Customer Reviews

Jim Brown All American

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This documentary is probably more balanced thatn ESPN's and FOX's versions combined. Subjects like Jim Brown are difficult to be encapsuled in such a short time, but Spike probably did as good a job as any filmmaker could.

I also agree agout the balance concerning his legal issues. Allowing multiple parties to express their perspectives gives the viewer the responsibility to make up his/her own mind.

The most impressive thing was Jim expressing lament and remorse for not being the father he wanted to be for his children (prior to his present marriage to Monique and their two children). He took responsibility for their development and stated that by dealing with his personal survival and conflict with their respective mothers, the children suffer.

Overall, I highly recommend this documetary to anyone who says that athletes are one-dimensional and superficial.

JIM BROWN: ALL AMERICAN is just that, as the story of athlete/actor/philanthropist Jim Brown says as much about America as it does about the man. I don't think I need to give examples of what I mean when I say one's view of Jim Brown reveals no less than how he or she sees the United States.

While I recommend this documentary, I don't rate it higher because of the expectations I took to it. JIM BROWN: ALL AMERICAN is a Home Box Office presentation of a Spike Lee film about Jim Brown, after all! The quality of H.B.O. television is an oasis from the vast wasteland of the medium. Spike Lee is one of our premiere filmmakers. With such a creative force behind JIM BROWN: ALL AMERICAN, I envisioned nothing less than the movie version of Jim Brown's dead honest 1989 autobiography OUT OF BOUNDS, where with just words on paper the man flattened me, giving me an idea of how the football players whose tackles he so easily broke every season must have felt watching him hurtle by, let alone those who challenged him in other ways.

JIM BROWN: ALL AMERICAN has its moments, showing us this man who seems to have a wall between himself and you; at times even Jim Brown's children feel they must keep their distance. Yet with his ventures such as Amer-I-Can he reaches out, seeking to help others realize their potential. The wall keeping you from getting near Jim Brown seems to be just who he is, and those who try to penetrate it can end up like yet another gridiron defender tumbling in in grass and dirt, feeling foolish for trying to take him down.

On the whole, though, JIM BROWN: ALL AMERICAN does not keep up the intensity I anticipated. But again, maybe I was just expecting too much.

I'll say this. Without blowing how JIM BROWN: ALL AMERICAN ends, its final scene touched me. And when you see the film, you will know the emotional wallop with which it concludes comes not from what's obvious but because it takes you as close to Jim Brown as such a daunting man could allow.

See JIM BROWN: ALL AMERICAN.

As Jim Brown gets up there in years, there are an increasing number of tributes to him, both in print and on video. This has to be the best video version you'll find.

There's lots of athletes we watch. There's very few we listen to. Without exception, every time you listen to Jim Brown, you will learn something new. You may not agree 100 percent. But you will learn. Brown could have gotten lazy and traded on his celebrity for decades. But he quit football, and later the movies, ahead of schedule to spend time with at-risk youth in need of a steady hand and inspiration. There's no way to count how many men Brown ran over, just as there's no way to count how many young men he saved.

Get it. Learn something.

Spike Lee analyzes the multi-faceted football legend in exhaustive detail. Beneath the stern, rock-solid exterior, Brown is an amazingly human figure, quietly thoughtful and passionately dedicated to what he believes in. It's motivational just listening to the man speak, whether he's fondly remembering his football heyday, discussing the implications of his acting career or admitting his personal faults as a partner and parent. He's not without a few blemishes, but which of us is? Coming into this with the expectation of little more than a rose-tinted lesson in sports history, I was surprised when the discussion about Brown's athletic career barely took up a third of the running time. Jim is much more than an athlete-turned B-Movie actor, and Lee expertly coaxes him into explaining why. A touch long-winded and egotistical, just like the man himself, it's mostly worth the investment.

This Spike Lee documentary is a real look into who Jim Brown is in his words and the words of people who knew him.

Jim Brown is One of the Greatest athletes ever&a very down to earth&given cat. this special showcases His Career&also His Many Endevours at given back to the Community through the years. he has touched so many lives for so long.He truly reached back&has a made a world of difference.very moving&a History making Brother.