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Mood:
- SincereEmotionalSentimentalTouching
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Plot:
- UnderdogContests and CompetitionsCollege LifeRacismAmbitionSocietyCouple RelationsParents and Children more...
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Genres:
- DramaPeriod
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Time/Period:
- 20th Century30s
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Place:
- TexasCollegeCampus
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Praise:
- Award WinnerCritically Acclaimed
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Based on:
- BiographyBased on True Story
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Attitudes:
- SeriousRealistic
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Flag:
- ProfanitySexual ContentViolent Content
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The Great Debaters, 2007
English
USA
Profile of The Great Debaters
The Great Debaters can be described as sincere, emotional, and sentimental. The plot revolves around college life, racism, and underdogs. The main genres are drama and period. In approach, The Great Debaters is serious and realistic. It is located in Texas. It takes place in the 1930s. The Great Debaters is drawn from a biography and originally a true story. The movie has received attention for being an award winner and critically acclaimed. Note that it involves sexual content, profanity, and violent content.
Summary of The Great Debaters
IN THEATRES DECEMBER 25, 2007
Denzel Washington directs and stars in this uplifting drama based on a true story about a small East Texas all-black college in 1935 that rises to the top of the nation's debate teams in a duel against Harvard. A poet and debating coach at Wiley College, Professor Melvin Tolson (Washington) sees debating as "a blood sport" and recruits the meanest and brightest, including troubled Henry (Nate Parker), driven Samantha (Jurnee Smollet), and the 14-year-old prodigy James Farmer, Jr. (Denzel Whitaker). Oscar winner Forest Whitaker (no relation) plays Farmer's father, the initially unsupportive president of the school. There's tough training, romantic heat over the attentions of fiery Samantha (the first girl on the team), and some no holds-barred racism (including a witnessed lynching) before the big match-up against the Ivy League school, adding to the overall emotional force. Though feel-good historical competition movies like this have been done before, Washington serves up his effort as a lean, mean family dinner, with minimum fuss and maximum nutritional-educational value. Historical accuracy may be thrown to the wind more than once--Farmer is the only real student among the team, and the final debate was against USC, not Harvard--but the acting is uniformly superb. It's great to watch these kids slowly incorporate Tolson's incredible poise and intellectual rigor into their lives, and the message is as important as ever. Oprah Winfrey served as producer.
Details
| Language: | English |
| Country: | USA |
| Release date: | 11 December 2007 |
| Runtime: | 126 min |
Cast and Crew
as Dr. James Farmer Sr.
as Melvin B. Tolson
Photos
Clips
Critics Reviews
Philadelphia Inquirer
- |
- by: Carrie Rickey
Chicago Tribune
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- by: Michael Phillips
Users Reviews
- 20.March.2009
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- by: sethdellinger
- sethdellinger rated this movie
0/10
