THE JESSE OWENS STORY - 1984
RATED - G (Very family friendly)
RATINGS - 3 Amazon (4.5/5), 592 Netflix (3.0/5), 78 IMDB (6.5/10).
AWARDS - One Emmy & two nominations.
THEMES - Justice, relationships.
STARRING - Dorian Harewood, George Kennedy, Deborah Morgan, Tom Bosley, Levar Burton.
STORY - The film begins in a federal courtroom later in Jesse's life. He pleads 'no contest' to not filing income taxes for four years. As part of the normal sentencing process (up to four years in prison and $40,000 in fines), the judge assigns a probation officer to meet with Jesse and put together a history of his life and accomplishments. This begins the life story of perhaps the greatest modern day Olympic athlete told through a series of flashbacks and interviews with people who knew him well. It has the feel of a docudrama at times. It's a fascinating story and like so many, there is a person who played a key role at a critical time in his life. In this case, it was a Jr. High coach who saw the potential and persuaded Jesse to come out for the team. He had practice alone for Jesse before school because Jesse had to work every day after school to help support his family of nine brothers and sisters and a father who could not find work. It's an incredible life and one in which there was much struggle despite the amazing talent he had for running. Being poor and black in the U.S. in the 1920's and 30's is not the recipe for success. For all his success he remained humble throughout his life and had a difficult time saying no to any individual or organization that needed his help. The film dispels several myths that developed about the 1936 Olympics and Owens and Hitler. While the film is on the long side (174 minutes) and a little grainy in places I never was bored. One of the great sports stories of the 20th century with lots of great clips of Jesse competing, you will want to see the end to learn why Jesse avoided taxes for those four years. You may even shed a tear or two at the end. By the way, the silver medalist in the 100 meter dash was Mac Robinson whose brother Jackie became the first black Major League Baseball player 11 years later. Whenever Jesse encountered someone who didn't agree with him or was being resistant, he would say, "Let's take a walk. If we walk long enough and talk long enough, we might begin to understand each other." I know some politicians who need to hear those words. Come to think of it, not bad advice for all of us. Enjoy the film and the upcoming Olympics!! Lu G. for Lu's Reviews. 07/17/2008.
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