Soul of the Game
by Kevin Rodney Sullivan
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DVD details
Actor: Blair Underwood, Delroy Lindo, Edward Herrmann, Mykelti Williamson, R. Lee ErmeyDirector: Kevin Rodney Sullivan
Brand: Team Marketing
Cinematographer: Sandi Sissel
Producer: Gary Hoffman
Writer: Gary Hoffman
Producer: Kevin Kelly Brown
Producer: Mike Medavoy
Producer: Robert Papazian
Writer: David Himmelstein
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Subtitled); French (Subtitled); Spanish (Subtitled); English (Original Language); French (Original Language); Spanish (Original Language)
Format: Closed-captioned, Color, DVD, NTSC, Widescreen
Picture Format: 1.85:1
Running Time: 94 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2001-01-23
Audience Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Studio: Hbo Home Video
Product features:
- Actors: Delroy Lindo, Mykelti Williamson, Edward Herrmann, Blair Underwood, R. Lee Ermey.
- Format: Closed-captioned, Color, DVD, Widescreen, NTSC.
- Language: English, French, Spanish. Subtitles: English, French, Spanish.
- Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only).
- Rated PG-13. Run Time: 94 minutes.
DVD Reviews of Soul of the Game
DVD Review: Characters, not accuracy make this movie wonderful
Summary: 5 Stars
Sticklers for accuracy will find this movie lacking as the paths of Jackie Robinson, Josh Gibson and Satchel Paige weren't as well intertwined as the movie suggests. The connection with Willie Mays is an interesting, meaningful plot connection . . . and extremely hard to believe.
Still, the acting and film/myth making is perfect for this most important story of "America growing up." The pace of the film, keyed by a jumpy-jazz soundtrack fits with exuberance of the post-war, "time to get moving" era. A cross-country automobile trip juxtaposes the new (a new class of prosperous African-Americans with their shiny automobile) with the old (not able to use a toilet in a small town).
The many changes of the era are used to tell the story -- the challenge of professional baseball to stay profitable, what to do about "negros" (who had just fought with distinction for world democracy) made something, somehow inevitable.
Josh Gibson was the great slugger (the "Negro Babe Ruth" he was called), although by 1946 was fading due to age and a brain tumor. Satchel Paige was (one of?) the greatest pitcher ever and was a great box office draw.
The story turns on Branch Rickey's selfish, sneaky, and noble plan to integrate baseball. The City was right (Brooklyn - the melting pot); the politics were right (Fiorella LaGuardia appealed to minorities and Happy Chandler, the new baseball commissioner, had stated his openness to integration); the ownership was right (Rickey had played baseball on an integrated team in college); and of course, Jackie Robinson was the right man.
Rickey is portrayed by the statesman-like Ed Hermann. The famous meeting where he explains to Jackie Robinson that he requires his pioneer to be strong enough to "not fight back" is portrayed with the subdued importance that's required. Robinson's background (an officer in the Army, a star halfback with UCLA) is portrayed convincingly by Blair Underwood.
Delroy Lindo is a bit too serious, and too devoted to his wife, not to mention possessing too broad a body, to make me believe that he's Satchel Paige. Still, he plays the part of the superstar pitcher with the big ego that's required.
I have no idea if Mykelti Williamson's portrayal of Josh Gibson is realistic, but it's delightful, poignant and ultimately tragic.
Rickwood Field (Birmingham) and League Stadium (built for "Field of their Own" in Indiana) add another touch of colorful, enjoyable non-realism to the story.
Enjoy the myth, but don't make any bar bets based on this film.
Description of Soul of the Game
In 1945, the world of baseball was divided between the Majors and the Negro Leagues - but the time has come for change. Will Satchel Paige, Josh Gibson or Jackie Robinson be the first to take the field in the Majors?An aging Satchel Paige wanted to be the first African American baseball player to integrate the major leagues after World War II. Of course, things didn't work out that way: the visibly dignified and younger Jackie Robinson got the nod, while the Negro Leagues he left behind carried on with such brilliant talents as Josh Gibson segregated from deserving opportunities. This HBO movie concerns the period just before Robinson was pressed into a difficult role breaking the color barrier, and the rich script by David Himmelstein and Gary Hoffman concerns his aspirations as well as those of the frustrated Paige and the deteriorating Gibson. Blair Underwood plays Robinson with an expected nobility, while Delroy Lindo is superb as Paige as is Mykelti Williamson as Gibson. Directed by Kevin Rodney Sullivan, the film really does fill a gap in a viewer's imagination about what these three legendary men must have been going through--and much of it is painful to witness. With Edward Herrmann as Branch Rickey. --Tom Keogh
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