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starring: Jack Johnson, Keith David, Samuel L. Jackson, Adam Arkin, Philip Bosco directed by: Ken Burns  Binding: DVD EAN: 9781415707449 Format: Black & White, Color, Dolby, Widescreen, NTSC ISBN: 1415707448 Label: Pbs Paramount Languages: Manufacturer: Pbs Paramount Number Of Discs: 2 Publisher: Pbs Paramount Region Code: 1 Release Date: January 11, 2005 Running Time: 214 minutes Studio: Pbs Paramount Theatrical Release Date: January 17, 2005 Related Items:
Editorial Review: Amazon.com: Ken Burns's documentary style is so unencumbered; the subject matter is effortlessly presented. His regular mix of photos, subtle sound effects, excellent musical score, and actor readings of historical text hasn't changed since his breakthrough of The Civil War. And it doesn't need to. Even though this 220-minute production is a biography--on heavyweight champion Jack Johnson--the film resonates about the how race was dealt with in the early part of the 20th century. Four decades after the Emancipation, the American black was still struggling to find elementary terms of equality. Along came a strong and headstrong man who took on sport decades before Jackie Robinson and became the key figure in heavyweight fighting, a champion against the longest odds. Samuel L. Jackson voices Johnson's words with great verve and helps create an absorbing picture of Johnson along with various historians and boxing experts laying down the tale of the tape. Here's a man so smart and patient in the ring who took great liberties in his day-to-day life, unafraid to showcase his success, and ruffle the morals of the time (including, most scandalously, marrying a white woman). Viewing film of his prizefights, the amateur eye can understand Johnson's style and bravura. Burns's certainly takes his time and, as usual, has a vast awry of facts of how the world reacted to news of Johnson's success and the conspiracy which led to his downfall. The highlight, natch, are two of Johnson's epic fights near the end of his reign as champ (and the search for a "Great White Hope"). The appearance of James Earl Jones (who won a Tony for his portrayal of Johnson in 1959) and Wynton Marsalis's musical score are grand touches. --Doug Thomas Description: From the celebrated director of Academy Award-nominated "Brooklyn Bridge" and "Statue of Liberty," UNFORGIVABLE BLACKNESS: THE RISE AND FALL OF JACK JOHNSON follows Jack Johnson's remarkable journey from his humble beginnings in Galveston, Texas, as the son of former slaves, into the brutal world of professional boxing, where, in turn-of-the century Jim Crow America, the heavyweight champion was an exclusively "white title." Despite the odds, Johnson was able to batter his way up through the professional ranks, and in 1908 he became the first African-American to earn the title Heavyweight Champion of the World. Average Rating:
 Rating:  - great documentaryI have heard of Jack Johnson since I was a child and had watched"The Great White Hope" when it first came out. But one day I was listening to Prince talk to Tavis Smiley about Jack Johnson and this movie and how this man would be fighting virtually all white crowds and beating the tar out of white opponents all to the sounds of boos and jeers. What blew me totally away was that most of these white men once they were professional boxers and were champions, they felt it "beneath" them to fight an African ... Read More Rating: - Outstanding biography of an misunderstood athlete ahead of his timeLong story short, the thing that ruined Jack Johnson's boxing career, the interracial relationships he had with white women, wouldn't even be thought of as a crime today. That shows you how far relations in the U.S. has improved since the nadir of the Jim Crow era. Ken Burns did a fine job in digging underneath what little is usually known about Jack Johnson, and showing that he was someone that could think, had opinions of himself, others, and wasn't afraid to express them. What Johnson wanted ... Read More Rating: - Fascinating DocumentaryFascinating documentary that proves America's penchant for honoring misguided principles as the status quo hasn't changed much since the time of Mr. Johnson. A prime example of how an individual's spirit and drive - America's true achievement - succeeds against all odds. Rating: - Holds Your Attention From Start To Finish!!---The Definitive Documentary On Jack Johnson!!Being a fan of Ken Burns work since his revolutionary documentary series "The Civil War" and owning that series on DVD as well as "Baseball", "Jazz", "Mark Twain", "The War" and his brother Ric Burns' riveting series on the history of New York City, I was very interested to hear back in 2004, that he was working on a series chronicling the life & times of the long forgotten defiant, courageous and always controversial first african-american heavyweight champion, Jack Johnson. ... Read More Rating: - unforgettable and smoothThe video describes jack johnson from his days of poverty to his rise to fame. It also looks at the prejudice that roared back in the 1900's. This is a great story not only about jack johnson life but also about the american living and influences in those segregated times. 
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