[.ca] The Harlem Globetrotters: The Team That Changed the World

From Amazon.com:
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. --Bret Fetzer