Long Time Coming: A 1955 Baseball Story

2018

1 hr. 27 min.

Documentary

History

Drama

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List

71%

7 Reviews

Tomatometer

75%

Fewer than 50 Ratings

Audience Score

In 1955 when racial segregation is rampant in the South, two groups of 12-year-old boys step onto a baseball field in an act of cultural defiance.

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Audience Member

Never felt the movie brought out the compelling nature of this game, title is a bit misleading. The music that overplayed many of the interviews was loud and annoying, many were difficult to understand. Overall the movie was very good particularly the ending. I would recommend this.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

01/17/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Whereas most documentaries on the topic of race lecture sanctimoniously about oppressors vs the oppressed, and therefore do nothing to heal the divide, this one is a loving and nonjudgmental "how-to" that teaches us to overcome the divide with communication and love. It was fantastic. Yes, it was slow getting there, but the final 25 minutes is worth the buildup. If you aren't moved, or fail to see the value, you are part of the problem, not part of the solution. Commentary by Andrew Young and Henry Aaron make the point that, while we have progress yet to make, we should all take pride in the racial progress we have made in the past 60 years.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

02/25/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Watched this via Netflix. I'm not really a sports fan but the historical and cultural significance was far more important to see. Unexpectedly, I found this film to be incredibly beautiful! The real-life men who experienced this spoke with sensitivity, dignity and still with some minimal anger. The fact is their courage changed our Country! I am so glad I watched it. Loved those guys and their undying love for each other.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/06/23

Full Review

Audience Member

The structure is a mess, as it is unclear when the interviews of the now-old players are taking place. Many seem to have been conducted before the 2016 "reunion" in Pensacola, but at least one made a reference to Charlottesville, which came after. That said, the unintentionally obtuse views of the white players, who clearly not only want to be seen as not racist but also do not want to be racist in fact, are quite illuminating. The arc of Stewart Hall's understanding of his own privilege and unintentional racism is the best documented of the bunch, but this particular story drops in and out of the movie and isn't presented with any coherence. As a notebook dump, there's a lot of good stuff here. As a window into recent history, there's a lot to learn. As a coherent piece of art, there's a lot to be desired.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

01/25/23

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Jon Strong

Director

Hank Aaron

Actor

Andrew Young

Actor

Cal Ripken

Actor

Davey Johnson

Actor

Ted Haddock

Writer

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Long Time Coming: A 1955 Baseball Story: Trailer 1

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David Lamble

Bay Area Reporter

Strong shows how one Southern Little League overcame centuries of injustice and paved the way for today's multi-racial baseball culture.

Jun 12, 2020

Full Review

Joel Keller

Decider

...if you're at all concerned about how we'll live as a society in the coming decades, this is a must-watch.

Jun 11, 2019

Full Review

Tynan Yanaga

Film Inquiry

The doc is at its best on this most intimate scale telling its own story.

May 31, 2019

Full Review

Barbara Shulgasser

Common Sense Media

Docu about integrated baseball game in segregated South.

Rated: 3/5

May 29, 2019

Full Review

David Noh

Film Journal International

Slackly paced coverage of a crucial event in little league baseball history.

Oct 26, 2018

Full Review

Danielle Solzman

Solzy at the Movies

While so much (and so little) progress has been made since 1955, Long Time Coming shows us that sports can transcend race and bring people together.

Jul 25, 2018

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Synopsis

In 1955 when racial segregation is rampant in the South, two groups of 12-year-old boys step onto a baseball field in an act of cultural defiance.

Director: Jon Strong
Executive Producer: Michael Tollin
Screenwriter: Ted Haddock, John King, Mike Quinn Jr., Jon Strong
Production Co: Common Pictures, Strong Films
Genre: Documentary, History, Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Streaming): Feb 5, 2019

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