foreman 'Rumble in the Jungle' of 1974.
Documentary 2008 92 mins
Director: Jeffrey Levy-Hinte
Overview
Jeffrey Levy-Hinte's stunning documentary captures the incredible three day music festival, 'Zaire 74', that accompanied the biggest boxing event the world had ever seen, Muhammad Ali-George Foreman 'Rumble in the Jungle'. Alongside electrifying performances by James Brown, B.B. King, Bill Withers, Sister Sledge, Miriam Makeba, The Spinners, The Crusaders, and many more, there's also ample footage of Ali and the circus surrounding the big fight, all captured in vérité by a host of great cameramen including Albert Maysles.
Comprised from the same stock of footage used for Leon Gast's Oscar®-winning When We Were Kings (of which Levy-Hinte was the editor), but only finally edited and released over 30 years later due to legal disputes, Soul Power is a canonical concert film to rank alongside Woodstock and Monterey Pop, and also a thrillng celebration of black power during a tumultuous decade.
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