Credit: Amazon.com
Director:
Jonathan Hock
Starring:
Jay-Z ………. Himself
Derek Jeter ………. Himself
Spike Lee ………. Himself
Dwayne “Tiny” Morton ………. Himself
Rick Pitino ………. Himself
Sebastian Telfair ………. Himself
Jamel Thomas ………. Himself
Daniel Turner ………. Himself
The Movie
Money or education? Or education to earn more money? These are questions that people ask in the land of professional sports. Should kids go to college and get an education or should they go for the big money out of high school and pursue a career in the professional ranks. Many believe that if I kid is good enough at his sport to do it, then they should go make the most money they can..while they still can. It’s becoming common for high school athletes to go straight to the professional ranks. This is most common in the sport of basketball. From the 1990’s to now, there has been an influx of high school athletes going straight to the NBA. This has stirred a little controversy among people who believe that they should get a college education first. Some will argue..what if they get hurt and don’t have the opportunity to play for money when they could have? The same can be said for once they get to the NBA, though. If they get hurt and have no education, they have nothing to fall back on.
Through the Fire is the story of one high school athlete who went to the NBA. Although, it didn’t start out that way. Sebastian Telfair is famous on the streets of New York City. Since the age of 9, everyone knew who he was. His story and this documentary started out as just a story of Sebastian and his high school team. Sebastian goes to Lincoln High School in Coney Island. They are going for a third straight city-wide championship. No school has done it. However, the story became much more about Sebastian Telfair as it went along. Why? Well..he’s good enough to go to the NBA. And he has charisma.
At the start of the film, he decides to go to college instead of the NBA. He wants to go to Louisville and be coached by Rick Pitino. That all looks good. Except there are whispers as the months go by that he may go to the NBA. Sebastian has to lead his high school team to a championship, while he has to deal with outside people trying to get him to do one thing or another.
Something happens halfway through the season, though. Sebastian realizes he could provide a better life for his family by going to the NBA. Sebastian had an older brother, Jamel Thomas. Five years earlier, he went to Providence College. He was expected to go the NBA afterwards, but no one picked him. Jamel and his family was crushed. That left them in poverty on Coney Island. That forced Jamel to go play overseas. That leaves it up to Sebastian to do what his brother couldn’t.
Sebastian also sees a friend named Lebron James go to the NBA after high school and get a $90 million shoe endorsement. That doesn’t help either. NBA scouts come to his every game. They want him to come to the NBA. Rick Pitino wants him to come to Louisville. And if that wasn’t bad enough, Sebastian has his high school coach, Dwayne “Tiny” Morton, on his back along with his older brother, Daniel Turner. Tiny is the coach of Lincoln High and a former champion player at Lincoln High. He didn’t get to go to the NBA either. He tries to drive Sebastian and his team to do great things. Daniel does the same thing. They have two strong personalities and they are clear to state their opinions on what Telfair should do.
Now this documentary was recently showed on ESPN and I’m sure they will show it again. What’s the difference between this DVD and the ESPN showing. Well..on the DVD there is more language than what ESPN could show. And it appears to be a little bit longer. But other than that..there is not much difference. However, the DVD has extras and ESPN has none.
The pressure is on Sebastian and it is a great story. It’s a story that changed a lot through the making of the film. Should he risk it all and play in the NBA without an education or should he go to Louisville and then go to the NBA? Sebastian gets pulled in many directions, but he keeps himself together to be a true superstar on the streets of NYC and in all of his remaining high school games.
Score: 7.5/10
The Video:
The video is given in 1.78:1 widescreen color. Transfer is decent with minimal distortion. No problems here.
The Audio:
The audio included is in English Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound. No problems here either. There are English, French, and Spanish subtitles available.
The Extras:
Deleted Scenes –
These were cut for a reason. We don’t really know the reason, but most of these are not needed. Just added stuff. They don’t bring anything to the story, so that is why they were probably cut.
Extended Interviews with Sebastian Telfair, Rick Pitino, Jamel Thomas, and Tiny Morton –
These are more talks with the key people involved in the story. We got clips and short versions of some of the interviews in the movie, but these are the whole things.
Exclusive Telfair NYC Playground and Game Highlights –
It’s like an ESPN Highlight Reel for just Sebastian Telfair.
Excerpt from “The Life” with Stephon Marbury
Marbury is a good NBA player and he happens to be Sebastian’s cousin. He talks about growing up on Coney Island. And it draws comparisons to Sebastian and how he did on the streets as well.
Q & A Footage From The Tribeca Film Festival –
Just what it said. The movie was presented to this festival and Sebastian answers questions from the media and fans.
Director’s Commentary –
Director and Producer, Jonathan Hock, comments during the film. This is quite good. Once you have watched the film, you need to look at this. It gives more insight into the making of the documentary and how the story changed. Very interesting.
Score: 6/10
