Synopsis
Soul Power is a 2008 documentary film about the Zaire 74 music festival in Kinshasa which accompanied the Rumble in the Jungle heavyweight boxing championship match between Muhammad Ali and George Foreman in October 1974. The film was made from archival footage; other footage shot at the time focusing on the fight was edited to form the film When We Were Kings.
Your Movie Library
Cast
- James BrownSelf (archive footage)
- Bill WithersSelf (archive footage)
- B.B. KingSelf (archive footage)
- Muhammad AliSelf (archive footage)
- Don KingSelf (archive footage)
- Manu DibangoSelf
- Lola LoveSelf
- Franco LuomboSelf
- Miriam MakebaSelf (archive footage)
- Celia CruzSelf (archive footage)
Recommendations
- 90
The New York Times
Soul Power, as aptly and succinctly titled a movie as I have ever seen, takes you to a place where the discipline that produces great popular art is indistinguishable from the ecstasy that art creates. - 90
Los Angeles Times
A vibrant and joyous new documentary. - 83
The A.V. Club
James Brown, B.B. King, and a dazzling array of top African, Afro-Cuban, and African-American talent finally gets its own solo spotlight in Soul Power. - 80
Empire
A real treat for fans of Ali and music alike. - 80
Wall Street Journal
Period pieces can be marvelous or musty, depending on the period, as well as the piece. Soul Power is marvelous. - 75
Entertainment Weekly
What's infectious in Soul Power is the almost shocking optimism of its America-meets-Africa '70s world-beat vibe. - 70
Variety
Joyously funky documentary. - 70
Village Voice
Takes too long to get to the meat of its matter, but captivates once it does.
