The Life and Times of Hank Greenberg (1999)
95 %
Reviews Counted: 43 Fresh: 41 Rotten:2 Average Rating: 7.3/10
Consensus:
The Life and Times of Hank Greenberg is an affectionate, often very funny portrait of a baseball pioneer.
Runtime: 1 hr 35 mins
Synopsis: Following the career of Jewish baseball star Hank Greenberg from his beginnings in the Bronx to his success in the Texas minor leagues to his signing to the Detroit Tigers in the 1930s, this documentary recounts the inspirational tale of an American hero. Including nearly 50 interviews with... [More]
Genre: Education/General Interest
Starring: Hank Greenberg, Alan Dershowitz, Michael Moriarty, Walter Matthau, Bob Feller
Director: Aviva Kempner
Buy It On DVD
Reviews
Kempner's movie is not for baseball fanatics only. 'Greenberg' paints a vivid portrait of America in the first half of the century...
Comment
03/31/07
It seems too much to ask a movie to entertain, inform and inspire. For it to also work as sports story, social history and biography is a home run with men on base.
07/21/05
Top Critic
I'm from Detroit myself and I used to go see Tiger games as a kid, and I really enjoyed this fascinating documentary.
12/08/02
Kempner is content not to question his heroism, which is usually a suspicious practice for a documentary, but a myth as powerful and sustaining as Greenberg's is better left unpunctured.
11/06/02
Despite its limitations, this very conventional documentary is a satisfying study of a man who faced immense challenges with courage and integrity.
07/12/02
It is the quintessential version of the story of the classic mythic hero, one who begins as underdog without a chance, and faces insurmountable challenges and hurdles to become a champion, doing it all with grace, grit and style.
07/09/02
While it preserves his baseball feats, it looks beyond them to clarify Greenberg's place in American culture.
06/18/02
Top Critic
A touching homage to a man who triumphed over bigotry to become a baseball legend.
06/05/02
For once, the image and the reality make for a perfect fit -- the man and the symbol are one.
04/05/02
Top Critic
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