Don King promoted the 1974 Muhammad Ali-George Foreman title bout in Zaire, a.k.a. the “Rumble in the Jungle,” as an event uniting African-Americans with their newly decolonized brothers and sisters in Africa. A festival featuring the brightest stars of African and African-American music was organized to take place in Zaire’s capital Kinshasa for three days before the fight, but a sparring injury forced Foreman to postpone for six weeks. The delay had the unfortunate effect of eclipsing this historical musical event, which has finally been brought to the screen in glorious funktastic form by Jeffrey Levy-Hinte, who had previously worked on the editing for the Ali-Foreman documentary “When We Were Kings.”

In addition to the parade of near-perfect, sweat-drenched performances by such luminaries as James Brown, B.B King, Bill Withers, The Fania All-Stars with Celia Cruz, Miriam Makeba, and Sister Sledge, the film provides a revelation of sorts in rare concert footage of the Congolese Afro-Pop of Franco and O.K. Jazz and Tabu Ley Rochereau, two local acts whose groovy psychedelia formed a template for many alternative bands.

(LAFF)