In a time when forming an opinion over an explored topic or a famous or infamous individual are the routine of documentaries, it's a little
refreshing to look back at old documentaries due to its level of artistry involved, and the use of factual information in a discreet and educational
manner. It feels completely different than what's being put at the center stage in recent years, yet it's riveting and fascinating just as much. The
film concerning legendary boxer Jack Johnson (1878-1946) and directed by William Cayton allows viewers to form their own opinions on the subject
matter, his life, his successes and failures as a black boxer during the period of segretation, the several controversies surrounding fixed
fights and his relationships with white females, and unusual yet fun anedoctes during his down-and-out days.
Nominated for an Oscar in the Best Documentary, Features category (losing out to the monumental "Woodstock", truly deserving but almost without
comparison), "Jack Johnson" is presented through a series of varied archive footage from the 1900's showing Johnson's many important fights, starting
with the wins over white boxers which greatly divided the American society of that period to the point of race riots and threats take place.
Johnson's
words in the media are performed by veteran actor Brock Peters ("To Kill a Mockingbird") in a great manner; obviously they couldn't use James Earl
Jones as he was busy filming "The Great White Hope", a fictional story based on Jack Johnson. And as soundtrack to everything, the genius Miles Davis during his rock/jazz/funk fusion in the early 1970's offers a nice spectacle that works
with the piece. Those two 1970's elements somehow fit with the whole presentation that, visually, looks as something made decades before that, almost like those old newsreels.
The use of those archive images are amazingly well-done as the director manipulates the material with care, attention and even allowing viewers
to watch some of the most thrilling bits of the fights by repeating frames in slow motion, detailing those parts when a special attention is required
since punches and reactions can confuse audiences. Did he threw that punch in such spectacular fashion? Did he really lost that fight on purpose and
somehow everybody was fooled? Mr. Cayton answers those questions, while Peters narration confirms what really happened as Johnson reflects about his
fights many years later when his career was fully decadent.
Besides the boxing matches and the problems with women and the law, the surprising moments related with his apparently random trips to Mexico,
Cuba and Russia (where he met with the infamous Rasputin) are responsible for some of the funny and amazing bits. That's his level of popularity
around the world back in the day, but they all happened as he was escaping from the law or trying to get new fights since he wasn't allowed in
America for a period.
Again, there isn't any form of 'in your face' kind of opinion in the film. Was Johnson a hero or a villain? An inspiring figure that succumbed
to fame and money or someone that needed to prove anything to himself, to his race or others? The rise and fall are so enormous, so dramatically
vivid that one can't deny his importance, both as a sportist and also a man living on harsh times. 8/10.
