Harlem Globetrotters The Team That Changed The World
If
anyone doubts that the Harlem Globetrotters were incomparable athletes
as well as world-class entertainers, this documentary will put them
wise. Harlem Globetrotters: The Team that Changed the World features
interviews with everyone from former Globetrotters and NBA coaches to
Henry Kissinger (!)--who, it turns out, is an honorary Globetrotter
himself (along with Whoopi Goldberg, Pope John Paul II, and a handful of
other notables). The Team that Changed the World lays
out not only the development of the team itself--how original
Globetrotters Marques Haynes and Reece "Goose" Tatum turned a sport into
a form of vaudeville without sacrificing amazing displays of skill--but
also the volatile racial politics of the 1930s, '40s, and '50s, when
the Globetrotters were at their peak. In only an hour, the documentary
argues persuasively that this basketball team, as they toured the world,
became a symbol of racial progress and American good will. Extras
include lessons on how to do some patented Globetrotter routines; an
amazing 12 foot dunk; additional interviews; a 1951 newsreel about their
South American tour; and more. It's not the same as seeing the
Globetrotters live, but fans of these great performers will find this
documentary a pleasure.