SOUL OF THE GAME

SOUL OF THE GAME - 1996

RATED - PG-13 for language and brief sensuality. Take the rating seriously for younger children.

RATINGS - 15 Amazon (4.5/5), 17,525 Netflix (3.6/5), 363 IMDB (7.4/10).

THEMES - Racial prejudice, courage, reconciliation.

STORY - This HBO movie is almost a docudrama. While the facts aren't necessarily historically accurate, the people involved are historical and the overall story happened. It's 1945 and it's time for baseball to integrate. There are two 'separate but unequal' professional baseball leagues. There is the Negro League and the Major League. Everyone knows integration has to happen and it will be sooner rather than later. But Judge Landis, the Major League Commissioner keeps trying to stop it. Some of the greatest players in America are being kept out of Major League baseball because of the color of their skin. Branch Rickey, general manager of the Brooklyn Dodgers, is anxious to bring Negroes into the league, not only because he knows they belong there, but he knows what they can do for his team. Under the pretext of wanting to start another team in Brooklyn for the Negro League, he begins to seriously 'scout' the Negro League for talent. He's really looking for the right one to break the color barrier. He knows it will take a very special player, not only talented, but someone who has the courage NOT to fight back. The film centers around three of the top, if not the top, candidates to be that pioneer: Satchell Paige, the legendary and colorful pitcher, Josh Gibson, a catcher and one of the greatest hitters ever to play the game (white or black) and Jackie Robinson, the college graduate and football star as well as tank commander in the Army who is new to the Negro League. We all know, of course, that Jackie Robinson became the first Negro Major League player and what an amazing career he had and how he opened the doors for scores of great black players to follow. In this film, we see the competition between these three legendary players as they begin to understand what might be happening when a certain white scout keeps showing up at the games. We see the genius of Branch Rickey as he goes through the decision making process, knowing that the first player must be the right one or it will set the cause back for decades perhaps. A terrific movie with a good historical basis as well as some creative imagination about the relationships between these three great players. Language might be a little rough for younger children but older teens and up will definitely enjoy this outstanding made for TV movie. CHECK OUT THE LINK BELOW TO THE 2008 MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL 'RIGHTING A WRONG' NEGRO LEAGUE DRAFT. My claim to fame is being the freshman coach when Dave Winfield was a freshman at the U of M. Fotunately, for him, he had the good sense not to listen to my advice. Lu G. for Lu's Reviews. 06/07/2008.

LINKS - AMAZON, IMDB, 2008 MLB NEGRO LEAGUE DRAFT