For Immediate Release
The HBO Sports Documentary from Acclaimed
Director Spike Lee
Jim Brown: All American
Arrives on DVD from HBO Video, August 24
Special DVD Bonus Feature: Audio Commentary with Director Spike Lee
New York, NY May 4, 2004 – In Jim Brown: All
American HBO Sports and award-winning filmmaker Spike Lee team up for a
provocative look back at one of the 20th century’s most remarkable
athletes and social activists. This compelling documentary spotlights the
football Hall of Fame star whose life story also includes a dedication to civil
rights, a groundbreaking acting career in Hollywood, and an enduring commitment
to improving the community.
This “Sports of the 20th Century” documentary, produced in
association with 40 Acres and a Mule Filmworks, and directed and produced by
Lee, arrives exclusively on DVD from HBO Video on August 24. Jim Brown:
All American features an audio commentary by Spike Lee.
Among those interviewed for Jim Brown: All American are NBA Hall
of Famer Bill Russell; NFL greats Paul Warfield, Bobby Mitchell and Willie
Davis; authors Bill Rhoden, Michael Wilbon, James Toback and Ralph Wiley;
filmmaker Oliver Stone; broadcaster Stuart Scott; NFL owner Art Modell; actors
Bernie Casey, Fred Williamson, Raquel Welch and Stella Stevens; Eva Marie
Bohn-Chinn; film historian Donald Bogle; Brown’s wife Monique; and his
children Jim Jr., Kevin and Karen.
Born in St. Simons, Ga., in 1936, and raised by his grandmother, Brown
subsequently moved to Long Island to live with his mother. After a brilliant
high school athletic career at Manhasset High, he was accepted to Syracuse
University. Widely considered the greatest lacrosse player in the sport’s
history, Brown also excelled on the gridiron and was selected No. 1 by the
Cleveland Browns in the 1957 NFL draft.
The NFL’s Rookie of the Year in 1957, Brown was league MVP twice, and
played in nine straight Pro Bowls. In nine NFL seasons, he led the league in
rushing eight times. While many of his records have since been eclipsed by
players playing in more games, his career rushing total of 12,312 yards was the
standard for three decades, and only Emmitt Smith of Dallas has topped
Brown’s career touchdown total of 126. He was elected to the Pro Football
Hall of Fame in 1971.
The 30-year-old Brown shocked the football establishment when he retired in
1966 at the peak of his game. He went on to a Hollywood acting career that
included a high-profile role in the 1967 classic “The Dirty Dozen,”
as well as such movies as “Ice Station Zebra,” “Rio
Conchos,” “100 Rifles” and “Slaughter.”
While Brown has played a wide range of roles in his career on
the silver screen, including defensive coordinator in Oliver Stone’s 1999
football film “Any Given Sunday,” he hasn’t spent all of his
time acting. Far from it. One of the first African-American athletes to speak
out and create a dialogue for change in the turbulent ‘60s, Brown has
never shied away from the debate on how to improve race relations in America.
His comments have included criticism of the modern African-American athlete for
what he perceives as an unwillingness to get involved in the black
community.
In the late 1980s he created Amer-I-can, designed to provide opportunities for
inner-city youth. The program started in Los Angeles and has expanded across
the country.
Brown has had more than one encounter with law enforcement. In Jim Brown: All American, he opens up to Lee and addresses
the charges and allegations that have haunted him.
Spike Lee’s award-winning portfolio includes a series of HBO Sports
projects dating back to 1991, when he produced a Sports Emmy
Award®-winning feature on heavyweight champ Mike Tyson. Both his 1996
profiles for “Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel” – on baseball
star Albert Belle and Georgetown head basketball coach John Thompson–
produced considerable reaction and lively debate, with the Thompson piece
winning a Sports Emmy®. Lee also produced a “Real Sports” tribute to baseball
trailblazer Curt Flood, which received critical acclaim when it aired in
1997.
Program Information
Jim Brown: All American is produced and directed by Spike Lee;
executive producers, Ross Greenburg and Rick Bernstein; co-producers, Mike
Ellis and Sam Pollard; director of photography, Ellen Kuras; supervising
editor, Sam Pollard; original music composed and conducted by Terence
Blanchard.
Jim Brown: All American
Exclusively on DVD
Street Date: August 24, 2004
Order Date: July 27, 2004
Rating: Not Rated
Runtime: Approx. 140 Minutes
Price: $26.98 Suggested Retail Price
About HBO Video
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