The Great Debaters

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The Great Debaters

Theatrical release poster
Directed by Denzel Washington
Produced by Oprah Winfrey
Denzel Washington
Joe Roth
Kate Forte
David Crockett
Todd Black
Molly Allen
Written by Suzan-Lori Parks
Robert Eisele
Starring Denzel Washington
Forest Whitaker
Kimberly Elise
Jurnee Smollett
Gina Ravera
Denzel Whitaker
Cinematography Philippe Rousselot
Editing by Hughes Winborne
Distributed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (US)
The Weinstein Company (worldwide)
Release date(s) December 25 2007
Running time 2 hrs. 1 min.
Country Flag of the United States United States
Language English
Budget $15 million
Official website
Allmovie profile
IMDb profile

The Great Debaters is a 2007 film produced by Oprah Winfrey's Harpo Productions, based on an article about the Wiley College debate team by Tony Scherman written for American Legacy for its '97 Spring issue. It is directed by Denzel Washington who also stars in the film along with Forest Whitaker[1], Kimberly Elise, Denzel Whitaker[2], Nate Parker [3], Gina Ravera, and Jurnee Smollett. The screenplay was written by Suzan-Lori Parks and Robert Eisele.[4] It was released on December 25, 2007.

Contents

[edit] Plot

The film, loosely based on a true story, revolves around the efforts of debate coach Melvin B. Tolson (Denzel Washington) at historically black Wiley College to place his team on equal footing with whites in the American south during the 1930s, when Jim Crow laws were common and lynch mobs were a pervasive fear for blacks. In the movie as in reality, the Wiley team eventually succeeds to the point where they are able to take part in a debate with Harvard University.

[edit] Historical background and differences

  • The film depicts the Wiley Debate team beating Harvard College. This meeting actually never occurred. The debate most likely depicted by the movie was the match up between Wiley and The University of Southern California, who at the time were the reigning debating champions. Wiley College did indeed win this matchup.[5]
  • According to the New York Times the "film omits one reality: even though they beat the reigning champions, the Great Debaters were not allowed to call themselves victors because they were not truly considered to belong to the debate society; blacks were not admitted until after World War II. "[6] The movie also explores the social milieu of Texas during the Great Depression including not only the day-to-day insults and slights African Americans had to endure, but also a lynching. Also depicted is James L. Farmer, Jr. who, at 14-years of age, was on Wiley's debate team after completing high school (and who later went on to co-found C.O.R.E., the Congress of Racial Equality). According to the Houston Chronicle, another character depicted on the team, Samantha Booke, is based on the real individual Henrietta Wells, "the only female member of the 1930 debate team from Wiley College who participated in the first collegiate interracial debate in the United States."[7] Melvin B. Tolson also happens to be a major African American poet whose papers are housed at the library of Congress.

[edit] Cast

[edit] Production

The film was the first since 1979 to be allowed to film on Harvard's campus.[8]

It is also the first film to feature two African Americans who had previously won the Academy Award for Best Actor (Denzel Washington for Training Day, and Forest Whitaker for The Last King of Scotland).

[edit] Reception

[edit] Box Office Performance

The Great Debaters debuted at No. 11 in its first weekend with a total of $6,005,180 from 1,171 venues. The film has grossed domestically $30,227,882 overlapping its budget of $15 million. The movie was released to DVD & Home Video on April 29, 2008.

[edit] Reviews

Critics gave the film generally favorable reviews. As of June 14, 2008, the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reported that 80% of critics gave the film positive reviews, based on 122 reviews.[9] Metacritic reported the film had an average score of 65 out of 100, based on 32 reviews.[10]

Carrie Rickey of the The Philadelphia Inquirer named it the 5th Best film of 2007[11] and Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times named it the 9th Best film of 2007.[12]

Many critics have criticized the film for "playing it safe."[9] John Monaghan the Detroit Free Press stated "Serious moviegoers, especially those attracted by the movie's aggressive Oscar campaign, will likely find the package gorgeously wrapped but intellectually empty."[9]

[edit] Awards and nominations

Nominations:

[edit] Urban debate leagues

The release of the film coincided with a nationally stepped-up effort by urban debate leagues to get hundreds of inner-city and financially challenged schools to establish debate programs.[14][15] Cities of focus included schools in Denver, Los Angeles, Philadelphia and San Francisco.

[edit] Denzel Washington's donation

On December 19, 2007, Denzel Washington announced a $1 million USD donation to Wiley College so they could re-establish their debate team. [16]

[edit] DVD release

The Great Debaters was released on DVD May 13, 2008 on 1-disc and 2-disc editions. The 1 disc includes no extra material. But the 2-disc includes:

  • Commentary
  • Documentary
  • Deleted scenes
  • Featurettes
  • Still gallery

[edit] Soundtrack

The soundtrack to the film contains remakes of traditional blues and Gospel songs from the 1920s and 1930s by artists including Sharon Jones, Alvin Youngblood Hart, David Berger, and the Carolina Chocolate Drops. [17]

[edit] References

  1. ^ Fleming, Michael (2007). "Washington, Whitaker team up," Variety Apr. 11, 2007. Retrieved December 16, 2007.
  2. ^ http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1091701/. Retrieved January 6, 2008.
  3. ^ Garrett, Diane (2007). "Elise, Parker join Debaters," Variety Jun. 3, 2007. Retrieved December 16, 2007.
  4. ^ Harris, Dana and Brodesser, Claude (2004). "Back-to-back helming: Washington to take 2 gigs," Variety Sep. 29, 2004. Retrieved December 16, 2007.
  5. ^ For Struggling Black College, Hopes of a Revival. NYTimes (2007-12-05). Retrieved on 2007-12-05.
  6. ^ "For Struggling Black College, Hopes of a Revival." New York Times, December 5, 2007.
  7. ^ "Great Debater Overcame Odds to Bust Barriers." Houston Chronicle, December 22, 2007
  8. ^ The Harvard Crimson :: News :: New Denzel Flick Films In Sanders
  9. ^ a b c The Great Debaters - Rotten Tomatoes. Rotten Tomatoes (2007-12-24). Retrieved on 2008-01-20.
  10. ^ Great Debaters, The (2007): Reviews. Metacritic. Retrieved on 2008-01-05.
  11. ^ Metacritic: 2007 Film Critic Top Ten Lists. Metacritic. Retrieved on 2008-01-05.
  12. ^ Roger Ebert (2007-12-20). The year's ten Best films and other shenanigans. Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved on 2008-01-05.
  13. ^ HOLLYWOOD FOREIGN PRESS ASSOCIATION 2008 GOLDEN GLOBE AWARDS FOR THE YEAR ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2007. goldenglobes.org (2007-12-13). Retrieved on 2007-12-17.
  14. ^ Take Action
  15. ^ National Association for the Urban Debate Leagues
  16. ^ Washington gives $1M to Wiley College. Yahoo (2007-12-24). Retrieved on 2007-12-24.
  17. ^ 'Great Debaters' gets soundtrack

[edit] External links