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Life and Times of Hank Greenberg, The
Cowboy Booking International

Life and Times of Hank Greenberg, The reviews
Critic Score
Metascore: 75 Metascore out of 100
User Score  
N/A out of 10
based on 24 reviews
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MPAA RATING: Not rated

Starring Alan M. Dershowitz, Carl Levin, Sander Levin, Walter Matthau, and Michael Moriarty

A humorous and nostalgic documentary about an extraordinary baseball player who transcended ethnic and religious prejudice to become an American icon. (Cowboy Booking International)


GENRE(S): Documentary  
WRITTEN BY: Aviva Kempner  
DIRECTED BY: Aviva Kempner  
RELEASE DATE: DVD: October 16, 2001 
Video: October 16, 2001 
Theatrical: February 18, 2000 
RUNNING TIME: 90 minutes, Color 
ORIGIN: USA 

What The Critics Said

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

91
Portland Oregonian Shawn Levy
A rousing and agreeable movie that resurrects a small but important episode in baseball history that parallels the larger history of the nation.
91
Entertainment Weekly Owen Gleiberman
A sprightly, lovingly researched, rather misty-eyed sports documentary that's steeped in ethnic pride.
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90
Dallas Observer Robert Wilonsky
Engaging and revelatory, turning forgotten footnotes and discarded minutiae into the stuff of riveting drama and poignant laughs.
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89
Austin Chronicle Marc Savlov
Kempner's documentary is a streamlined, gorgeous piece of work, full of revelations of time, place, and person.
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88
Baltimore Sun Chris Kaltenbach
Filled with delightful sequences.
88
Philadelphia Inquirer Desmond Ryan
Scrupulously made and deeply affectionate.
88
Charlotte Observer Lawrence Toppman
Hank Greenberg was to Jews what Jackie Robinson was to African Americans: a great athlete, handsome and hard-working, who took the first line of abuse from bigots and proved that his people belonged at the highest level of professional sports.
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88
Chicago Tribune Marc Caro
Tells an inspiring story, unknown or forgotten by many, while bringing the past to life and illuminating issues that persist today.
88
USA Today Staff [Not Credited]
A model of what a largely talking-heads documentary should be, with on-camera testimonials and lots of film clips that offer layers of context.
88
Boston Globe Jay Carr
While it preserves his baseball feats, it looks beyond them to clarify Greenberg's place in American culture.
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88
New York Daily News Jack Mathews
Kempner demonstrates how the star's success and dignified bearing inspired a generation of Jews to fight through the ethnic barriers in all fields.
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80
Los Angeles Times Kenneth Turan
Aviva Kempner's warm and intelligent mash note to a man who clearly deserved it.
80
Washington Post Stephen Hunter
A portrait of a hero.
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80
Film.com Ernest Hardy
What director Aviva Kempner has done is shine a light into the past and recover a classic American hero, one with all the integrity, decency and largeness of spirit that we have been taught makes up the American character.
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75
New York Post Lou Lumenick
Hits one out of the park.
75
Miami Herald Curtis Morgan
If there's a flaw, it's that Kempner has fashioned more a hagiography than true biography.
70
Time Richard Schickel
Sharing its subject's virtues, it is a lovely addition to the annals of the Greatest Generation.
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70
Chicago Reader Lisa Alspector
Kempner's lighthearted yet not apolitical collage conveys how Greenberg's success as an athlete in the 30s and 40s contradicted an ethnic stereotype.
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70
LA Weekly David Davis
Places Greenberg in historical context -- as a pioneering Jew and as an all-American sports hero.
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63
San Francisco Examiner Edvin Beitiks
Offers insights from a host of former players.
60
The New York Times Lawrence Van Gelder
Simultaneously fascinating and vexing in ways that might tax informed devotees of both baseball and film.
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60
TV Guide Ken Fox
A fine, straightforward tribute to a sports giant who faced blatant prejudice and paved away for the likes Jackie Robinson, Hank Aaron and other minorities who dared make a place for themselves as heroes of America's greatest pastime.
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57
Mr. Showbiz Michael Atkinson
Aviva Kempner's utterly conventional documentary plays like a lost chapter from Ken Burns' "Baseball."
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50
Village Voice J. Hoberman
In the absence of any greater cultural context, the ritual reiteration of Greenberg's greatness grows wearisome.
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What Our Users Said

Vote Now!The average user rating for this movie is 0.0 (out of 10) based on 0 User Votes
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