Jackie Robinson (2016)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jackie Robinson is a documentary film in two parts which premiered on US television (PBS) in 2016.

 

This film is about the famous African American baseball player Jackie Roosevelt Robinson (1919-1972), who broke the color barrier in American baseball in 1947. His life and career are covered in great detail.

 

Here is some basic information it:

 

** Directors: Ken Burns, Sarah Burns & David McMahon

** Writers: Sarah Burns and David McMahon

** Narrator: Keith David

** Short passages from Jackie Robinson’s autobiography are read by Jamie Foxx

** Language: English

** Subtitles: English

** Run time: 2 x 113 minutes = 226 minutes

 

Many commentators offer background information.

 

Here are the names (in alphabetical order):

 

** Red Barber (1908-1992) - broadcaster

** Harry Belafonte (1927-2023) – a singer, an actor, and a civil rights activist

** Ralph Branca (1926-2016) – Brooklyn Dodgers

** Tom Brokaw (born 1940) – a reporter

** Howard Bryant (born 1968) – a sports journalist

** Ed Charles (1933-2018) – a baseball player

** Gerald Early (born 1952) – Professor of African Studies

** Jonathan Eig (born 1964) – a journalist

** Carl Erskine (born 1926) – a baseball player

** Roger Kahn (1927-2020) – an author

** Lee Lowenfish – a historian

** Don Newcombe (1926-2019) – Nashua Dodgers

** Barack Obama – President of the USA 2009-2017

** Michelle Obama – First Lady 2009-2017

** Buck O’Neil (1911-2006) – Kansas City Monarchs

** David Robinson (born 1952) - Jackie’s son

** Rachel Robinson (born 1922) - Jackie’s widow

** Sharon Robinson (born 1950) - Jackie’s daughter

** Ed Silverman (1927-2019) – a journalist

** Carly Simon (born 1943) – a singer and a songwriter

** Clyde Sukeforth (1901-2000) – a baseball scout

** John A. Thorn (born 1947) – a sports historian, author or editor of several books

** Myron Uhlberg (born 1933) (son of deaf parents) - an author

** Alton Waldon (born 1936) – a politician

** Douglas Wilder (born 1931) – former governor of Virginia

** George Will (born 1941) – a political commentator

** Yohuru Williams – a historian

 

When you look at the chart above, you can see that some of these people are no longer alive today. They died before this film premiered in 2016.

 

Ken Burns and his associates must have done these interviews many years ago. How and why did this happen? I think I know the answer.

 

Ken Burns directed a documentary film about baseball which premiered on US television (PBS) in 1994.

 

A few years later, he made an update, The Tenth Inning, which premiered in 2010.

 

I think some interviews which were made for the old films are used in this film:

 

** Baseball (1994) – 9 episodes

** The Tenth Inning (2010) – 2 episodes

 

Archive footage is used between the talking heads. Archive footage is used to support and supplement the statements made by the talking heads. Archive footage is used when the narrator is talking.

 

Jackie Robinson’s life (1919-1972) can be divided into seven chapters:

 

# 1. He is a child who grows up in Pasadena

# 2. He is a young man who attends UCLA where he is a multi-sport star

# 3. He serves in the US military during World War II

# 4. He plays in the Negro Leagues

# 5. He plays in the Minor Leagues

# 6. He plays in the Major Leagues (1947-1956)

# 7. He retires from baseball. He becomes a businessman and begins to focus on civil rights (1956-1972)

 

As stated above, this film is divided into two parts:

 

The first part covers his life from the beginning in 1919 until his first season in the Major Leagues in 1947.

 

15 April 1947 is the day when Jackie Robinson breaks the color barrier in American baseball. On this day he starts his career with the Brooklyn Dodgers in Ebbets Field.

 

He is the first African American to play on a team in the Major Leagues where all other players are white.

 

He is a trailblazer. While he has support from some important people (including his wife), he has to face fierce opposition from many other persons and groups, including some of the players on his own team!

 

The second part covers his remaining time in the Major Leagues (1948-1956) and his life after his retirement (1956-1972).

 

He starts to work for a company with the peculiar name Chuck Full o’ Nuts and he begins to focus on politics and civil rights.

 

This film explains why he played a major role in the civil rights movement during the 1950s and why he played a minor role in this movement during the 1960s.

 

Some members of the African American community could not understand why he wanted to support the Republican politician Richard Nixon in 1960.

 

Some members of the African American community could not understand why he wanted to support the Republican politician Nelson Rockefeller in 1966.

 

They felt he was making some wrong choices.

 

Since 1947, he had been regarded as a hero; as an inspiration to the young generation.

 

But in the 1960s, he was regarded as a person who was holding back the movement.

 

This film also covers his personal life. His widow Rachel Robinson, who appears many times, talks about the ups and downs in the Robinson family.

 

She speaks warmly about Jackie, but she is not afraid to talk about some moments when she did not agree with him. Here are two examples:

 

# 1. During WWII, when they were engaged, she told him that she wanted to study to be a nurse. He did not like this plan. She broke off the engagement. She explains:

 

“I had to do that to show him that he could not tell me what to do.”

 

# 2. In 1961, five years after he had retired from baseball, she told him that she wanted to go back to working as a nurse. He did not like this plan. But she ignored his objections and did it anyway.

 

She loved him, but she had a mind of her own and he could not tell her what to do!

 

What do reviewers say about this film?

 

(1) On IMDb it has a rating of 82 percent

 

(2) On Rotten Tomatoes it has a rating of 80 percent from the general audience and a rating of 100 percent from the professional critics.

 

(3) On Amazon there are at the moment more than 60 ratings of this product, more than 10 with reviews.

 

The average rating is 4.8 stars which corresponds to a rating of 96 percent.

 

As you can see, the ratings are quite good. I understand the numerous positive reviews and I agree with them.

 

As far as I can see, this is what I call an ABC-product:

 

** Accurate

** Balanced and

** Comprehensive

 

I want to go all the way to the top with this product. I think it deserves a rating of five stars (100 percent).

 

REFERENCES

 

I Never Had It Made:

An Autobiography

By Jackie Robinson

(1972)

 

42 is a historical and biographical drama which premiered in 2013. This drama covers a brief but significant part of Jackie Robinson’s life: the time from 1945 to 1947.

 

*****

I Never Had It Made:

An Autobiography

by Jackie Robinson

(First published in 1972)

(Reprinted in 2003)

 

*****