Fire in Babylon

"They brought the world to its knees and a nation to its feet"

Jul 22 2011 TV-14 1h 27m
Documentary, Sport

Feature documentary about the great West Indies cricket team of the 1970s and '80s. Fire In Babylon is the breathtaking story of how the West Indies triumphed over its colonial masters through the achievements of one of the most gifted teams in sporting history. In a turbulent era of apartheid in South Africa, race riots in England and civil unrest in the Caribbean, the West Indian cricketers, led by the enigmatic Viv Richards, struck a defiant blow at the forces of white prejudice worldwide. Their undisputed skill, combined with a fearless spirit, allowed them to dominate the genteel game at the highest level, replaying it on their own terms. This is their story, told in their own words.

Plot

During much of the late 50s and throughout the 60s, the West Indies Cricket Team put up outstanding displays of both batting and bowling the world over, but were never exactly the undisputed best like England or Australia. All of this changed quickly enough when after clinching the 1975 World Cup under Clive Lloyd, West Indies travelled to Australia and were beaten miserably 5-1, with pace legend Dennis Lillee making a mockery out of the famed Caribbean batting line-up. Lloyd replicated the same formula and having beaten India 2-1 with pacers like Michael Holding and Andy Roberts at his disposal with the same strategy, travelled to England in 1976. However, English skipper Tony Greig still considered the scheme a fluke and stated in an interview that he "intends to make the West Indies GROVEL". Fuelled by what they deemed was racism from a South Africa born Englishman, Lloyd's battery wrecked havoc, winning the series 3-0. From there on, there was no looking back, with the likes Joel Garner, Colin Croft and a refined Malcolm Marshall too joining the squad, West Indies defeated each and every opponent in the path, paving way for future greats like Curtly Ambrose and Courtney Walsh, as West Indies from the start of 1980 till 1995 literally ruled world cricket, something no other team in the history of any other sport has ever accomplished till date.

Written by

Stevan Riley

Directed by

Stevan Riley

Cast

Viv Richards, Michael Holding, Clive Lloyd

Crew

View crew

Production Countries

United States of America, United Kingdom

Production Companies

ECN Motion Pictures, E & G Prouctions, Cowboy Films

Languages

English

Awards

3 nominations

Trailers
Fire In Babylon Trailer
Scores
# of Votes
1,975
Average Rating
7.7 out of 10
Metascore
69
Popularity
NA