A Soldier's Story (1984)

Director:

Norman Jewison

Writers:

Charles Fuller (play)
Charles Fuller (screenplay)

Release Date:

28 February 1985 (Netherlands)

Genre:

Drama | Mystery | War

Tagline:

Alone, far from home, and far from justice, he has three days to learn the truth about a murder...and the truth is a story you won't forget.

Plot:

An African American officer investigates a murder in a racially charged situation in World War II.

Plot Keywords:

African American | Captain | Racial Prejudice | Racism | Southern

Awards:

Nominated for 3 Oscars. Another 3 wins & 6 nominations

Cast

Howard E. Rollins Jr.	...	Captain Davenport
Adolph Caesar	...	Sergeant Waters
Art Evans	...	Private Wilkie
David Alan Grier	...	Corporal Cobb
David Harris	...	Private Smalls
Dennis Lipscomb	...	Captain Taylor
Larry Riley	...	C.J. Memphis
Robert Townsend	...	Corporal Ellis
Denzel Washington	...	Private First Class Peterson
William Allen Young	...	Private Henson
Patti LaBelle	...	Big Mary
Wings Hauser	...	Lieutenant Byrd
Scott Paulin	...	Captain Wilcox
John Hancock	...	Sergeant Washington
Trey Wilson	...	Colonel Nivens
Patricia Brandkamp	...	Ida Nivens
Carl Dreher	...	Bus driver
Vaughn Reeves	...	Captain Estes
Robert Tyler	...	Private Seymour
Pat Grabe	...	White Lieutenant #1
Terry Dodd	...	White Lieutenant #2
Warren Clements	...	Sergeant Hooks
James W. Bryant	...	Chaplain
John Valentine	...	Umpire
Ronald E. Greenfield	...	M.P. Sergeant
Anthony C. Sanders	...	M.P. at Gate
Traftin E. Thompson	...	M.P. in Barracks
Roy Wells	...	Training Field Sergeant
Tommy G. Liggins	...	Soldier Painting
Calvin Franklin	...	Barracks Soldier
Kevin T. Mosley	...	Barracks Soldier
Michael Williams	...	Barracks Soldier
David Ashley	...	Barracks Soldier
Thomas Howard	...	Barracks Soldier
Bobby McGee	...	Barracks Soldier (as Bobby McGaughey)
Rick Ramey	...	Barracks Soldier
Lacarnist Hiriams	...	Barracks Soldier

Directed by
Norman Jewison

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Charles Fuller		play "A Soldier's Play"
Charles Fuller		screenplay

Produced by
Norman Jewison	....	producer
Charles Milhaupt	....	associate producer
Patrick J. Palmer	....	producer (as Patrick Palmer)
Chiz Schultz	....	executive producer (as Charles Schultz)
Ronald L. Schwary	....	producer

Original Music by
Herbie Hancock

Cinematography by
Russell Boyd

Film Editing by
Caroline Biggerstaff
Mark Warner

Production Design by
Walter Scott Herndon

Set Decoration by
Thomas L. Roysden

Makeup Department
Bernadine M. Anderson	....	makeup artist (as Bernardine Anderson)
Leonard Drake	....	hair stylist

Production Management
Gerald R. Molen	....	unit production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Warren Gray	....	second assistant director
Anthony Mason	....	dga trainee (as Tony Mason)
Dwight Williams	....	first assistant director

Art Department
Ray Mercer Jr.	....	property master (as Ray F. Mercer Jr.)
Ernest Phillips	....	stand-by painter (as Ernest J. Phillips)
Richard Reseigne	....	construction design coordinator
Arthur Shippee	....	assistant property master
Michael Taylor	....	lead man

Sound Department
Kevin F. Cleary	....	sound re-recording mixer
Linda Dove	....	sound editor
Julie Feiner	....	assistant sound editor
Walter A. Gest	....	sound re-recordist
William Gocke	....	boom operator (as Bill Gocke)
Gib Jaffe	....	sound editor
Robert J. Litt	....	sound re-recording mixer
Dessie Markovsky	....	sound editor
Emile Razpopov	....	supervising sound editor
Catherine Shorr	....	sound editor
Michael Tomack	....	sound editor
Elliot Tyson	....	sound re-recording mixer
Gordon Webb	....	cable person
Charles M. Wilborn	....	production sound mixer

Special Effects by
James Camomile	....	assistant special effects (as Jim Camomile)
Dennis Dion	....	special effects supervisor

Stunts
Greg Wayne Elam	....	stunt double (as Greg Elam)
Melvin Jones	....	stunt double

Camera and Electrical Department
Don Duffield	....	key grip
Ralph Gerling	....	camera operator
Ted Holt	....	gaffer (as Ted P. Holt)
J. Michael McClary	....	first assistant camera
Fred L. McLane	....	second assistant camera (as Fred McLane)
Ron Phillips	....	unit still photographer
Jim Rose	....	best boy
Philip C. Pfeiffer	....	director of photography: second unit (uncredited)

Casting Department
Megan Branman	....	extras casting
Barbara Harris	....	voice casting
Julie Hughes	....	casting: New York
Barry Moss	....	casting: New York

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Thomas S. Dawson	....	costume supervisor
Robert Stewart	....	costumer: men
Chuck Velasco	....	costumer: men

Editorial Department
Paul Cichocki	....	apprentice editor
Ron Lambert	....	color timer
Gregory Palmer	....	apprentice editor
Edward A. Warschilka	....	assistant editor (as Edward A. Warschilka Jr.)

Music Department
Edward Bland	....	orchestrator (as Ed Bland)
Else Blangsted	....	music editor
Dennis S. Sands	....	music scoring mixer (as Dennis Sands)

Transportation Department
Bill Grey	....	transportation coordinator

Other crew
Billy Brashier	....	projectionist
William V. Bromiley Jr.	....	production assistant (as Bill Bromiley)
Jan A. Campbell	....	accounting clerk (as Jan Campbell)
Robin Chaykin	....	assistant: Mr. Palmer
Delia Circelli	....	production office coordinator
Terry Dodd	....	first aid
Rick Firkins	....	caterer (as Rick Firkens)
Wilma Garscadden-Gahret	....	script supervisor
Leroy Hager	....	craft service
Robert Hatfield	....	production associate
Michael Jewison	....	production associate
Candace Koethe	....	assistant: Mr. Jewison
Don Levy	....	unit publicist (as Donald Levy)
Cherylanne Martin	....	production assistant
Leanne Moore	....	assistant production accountant
Bonnie Palef	....	assistant: Mr. Jewison (as Bonnie Palef Woolf)
Joe Schultz	....	caterer
Lencola Sullivan	....	production secretary
Diana Tinkley	....	assistant: Mr. Schwary
Tom Udell	....	production accountant
Kurt Wehrs	....	production assistant (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Columbia Pictures Corporation
• Caldix

Distributors

• Columbia Pictures (1984) (USA) (theatrical)
• Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) (1987) (USA) (TV) (broadcast premiere)
• Columbia TriStar Home Entertainment (2001) (Germany) (DVD)
• Columbia TriStar Home Entertainment (2001) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Columbia TriStar Home Video (2001) (France) (DVD)
• Columbia TriStar Home Video (19??) (Netherlands) (VHS)
• Columbia TriStar Home Video (2001) (Netherlands) (VHS)
• Columbia TriStar Home Video (1997) (USA) (VHS)
• Columbia TriStar Home Video (1999) (USA) (DVD) (special edition)
• Columbia TriStar (2000) (Brazil) (DVD)
• LK-TEL Vídeo (19??) (Brazil) (VHS)
• Sony Pictures Video (2003) (Japan) (VHS)

Other Companies

• Group IV Recording  recording studio
• Modern Film Effects  titles and opticals
• Reuben Cannon & Associates  casting
• Sunrise Catering  catering
• Veluzat Motion Picture Rentals  army vehicles

Runtime:

101 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Australia:M | Singapore:PG | Iceland:12 | Netherlands:6 | Argentina:13 | Finland:K-12 | Sweden:15 | UK:15 | USA:PG | West Germany:12

Filming Locations:

Clarendon, Arkansas, USA

Company:

Columbia Pictures Corporation

Trivia:

Adolph Caesar, Denzel Washington, and Larry Riley all recreated their roles from the original 1981 Lucille Lortel Off-Broadway production; when the play was revived in 2005, James McDaniel assumed Caesar's Sgt. Waters role.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: There are captain bars on Lt Byrd lapel and helmet when he encounters Sgt. Waters.

Quotes:

Private Wilkie: Is it true, sir, that when they found him, his stripes and insignia were still on the uniform?
Captain Davenport: Yes.
Private Wilkie: Something's wrong, ain't it, sir? I mean, those Klan boys, they can't stand to see us in these uniforms. They usually take the stripes and stuff off before they lynch us.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Crap Shoot: The Documentary (2007)

A must-see mystery drama inside a WWII black army base

An old movie I never saw but had heard about. It has held up very well over the two decades since it came out (1984). The DVD comments by the director are interesting: low budget, core cast came from Broadway stage version, filmed at Ft. Chafee, Arkansas, Governor Bill Clinton visited the lot, local buildings and people were heavily used. Denzel Washington is fine in an early role; Adolph Caesar (well named for his role!)is fascinating; Howard Rollins is a force. Hard to put a finger on a weak link. Much of the music and barracks scenes are improvised giving the word "ensemble" real meaning. Definitely worth a first or second look. The spontaneous celebration of the long-awaited announcement that the unit is finally going to be shipped to Europe to fight is a special and real moment--validating the men's commitments to the U.S., with all its flaws, and the army itself, which would gradually emerge as a leading force for racial integration in the country.