Soul Power

Trapped in the editing suite, and toiling away on the superb 1996 Ali-Foreman doc, When We Were Kings, director Jeffrey Levy-Hinte became intrigued by the three-day musical shindig that preceded fight night in Zaire. He duly set out to make a concert film as kinetic and lively as Leon Gast’s account of that big 1974 sporting showdown.
Soul Power is all that and a good deal more besides. Mr. Levy-Hinte’s kinetic yet deftly controlled sense for montage would have pleased Eisenstein himself; from a wealth of archival footage, the director finds musical gems among the sweaty polyester. James Brown, BB King, Miriam Makeba and Bill Withers all bring the house down, but, once again, Muhammad Ali’s furious articulacy steals the show.