Jack Johnson (1970)

A documentary on the first African-American boxer to ever become world heavyweight champion. Released on the same year as "The Great White Hope" and also Oscar nominated like that film, ... See full summary »

Director:

Jim Jacobs

Writer:

Alan Bodian

Stars:

Brock Peters, Kevin Kennedy, Tommy Burns

Nominated for 1 Oscar.

Cast

Credited cast:
Brock Peters	...	Jack Johnson (voice)
Kevin Kennedy	...	Narrator (voice)
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Tommy Burns	...	Self (archive footage)
James J. Jeffries	...	Self (archive footage)
Jack Johnson	...	Self (archive footage)
V.I. Lenin	...	Self (archive footage)
Jack London	...	Self (archive footage)
William Barclay 'Bat' Masterson	...	Self (archive footage)
Victor McLaglen	...	Self (archive footage)
Tex Rickard	...	Self (archive footage)
Pancho Villa	...	Self (archive footage)
Jess Willard	...	Self (archive footage)

Storyline

A documentary on the first African-American boxer to ever become world heavyweight champion. Released on the same year as "The Great White Hope" and also Oscar nominated like that film, this project uses of stills, archive footage and his own words narrated by actor Brock Peters to present Johnson's life, trajectory and of course, 'the fight of the century' against James Jeffries.

---

Plot Keywords:

african american | jazz score | jazz music | prizefighter | matador | 

---

Genres:

Documentary | Sport

---

Certificate:

GP

Did You Know?

Trivia

Ken Burns also made a documentary about Jack Johnson 38 years later, called Unforgivable Blackness: The Rise and Fall of Jack Johnson.

User Reviews

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

17 November 1978 (Denmark)

Also Known As:

Jack Johnson, the Big Fights

Company Credits

Technical Specs

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White