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Movies that feel like When We Were Kings (1996)

If you loved When We Were Kings, the closest films we have are Woodstock (1970), Dear Zachary: A Letter to a Son About His Father (2008) and Rocky Balboa (2006). All three share When We Were Kings's romantic feel, which is what we rank on before quality. 8 of the 12 picks below are included with a subscription right now on Amazon Prime Video, Amazon Prime Video with Ads and Netflix and others, checked against today's data.

It's 1974. Muhammad Ali is 32 and thought by many to be past his prime. George Foreman is ten years younger and the heavyweight champion of the world. Promoter Don King wants to make a name for himself and offers both fighters five million dollars apiece to fight one another, and when they accept, King has only to come up with the money. He finds a willing backer in Mobutu Sese Suko, the dictator of Zaire, and the "Rumble in the Jungle" is set, including a musical festival featuring some of America's top black performers, like James Brown and B.B. King.

πŸ… 100% Rotten Tomatoesβ˜… 7.9 IMDb β†—TMDB β†—dir. Leon Gastromantic

When is When We Were Kings streaming? β†’

If When We Were Kings hit the spot, these will too

Woodstock poster
Woodstock
1970 Β· dir. Michael Wadleigh
πŸ… 100%β˜… 8.1documentary Β· music

Documentary built on romance, twice over

The difference: Plays it as music more than When We Were Kings does

An intimate look at the Woodstock Music & Art Festival held in Bethel, NY in 1969, from preparation through cleanup, with historic access to insiders, blistering concert footage, and portraits of the concertgoers; negative and positive aspects are shown, from drug use by performers to naked fans sliding in the mud, from the collapse of the fences by the unexpected hordes to the surreal arrival of National Guard helicopters with food and medical assistance for the impromptu city of 500,000.

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Dear Zachary: A Letter to a Son About His Father poster
πŸ… 94%β˜… 8.5documentary Β· crime

Both trade on romance more than on being documentary

The difference: Leans crime where When We Were Kings does not

In 2001, Andrew Bagby, a medical resident, is murdered not long after breaking up with his girlfriend. Soon after, when she announces she's pregnant, one of Andrew's many close friends, Kurt Kuenne, begins this film, a gift to the child.

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Rocky Balboa poster
Rocky Balboa
2006 Β· dir. Sylvester Stallone
πŸ… 78%β˜… 7.1drama

The same two preoccupations: boxer, and world champion

When he loses a highly publicized virtual boxing match to ex-champ Rocky Balboa, reigning heavyweight titleholder Mason Dixon retaliates by challenging the Italian Stallion to a 10-round exhibition bout. To the surprise of his son and friends, Rocky agrees to come out of retirement and face an opponent who's faster, stronger and thirty years his junior. Rocky takes on Dixon in what will become the greatest fight in boxing history!

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The Look of Silence poster
The Look of Silence
2014 Β· dir. Joshua Oppenheimer
πŸ… 96%β˜… 8.2history Β· documentary

Romantic documentary, and it commits to that

An Indonesian man with a communist background named Ramli was brutally murdered when the "Communist" purge occurred in 1965. His remaining family members lived in fear and silence until the making of this documentary. Adi, a brother of his, decided to revisit the horrific incident and visited the men who were responsible for the killings and one survivor of the purge. These meetings uncovered sadistic details of the murders and exposed raw emotions and reactions of the killers' family members about what happened in the past - much to Adi's disappointment.

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Hands on a Hardbody: The Documentary poster
Hands on a Hardbody: The Documentary
1997 Β· dir. S.R. Bindler
πŸ… 84%β˜… 7.6documentary

Both built around endurance

The difference: Not nearly as romantic as When We Were Kings

Filmmaker S.R. Bindler profiles Texas contestants trying to win a truck by keeping one hand on it longer than everyone else.

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Rocky II poster
Rocky II
1979 Β· dir. Sylvester Stallone
πŸ… 68%β˜… 7.3drama

The same preoccupation in both: boxer

The difference: Critics were much harder on this one

After Rocky goes the distance with champ Apollo Creed, both try to put the fight behind them and move on. Rocky settles down with Adrian but can't put his life together outside the ring, while Creed seeks a rematch to restore his reputation. Soon enough, the "Master of Disaster" and the "Italian Stallion" are set on a collision course for a climactic battle that is brutal and unforgettable.

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Crumb poster
Crumb
1995 Β· dir. Terry Zwigoff
πŸ… 95%β˜… 8documentary

Cut from the same documentary cloth

This movie chronicles the life and times of R. Crumb. Robert Crumb is the cartoonist/artist who drew Keep On Truckin', Fritz the Cat, and played a major pioneering role in the genesis of underground comix. Through interviews with his mother, two brothers, wife, ex-wife and ex-girlfriends, as well as selections from his vast quantity of graphic art, we are treated to a darkly comic ride through one man's subconscious mind.

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Little Dieter Needs to Fly poster
Little Dieter Needs to Fly
1997 Β· dir. Werner Herzog
πŸ… 93%β˜… 8documentary

Both are documentary through and through

Three decades after German-American pilot Dieter Dengler was shot down over Laos, he returns to the places where he was held prisoner during the early years of the Vietnam War. Accompanied by director Werner Herzog, Dengler describes in unusually candid detail his captivity, the friendships he made, and his daring escape. Not willing to stop there, Herzog even persuades his subject to re-enact certain tortures, with the help of some willing local villagers.

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Hoop Dreams poster
Hoop Dreams
1994 Β· dir. Steve James
πŸ… 98%β˜… 8.3documentary

Documentary approached the same way

Every school day, African-American teenagers William Gates and Arthur Agee travel 90 minutes each way from inner-city Chicago to St. Joseph High School in Westchester, Illinois, a predominately white suburban school well-known for the excellence of its basketball program. Gates and Agee dream of NBA stardom, and with the support of their close-knit families, they battle the social and physical obstacles that stand in their way. This acclaimed documentary was shot over the course of five years.

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The Gleaners and I poster
The Gleaners and I
2000 · dir. Agnès Varda
πŸ… 93%β˜… 7.7documentary

The same documentary instincts

Varda focuses her eye on gleaners: those who scour already-reaped fields for the odd potato or turnip. Her investigation leads from forgotten corners of the French countryside to off-hours at the green markets of Paris, following those who insist on finding a use for that which society has cast off, whether out of necessity or activism.

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Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker's Apocalypse poster
πŸ… 100%β˜… 8.1documentary

The same documentary instincts

A chronicle of the production problems β€” including bad weather, actors' health, war near the filming locations, and more β€” which plagued the filming of Apocalypse Now, increasing costs and nearly destroying the life and career of Francis Ford Coppola.

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Dogtown and Z-Boys poster
Dogtown and Z-Boys
2002 Β· dir. Stacy Peralta
πŸ… 92%β˜… 7.6documentary

Documentary approached the same way

This award-winning, thrilling story is about a group of discarded kids who revolutionized skateboarding and shaped the attitude and culture of modern day extreme sports. Featuring old skool skating footage, exclusive interviews and a blistering rock soundtrack, DOGTOWN AND Z-BOYS captures the rise of the Zephyr skateboarding team from Venice's Dogtown, a tough "locals only" beach with a legacy of outlaw surfing.

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In the mood for more romantic?

all romantic movies β†’

The best-reviewed films that share When We Were Kings's defining feeling.