The Great Debaters

Infobox Film
name = The Great Debaters


caption = Theatrical release poster
website = http://www.thegreatdebatersmovie.com/
amg_id = 1:394999~T0
imdb_id = 427309
writer = Robert Eisele
starring = Denzel Washington
Forest Whitaker
Nate Parker
Jurnee Smollett
Denzel Washington
Kimberly Elise
Gina Ravera
director = Denzel Washington
cinematography = Philippe Rousselot
producer = Oprah Winfrey
Denzel Washington
Joe Roth
Kate Forte
David Crockett
Todd Black
Molly Allen
editing = Hughes Winborne
distributor = Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (US)
The Weinstein Company (worldwide)
released = December 25 2007
runtime = 2 hrs. 1 min.
country = USA
language = English
budget = $15 million
music =
awards =
tagline = |

"The Great Debaters" is a 2007 film directed by and starring two-time Academy Award winner Denzel Washington [http://www.thegreatdebatersmovie.com/site.html The Great Debaters - Official Site ] ] and produced by Oprah Winfrey and her production company, Harpo Productions. It is based on an article written about the Wiley College debate team by Tony Scherman for the 1997 Spring issue of "American Legacy". [ [http://www.blacknews.com/pr/americanlegacy701.html BlackNews.com - American Legacy Magazine's Story The Great Debaters Turns from Pages to the Big Screen Directed By and Starring Denzel Washington and Produced By Oprah Winfrey ] ] .

The film co-stars Forest Whitaker [Fleming, Michael (2007). [http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117962866.html "Washington, Whitaker team up,"] "Variety" Apr. 11, 2007. Retrieved December 16, 2007.] , Kimberly Elise, Denzel Whitaker [http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1091701/. Retrieved January 6, 2008.] , Nate Parker [Garrett, Diane (2007). [http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117966206.html "Elise, Parker join Debaters,"] "Variety" Jun. 3, 2007. Retrieved December 16, 2007.] , Gina Ravera, and Jurnee Smollett. The screenplay was written by Robert Eisele. [Harris, Dana and Brodesser, Claude (2004). [http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117911169.html "Back-to-back helming: Washington to take 2 gigs,"] "Variety" Sep. 29, 2004. Retrieved December 16, 2007.] The film was released in theaters on December 25, 2007.

Plot

The film, 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, the Wiley team eventually succeeds to the point where they are able to debate Harvard University.

The movie also explores the social of Texas during the Great Depression including not only the day-to-day insults and slights African Americans endured, 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 Bell 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." [" [http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/5398684.html Great Debater Overcame Odds to Bust Barriers] ." "Houston Chronicle", December 22, 2007] Melvin B. Tolson also happens to be a major African American poet whose papers are housed at the Library of Congress.

The key dialog line, used several times, is a famous paraphrase of Augustine of Hippo (354-430): "An unjust law is no law at all." [ [http://www.iep.utm.edu/n/natlaw.htm Natural Law [Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy ] ] Another major line, repeated in slightly different versions according to context, concerns doing what you "have to do" in order that we "can do" what we "want to do." In all instances, these vital lines are spoken by the James L. Farmer, Sr. or by James L. Farmer, Jr. characters.

Historical background and differences

* The film depicts the Wiley Debate team beating Harvard College in the '30s. 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. [cite web|url=http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/05/education/05wiley.html |title=For Struggling Black College, Hopes of a Revival |accessdate=2007-12-05|date=2007-12-05 |publisher=NYTimes] According to Robert Eisele: "In that era, there was much at stake when a black college debated any white school, particularly one with the stature of Harvard. We used Harvard to demonstrate the heights they achieved." [cite web|url=http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071224/REVIEWS/712240301/1023 |title=The Great Debaters |accessdate=2008-06-29|date=2007-12-24 |publisher=Roger Ebert]

*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." [" [http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/05/education/05wiley.html For Struggling Black College, Hopes of a Revival] ." "New York Times", December 5, 2007.]

Cast

*Denzel Washington ... Melvin B. Tolson
*Forest Whitaker ... James L. Farmer, Sr.
*Nate Parker ... Henry Lowe
*Denzel Whitaker ... James L. Farmer, Jr.
*Jurnee Smollett ... Samantha Booke
*Jermaine Williams ... Hamilton Burgess
*Gina Ravera ... Ruth Tolson
*John Heard ... Sheriff Dozier
*Kimberly Elise ... Pearl Farmer
*Jackson Walker ... Pig farmer
*Justice Leak ... Harland Osbourne
*Robert X. Golphin... Dunbar Reed

Production

The film was the first since 1979 to be allowed to film on Harvard's campus. [ [http://www.thecrimson.com/article.aspx?ref=519372 The Harvard Crimson :: News :: New Denzel Flick Films In Sanders ] ]

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").

Reception

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 surpassing its budget of $15 million. The movie was released to DVD & Home Video on April 29, 2008.

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.cite web|url=http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/great_debaters/ |title=The Great Debaters - Rotten Tomatoes |accessdate=2008-01-20 |date=2007-12-24 |publisher=Rotten Tomatoes] Metacritic reported the film had an average score of 65 out of 100, based on 32 reviews. [cite web|url=http://www.metacritic.com/film/titles/greatdebaters |title=Great Debaters, The (2007): Reviews |accessdate=2008-01-05 |publisher=Metacritic]

Carrie Rickey of the "The Philadelphia Inquirer" named it the 5th best film of 2007cite web|url=http://www.metacritic.com/film/awards/2007/toptens.shtml |title=Metacritic: 2007 Film Critic Top Ten Lists |accessdate=2008-01-05 |publisher=Metacritic] and Roger Ebert of the "Chicago Sun-Times" named it the 9th best film of 2007. [cite web|url=http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071220/COMMENTARY/176124809 |title=The year's ten Best films and other shenanigans |accessdate=2008-01-05 |author=Roger Ebert |date=2007-12-20 |work=Chicago Sun-Times]

Many critics have criticized the film for "playing it safe." [http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/great_debaters/?critic=columns&sortby=rotten&name_order=asc&view=#mo The Great Debaters Movie Reviews, Pictures - Rotten Tomatoes ] ] John Monaghan of 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."

Awards and nominations

Nominations:
*65th Golden Globe Awards"
**Best Motion Picture - Dramacite web|url=http://www.goldenglobes.org/news/id/81 |title=HOLLYWOOD FOREIGN PRESS ASSOCIATION 2008 GOLDEN GLOBE AWARDS FOR THE YEAR ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2007 |accessdate=2007-12-17 |date=2007-12-13 |publisher=goldenglobes.org]

*Image Awards
**Outstanding Motion Picture (Winner)
**Outstanding Actor in a Motion Picture: Denzel Washington (Winner)
**Outstanding Actress in a Motion Picture: Jurnee Smollett (Winner)
**Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture: Forest Whitaker, Nate Parker, Denzel Whitaker (winner)
**Outstanding Director in a Motion Picture: Denzel Washington

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. [ [http://www.thegreatdebaters.org/takeaction Take Action] ] [ [http://www.naudl.org/ National Association for the Urban Debate Leagues] ] Cities of focus included Denver, Los Angeles, Philadelphia and San Francisco.

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. [cite web|url=http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071219/ap_en_ce/people_denzel_washington |title=Washington gives $1M to Wiley College |accessdate=2007-12-24 |date=2007-12-24 |publisher=Yahoo]

DVD release

"The Great Debaters" was released on DVD May 13, 2008 on 1-disc and 2-disc editions. In the 2-disc edition, the first disc includes no extra material, but the second disc includes:
*Commentary
*Documentary
*Deleted scenes
*Featurettes
*Still gallery

oundtrack

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. [ [http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/extendedplay/2007/11/the-great-debat.html 'Great Debaters' gets soundtrack] ]

References

External links

* [http://www.thegreatdebatersmovie.com/ Official website] (contains trailer)
*imdb title|id=427309|title=The Great Debaters
*rotten-tomatoes|id=great_debaters|title=The Great Debaters
*metacritic film|id=greatdebaters|title=The Great Debaters
*mojo title|id=GreatDebaters|title=The Great Debaters
*amg movie|id=1:394999|title=The Great Debaters
* [http://www.americanlegacymag.com/debaters.pdf Original article from "American Legacy" magazine about Melvin Tolson's Wiley College debate team]
* [http://americanrhetoric.com/moviespeechess-z.htm Text, Audio, Video of the Debates from the Movie] at AmericanRhetoric.com