Fire in Babylon

It is a good watch for a cricket fan especially. But being a documentary, using wrong facts is enough to put off a lot of people who are able to catch the inaccuracy. And this documentary does it on more than one occasion.

In one of the matches in the 1976 series between WI and India, several Indian batsman were injured and had to retire hurt! Stevan Riley uses this fact and presents that Indians were demolished in the series by a fearsome WI team (when in fact the series was 2-1 in favor of WI and India had won one of the matches on back of a record 4th inning chase of 404 that was broken only in 2003 says a lot).

A more glaring inaccuracy: Stevan uses the video footage of a 1981 incident to depict that Indians could not face WI in 1975-76 series and walked off the field declaring their innings. The video footage is of an incident in Australia when Sunil Gavaskar threw tantrums on being given out lbw (possibly incorrectly) against Lillee and was walking off with his partner in disgust!

For a documentary to depict inaccurate facts is big turn off! It would have been OK if it was some 'masala' movie but definitely not for a documentary which claims to document some true incidents.

When i was growing up , the West Indies were the greatest cricket team in the world. I remember the great Viv Richards smacking the ball all over the place and the " Blackwash" tour of 1985 when The West Indies thrashed us 5-0 but i wasn't aware of the history of what happened years before then.

Fire in Babylon is a fantastic documentary film that charts the history of how and why these fantastic sportsman remain legends in West Indian sporting and cultural history.

This is the story told from the point of view of the players and some West Indian musicians and famous personalities. It's a mixture if interviews interspersed with some fantastic old footage.

These men had a grudge and not just a cricket grudge. They wanted revenge for history and i don't think the English realised it - in fact i know we didn't.

A group of people like these come along once in a lifetime and "Fire In Babylon" documents what they did perfectly.

Great Stuff.

An excellent snapshot of an era in which the West Indies turned cricket's traditional order on its head and gave it all a soundtrack too through reggae music. It is told almost entirely through the viewpoint of the team members with the occasional burst of pride from musicians and poets, mainly through song and notably Bunny Wailer provides some excellent insight into the pride the islands took in their united team.

There was plenty said about the team by the (foreign to them) press and commentators as they raced to the top of test cricket but not so much credit so I think the film's solely West Indies angle is justified. The film also explores the legacy of prejudice that the West Indies team did much to expose. Corporal Jones always maintained that "they don't like it up them" and Holding, Garner, Roberts and Croft proved that it was true of us too. Croft's decision to tour Apartheid South Africa is given to the viewer to judge. Respect was earned and cricket changed with it. It may be a one sided view but you leave with no doubt that the helmet-less and pad-scant men that stood up to such bowling were brave souls too.

Great music, audience maturity respected, wince-inducing footage, some laughs and Sir Vivian Richards. An hour and a half well spent for me.

Unlike other reviewers, I won't be able to give a dissection of this wonderful documentary for the facts & figures. Despite any leaps of faith or liberties taken by the directors, the simple fact is that the figures speak for themselves, this was one hell of a sporting side regardless of the sport.

The West Indies cricket side lit up a sport that often could descend into dullness, and elevated the characters, the sports and its communities in a way that PR men just spend millions on to struggle to come anywhere close.

We have honest interviews from a cross-section of the figures from the West Indies cricketing heyday and it's great to hear them in their unique patois whilst the local soundtrack adds colour & life.

There's nothing new here, but as time goes by there is little better for future generations to understand the importance of this side and the impact it had.

If there are quibbles about this documentary, then possibly it could have gone into more detail, maybe given a counter-arguement to some aspects (no one is perfect) and maybe greater emphasis on the supporters who seemed too much in the backgrounds, but that's all nit-picking.

Grab yourself a cold drink, some jerk chicken or the like and give this a viewing one afternoon. You're guaranteed to raise a smile with this one.

Set against a backdrop of colonial history and superiority, this is a cracking documentary that depicts the rise and sustained success of the West Indies cricket team that started in the 1970s and prevailed for over a decade. Using some remarkably good quality, and well researched, archive footage accompanied by some interesting quotes from many of the (now knighted) team members, Stevan Riley brings to life a wonderfully enigmatic story of ropey pitches, of lethal bowling, of just how this "gentleman's" game ended up with just too much at stake for both the Caribbean players and their, usually, English counterparts - to take on the chin. The rivalry is well illustrated and this features an impressively comprehensive list of contributors whose insight into both sides of the game - that was little short of war, in many eyes - is enthralling. I'm a Scot, ergo I'm no great cricket lover and the sight of the English team losing is unlikely to cause me to lose sleep - but this works hard to create a balance. It demonstrates how skill and determination made these Test matches the stuff of sporting legend from both team's perspectives. This really is well worth ninety minutes of your time, regardless of your interest in the sport - it shows the emergence from empire in a positive and often victorious fashion.