The Life and Times of Hank Greenberg | Rotten Tomatoes (2025)

97% Tomatometer 66 Reviews 80% Popcornmeter 500+ Ratings

"The Life and Times of Hank Greenberg" is a humorous and nostalgic documentary about an extraordinary baseball player who transcended religious prejudice to become an American icon. Detroit Tiger Hammerin Hank's accomplishments during the Golden Age of Baseball rivaled those of Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig.

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The Life and Times of Hank Greenberg

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Critics Consensus

The Life and Times of Hank Greenberg is an affectionate, often very funny portrait of a baseball pioneer.

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Critics Reviews

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The Life and Times of Hank Greenberg | Rotten Tomatoes (1) Stephen Hunter Washington Post It's an adroit manipulation of interviews and stock footage, mostly along the lines of establishing not so much what Hammerin' Hank did for himself, but what he meant to American Jews. May 7, 2014 Full Review The Life and Times of Hank Greenberg | Rotten Tomatoes (2) Jack Mathews New York Daily News Kempner demonstrates how the star's success and dignified bearing inspired a generation of Jews to fight through the ethnic barriers in all fields. Rated: 3.5/4 May 7, 2014 Full Review The Life and Times of Hank Greenberg | Rotten Tomatoes (3) Lou Lumenick New York Post Writer-director Aviva Kempner crafted this love letter to Greenberg by imaginatively weaving interviews with great footage from newsreels and feature films. May 7, 2014 Full Review The Life and Times of Hank Greenberg | Rotten Tomatoes (4) Danielle Solzman Dugout Dirt (Substack) Ninety years after Hank Greenberg took his Yom Kippur stand, The Life and Times of Hank Greenberg remains a must-watch documentary for baseball fans. Rated: 5/5 Sep 20, 2024 Full Review The Life and Times of Hank Greenberg | Rotten Tomatoes (5) Serena Donadoni Metro Times (Detroit, MI) Former Detroiter Kempner infuses her portrait of Hank Greenberg with such a joie de vivre that it's a delight for the already converted and nonsports fans alike. Rated: 4/5 May 7, 2014 Full Review The Life and Times of Hank Greenberg | Rotten Tomatoes (6) Robert Wilonsky New Times The Life and Times of Hank Greenberg is precisely what a documentary ought to be: engaging and revelatory, turning forgotten footnotes and discarded minutiae into the stuff of riveting drama and poignant laughs. May 7, 2014 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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JONATHAN K Excellent capture of the life and times of a great ball player and American hero.Interviews and old footage are especially enjoyable. Rated 5/5 Stars • Rated 5 out of 5 stars 07/25/23 Full Review Greg Lehmann Dedicated to the millions of Detroit Tigers fans which I've been since 1966! Rated 5/5 Stars • Rated 5 out of 5 stars 01/25/20 Full Review Audience Member An enlightening documentary on an understated hero. Rated 3.5/5 Stars • Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 01/20/23 Full Review Audience Member Great subject matter, but it sure could have been told more dramatically. It was like the director took index cards of chronological facts, laid them out, punctuated them with interviews and wallpapered the whole thing with video. Then there's this random woman groupie who keeps popping up. Her role is never really explained. Even so, it made me want to learn more about Hank Greenberg. Great story about Detroit trading him because the Tigers owner saw a picture of him him wearing a Yankees jersey during WWII. Rated 2.5/5 Stars • Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 01/26/23 Full Review Audience Member Hank Greenberg was good enough to have me commemorate his career on my pretend baseball hall of fame. Not that I had ever seen him play but his stats seemed impressive. Not the legend that Ruth was probably because he played in Detroit, Greenberg's story is very memorable. Likely inspired Jewish stars like Sandy Koufax in the next generation. Rated 4/5 Stars • Rated 4 out of 5 stars 02/07/23 Full Review Audience Member A wonderful look at a classy ballplayer whose exploits I hadn't fully appreciated. Rated 4.5/5 Stars • Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 01/22/23 Full Review Read all reviews

The Life and Times of Hank Greenberg

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Cast & Crew

Aviva Kempner Director Hank Greenberg Self Alan Dershowitz Self Bob Feller Self Charlie Gehringer Self Kenesaw M. Landis Self
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The Life and Times of Hank Greenberg

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Synopsis "The Life and Times of Hank Greenberg" is a humorous and nostalgic documentary about an extraordinary baseball player who transcended religious prejudice to become an American icon. Detroit Tiger Hammerin Hank's accomplishments during the Golden Age of Baseball rivaled those of Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig.

Director
Aviva Kempner

Producer
Aviva Kempner

Screenwriter
Aviva Kempner

Distributor
Cowboy Pictures

Production Co
Ciesla Foundation

Rating
PG (Mild Language|Thematic Elements)

Genre
Documentary, Biography

Original Language
English

Release Date (Theaters)
Jul 2, 1999, Wide

Release Date (Streaming)
Jan 8, 2017

Box Office (Gross USA)
$1.7M

Runtime
1h 29m
The Life and Times of Hank Greenberg | Rotten Tomatoes (2025)
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