I decided to watch this movie because it was listed as one of the 300 titles chosen for the AFI's newest top 100 movies list (inspirational movies). I think that it could have made the list if (1) someone other than Jackie Robinson was playing Jackie Robinson, and (2) they would have made the movie with a more complete look at his life.
By having the star play himself, it does a decent job of showing what he was actually like. He obviously understood what was so important about keeping his demeanor in check, always being polite to the manager and other teammates, etc. I think I've heard stories that, when he was actually on the baseball field, he was one of the toughest, meanest SOBs ever in baseball. That would make sense as compared to today's Michael Jordan or Tiger Woods, who are one thing to the camera, and another on the playing field.
I think it would be in great interest to have this movie redone, showing his entire career (including the Brooklyn Dodgers' only championship in 1955) and his future work to build up the black community. It was sad to notice that, with the movie being only 77 minutes long, some parts actually seemed to include filler (ex: the large amount of play-by-play calling that seemed quite unnecessary). Plus, it would have been nice to have had a larger part for the brilliant Ruby Dee as his wife.
So, to conclude, it's not a bad movie, but it lacks the full story of his life to be really great.
By having the star play himself, it does a decent job of showing what he was actually like. He obviously understood what was so important about keeping his demeanor in check, always being polite to the manager and other teammates, etc. I think I've heard stories that, when he was actually on the baseball field, he was one of the toughest, meanest SOBs ever in baseball. That would make sense as compared to today's Michael Jordan or Tiger Woods, who are one thing to the camera, and another on the playing field.
I think it would be in great interest to have this movie redone, showing his entire career (including the Brooklyn Dodgers' only championship in 1955) and his future work to build up the black community. It was sad to notice that, with the movie being only 77 minutes long, some parts actually seemed to include filler (ex: the large amount of play-by-play calling that seemed quite unnecessary). Plus, it would have been nice to have had a larger part for the brilliant Ruby Dee as his wife.
So, to conclude, it's not a bad movie, but it lacks the full story of his life to be really great.