The Great Debaters (2007)

Director:

Denzel Washington

Writers (WGA):

Robert Eisele (screenplay)
Robert Eisele (story) ...

Release Date:

25 December 2007 (USA)

Genre:

Biography | Drama

Tagline:

When the nation was in need, he inspired them to give us hope.

Plot:

A drama based on the true story of Melvin B. Tolson, a professor at Wiley College Texas. In 1935, he inspired students to form the school's first debate team, which went on to challenge Harvard in the national championship.

Plot Keywords:

Debate | College | Team | Student | Professor

Awards:

Nominated for Golden Globe. Another 7 wins & 8 nominations

US TV Schedule:

Wed. Dec. 9

9:15 AM

SHOW

Cast

Denzel Washington	...	Melvin B. Tolson
Nate Parker	...	Henry Lowe
Jurnee Smollett	...	Samantha Booke
Denzel Whitaker	...	James Farmer Jr.
Jermaine Williams	...	Hamilton Burgess
Forest Whitaker	...	Dr. James Farmer Sr.
Gina Ravera	...	Ruth Tolson
John Heard	...	Sheriff Dozier
Kimberly Elise	...	Pearl Farmer
Devyn A. Tyler	...	Helen Farmer (as Devyn Tyler)
Trenton McClain Boyd	...	Nathaniel Farmer
Ritchie Montgomery	...	Deputy
Jackson Walker	...	Pig Owner
Tim Parati	...	Pig Farmer
Robert X. Golphin	...	Dunbar Reed

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for depiction of strong thematic material including violence and disturbing images, and for language and brief sexuality.

Runtime:

126 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | SDDS | Dolby Digital

Certification:

USA:PG-13 (certificate #44005) | Singapore:PG | Netherlands:12

Filming Locations:

Boston, Massachusetts, USA

Company:

Harpo Films

Trivia:

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

Goofs:

Errors in geography: Prairie View, Texas is nowhere near Waxahachie, Texas.

Quotes:

James Farmer Jr.: In Texas they lynch Negroes. My teammates and I saw a man strung up by his neck and set on fire. We drove through a lynch mob, pressed our faces against the floorboard. I looked at my teammates. I saw the fear in their eyes and, worse, the shame. What was this Negro's crime that he should be hung without trial in a dark forest filled with fog...

Movie Connections:

References Men in White (1934)

Soundtrack:

How Long Before I Can Change My Clothes?

You do what you have to do, so you can do what you want to do.

This wasn't about my Texas, although I am familiar with many of the topics in this film. I have been to Marshall in my travels over most of the highways in Texas, I know about Paul Quinn College and Prairie View A & M University. This wasn't even about my Daddy's Texas, as he was just a small boy at the time. It was, however, my Grandfather's Texas. he typified the characters in this film.

With Denzel Washington directing and acting, I expected an outstanding film. I was not prepared to be so emotionally taken in that I left the theater wiping tears from eyes. This was a powerful statement about the differences in American. Differences that were typified by Franklin Roosevelt's affirmative action program for whites - the New Deal; differences that would be repeated twenty years later after WWII when the whites again received affirmative action in the form of the GI Bill. Robert Eisele's story really brought home the pain and deprivation of being Black in America, and how some could overcome that deprivation with the right help, but could never overcome the pain.

Besides Washington, there were outstanding performances by Forest Whitaker, Nate Parker, Jurnee Smollett, and Denzel Whitaker, as a 14-year-old in college.

Tears in my eyes, I will long remember this film as one of the best of the year and of many years.