BILL RUSSELL: LEGEND: PART ONE

Part One of BILL RUSSELL: LEGEND on Netflix recounts the amazing life story of one of the greatest NBA players of all time, Bill Russell, who was determined to crush racism by being the best player in the world. BILL RUSSELL: LEGEND: PART ONE has countless shots of the amazing ball-handling and rebound skills of the basketball giant, inducing awe in viewers, and also explains the impact Russell had on the game, including his drive for racial equality both on the court and in the streets.

Russell’s complex life is told in three distinctive ways throughout the movie, as actor Corey Stoll performs the overarching narration, while actor Jeffrey Wright frequently reads excerpts from Russell’s memoir “Second Wind.” In between are a stunning array of sports legends eager to share their thoughts and recollections, including Russell’s white teammate Bob Cousy, Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, Oscar Rvertson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and MSNBC host Lawrence O’Donnell, who provides the perspective of fans.

The movie opens detailing Russell’s incredible achievements, having earned nine NBA championship rings as a player and two more as a player-coach, all with the Boston Celtics. He also was a five-time NBA MVP, but an early montage shows that his other passion was breaking the glass ceiling that black athletes faced during Russell’s heyday in the 1960s.

The movie spends lots of time on his childhood and his parents’ high standards for him. His mother turned him onto the world of books and all kinds of learning by insisting he hang out in the library of Oakland, Calif., where they had moved to escape the racism in the South.

Basketball was his real ticket to greatness, as he rode a great high school career into college stardom and world-class playing on the US Olympic team. He was drafted highly by the Boston Celtics into the NBA. However, despite his efforts, he always battled racial discrimination every step of the way. For example, after he finally earned some respect from the white suburban community of Redding, Mass. outside Boston, where he and his wife had decided to settle, his family had to endure a racist petition against them when they wanted to move into a bigger house in the city.

The movie also sets up Russell’s friendly yet fierce rivalry with the equally legendary player, Wilt Chamberlain and pictures the family life that kept him strong. While totally engrossing, it sets up the perhaps even more engrossing PART TWO.

Part One of BILL RUSSELL: LEGEND is not only a biography of the basketball legend’s life, but also a vital history of the civil rights movement from a new perspective. Director Sam Pollard and NBA archivist Jim Podhoretz team up to find a dizzying array of footage that rivets viewers from start to finish. The interviews with other basketball legends, along with Russell’s surprising bursts of humor and infectious laugh, makes this movie highly entertaining as well.

BILL RUSSELL: LEGEND: PART ONE shows Russell as a man who always worked his hardest to succeed. Much of this was driven by his desire to break down racial barriers. For example, Part One details Russell and Wilt Chamberlain’s battle to break pay barriers for blacks, to wind up being two of the highest paid players of their time. It also shows some of Russell’s efforts to support the Civil Rights Movement off the court.

Part One has strong moral, pro-capitalist elements. It promotes striving for success, hard work, teamwork, family, and fighting against racism. There are also two positive references to God by other characters, including one of the movie’s major side characters, Russell’s white teammate Bob Cousy, who helped Russell and other black players like Sam Jones and KC Jones win Boston’s early NBA titles in the late 1950s and early 60s. However, these elements are placed in a light humanist, secular context, so the movie’s worldview is mixed. BILL RUSSELL: LEGEND: PART ONE also has two obscenities. So, MOVIEGUIDE® advises caution for older children.

Bill Russell died in 2022 at age 88, but BILL RUSSELL: LEGEND: PART ONE keeps his legacy vibrantly alive.