Available as a single disc
and in a two-disc special edition.
Review: Inspired by real events, the
fascinating The Great Debaters reveals one of the seeds of the Civil
Rights Movement in its story of Melvin B. Tolson (Denzel Washington in a
captivating performance) and his champion 1935 debate club from the
all-African-American Wiley College in Texas. Tolson, a Wiley professor, labor
organizer, modernist poet, and much else, runs a rigorous debate program at the
school, selecting four students as his team in ’35, among them the future
founder of the Congress of Racial Equality, James Farmer Jr. (Denzel Whitaker).
Washington, who directed The Great Debaters from a script by Robert
Eisele (The Dale Earnhardt Story), anchors the story with the team’s
measurable progress, but the film is also about the state of race relations in
America at the height of the Great Depression...more
Extras: Commentary
by actor-director Denzel Washington (both versions), deleted scenes
(both versions), documentary with original debaters, "Music of The Great
Debaters," "Original Score With James Newton Howard," "Making of The
Great Debaters," Wardrobe of The Great Debaters," "A Visit to Wiley
College," "Poetry of Melvin Tolson (still gallery). (Weinstein
Company/Genius Products).
Movie Spotlight
The Great Debaters Release Date: December 25, 2007 Studio: The Weinstein Company Director: Denzel Washington Screenwriter: Robert Eisele Starring: Denzel Washington, Forest Whitaker, Jurnee Smollett, Denzel
Whitaker, Kimberly Elise, Nate Parker Genre: Drama MPAA Rating: PG-13 (for depiction of strong thematic material including
violence and disturbing images, and for language and brief sexuality) Official Website:
TheGreatDebatersmovie.com
Plot Summary: Set against the backdrop of the Jim Crow South and inspired
by a true story, "The Great Debaters" chronicles the journey of a brilliant but
volatile coach (Denzel Washington) who uses the power of words to shape a group
of underdog students from a small, modest black college in East Texas into an
elite debate team while challenging the social mores of the time, culminating
with a groundbreaking invitation to debate Harvard's championship team
EN 5 Second Review:
Good enough movie for what it is, just not our style,
even though we love Denzel. We
will be watching it on cable though.
Director
Denzel Washington’s The Great Debaters is pure Hollywood, not
without its share of storytelling cliches and golden-toned
inspirational teaching moments, but you know what? The results really
are inspirational Michael Phillips: Chicago Tribune
Washington and screenwriter Robert Eisele start things
rather oddly, with a vexing array of activity and characters coming at
us all at once: A knife fight at a juke joint; a young woman’s bus trip;
Washington skulking around in a sharecropper get-up, for reasons we
learn later. Then we’re in the classroom with Washington’s Prof. Tolson
and his eager charges, learning about the writers of the Harlem
Renaissance...more
Now
that it's possible to get stories about thoughtful African-Americans
on the big screen, is it too much to ask that the stories be
more thoughtful as well? Gene Seymour: Newsday
"The Great Debaters" is grimly determined to inspire by any
means necessary. On a purely visceral level, it succeeds,
but at considerable cost to historical veracity and dramatic
nuance. You admire the film for trying to get moviegoers
worked up over protagonists who use rhetoric and reason as
weapons instead of guns and fists. You lament that it
doesn't trust its material enough to do much more than
flatter its audience's good intentions...more
EN 5 Second Review:
Good enough movie for what it is, just not our style,
even though we love Denzel. We
will be watching it on cable though.