Product Details

• Format: Black & White, Color, NTSC
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: A & E Home Video
• VHS Release Date: February 8, 2000
• Run Time: 50 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B000006QHN
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #380,554 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

The A&E Biography of Thurgood Marshall, the first African American United States Supreme Court Justice, paints an inspiring portrait of a true American hero, a man known as "Mr. Civil Rights." Marshall had absolute faith in the power of the U.S. Constitution and worked inside the system (although often at considerable personal risk from racist zealots), systematically changing the law to protect the rights of all citizens. His efforts, culminating in the landmark school desegregation case, Brown v. The Board of Education, went a long way toward fulfilling his goal of eliminating the "separate but equal" statutes which were still the law of the land in mid-20th-century America.

The program features interviews with family, scholars, and NAACP figures who unanimously portray Marshall as a tireless crusader, charismatic leader, and ebullient, fun-loving friend. President Lyndon Johnson, who nominated him to the Supreme Court, admired Marshall mightily and considered him a "great pal." Throughout a lifetime that spanned nearly a century, Marshall achieved social change, decade by decade, until his retirement from the Supreme Court in 1993 at the age of 85. Perhaps the most moving and amusing footage in the film is of Marshall's famous 1966 speech, epitomizing both his philosophy and his personality: "There is very little truth to the old refrain that one cannot legislate equality. Laws not only provide concrete benefits, they can even change the hearts of men--some men anyhow--for good or evil." --Laura Mirsky

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Positive Role Model, May 2, 2006

By 

Jeffery Mingo (Homewood, IL USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Biography - Thurgood Marshall: Justice for All (DVD)

If you are a fan of African-American history and know the importance of Justice Marshall, then not much is new here. However, this documentary would be great for those unfamiliar with him, especially African-American young students. Not only did he help to end legalized segregation, but he had many wonderful qualities. He was a great speaker, an awesome writer, a hard worker, and devoted family man, and much more. He was the valedictorian of his law class and had judicial experience, so conservatives cannot maintain that yap-yap that he "wasn't qualified." This documentary reiterates what a hero he should be to many.
According to Rachel Moran, most interracial couples are made of one person of color and one white person. Interracial couples composed of two people of color do not get enough coverage in the United States. Many people have forgotten that P. Diddy was with J. Lo. Many people do not know that Carlos Santana's wife is African American. So this documentary shows Justice Marshall's Asian-American wife, but never lists her ethnicity. (Was she Thai-American?) It never mentions if they had difficulties living as a Black-Asian couple. The couple's sons are interviewed and they have visible Asian features. I wonder if the documentary makers assumed that Asianness speaks for itself here. Still, this is an avenue that they should have explored, especially in light of the celebration of multiculturalism and mixed-race families, yet they did not.
This documentary includes interviews from Blacks and whites, women and men. It turns out that Juan Williams wrote Marshall's biography. I had only known of him as a journalist. I am impressed that he could complete such a difficult task, unrelated to his typical work.
This documentary only says, "Justice Marshall wished he could have seen another Democratic President" and then it mentions that he died a few days after President Clinton's inauguration. However, what really happened is that Marshall wished he could have retired under a Democratic presidency, so that another progressive or person of color could be named as his replacement. I had always heard that Marshall was emphatically irked that Clarence Thomas got his seat. So this idea that he died with everything to his satisfaction is false. Again, the Biography series waters down progressive politics, probably to appease Middle Americans and their embrace of the Right. I found this spin in the documentary very cowardice.
Do see this work if you get the chance.

4.0 out of 5 stars oldschool50/50, April 7, 2010

By 

Lee Whitted - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Biography - Thurgood Marshall: Justice for All (DVD)

This is a very important peice of History for our younger generation, who knows nothing of our first ever african american chief justice on the Supreme Court. Many younger person are aware of the renaming of BWI airport in his honor but they are not old enough to remember the civil rights cases and battle which he fought before becoming a chief justice on the supreme court.The biography is short in length, but gives you a look into his upbringing, and how he worked his way to beoming an accomplished attorney and then being appointed to the court. Also, the excerpts from various other biographies done by the History Channel and other specials helped to bring things together.

5.0 out of 5 stars terrific!, December 11, 2009

By 

jj grad (Portland, OR) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Biography - Thurgood Marshall: Justice for All (DVD)

This is a wonderful, entertaining, and informative video about Thurgood Marshall. I am a graduate student and presented the video to other graduate students in a Diversity class that I was co-teaching. The video spurred thoughtful discussion and critical thinking... I highly recommend it!