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The Hurricane (17-Sep-1999)
Director: Norman Jewison Writers: Armyan Bernstein; Dan Gordon From memoir: The 16th Round by Hurricane Carter Based on a book: Lazarus and the Hurricane by Sam Chaiton and Terry Swinton Music by: Christopher Young Producers: Armyan Bernstein; John Ketcham; Norman Jewison Keywords: Drama, Prison, Boxing, Bad Cops [watch trailer]
CAST | Denzel Washington | ... Rubin Carter | | | John Hannah | ... Terry | | Deborah Kara Unger | ... Lisa | | Liev Schreiber | ... Sam | | Vicellous Reon Shannon | ... Lesra | | David Paymer | ... Myron Bedlock | | Dan Hedaya | ... Della Pesca | | Harris Yulin | ... Leon Friedman | | Debbi Morgan | ... Mae Thelma | | Clancy Brown | ... Lt. Jimmy Williams | | | and | | Rod Steiger | ... Judge Sarokin | | | Chuck Cooper | ... Earl Martin | | Badja Djola | ... Mobutu | | Vincent Pastore | ... Alfred Bello | | David Lansbury | ... U.S. Court Prosecutor | | Al Waxman | ... Warden | | Garland Whitt | ... John Artis | | Beatrice Winde | ... Louise Cockersham | | Bill Raymond | ... Paterson Judge | | | Brenda Thomas Denmark | ... Alma Martin | | Marcia Bennett | ... Jean Wahl | | Mitchell Taylor, Jr. | ... Young Rubin | | Merwin Goldsmith | ... Judge Larner | | John A. MacKay | ... Man at Falls | | Donnique Privott | ... Boy at Falls | | Moynan King | ... Tina Barbieri | | Gary DeWitt Marshall | ... Nite Spot Cabbie | | John Christopher Jones | ... Reporter at Bar | | Gwendolyn Mulamba | ... Nite Spot Woman | | Richard M. Davidson | ... Paterson Detective | | George Odom | ... Big Ed | | Tonye Patano | ... Woman at Prison | | Fulvio Cecere | ... Paterson Policeman | | Phillip Jarrett | ... Soldier #1 in U.S.O. Club | | Rodney M. Jackson | ... Soldier #2 in U.S.O. Club | | Judi Embden | ... Woman in U.S.O. Club | | Terry Claybon | ... Emile Griffith | | Ben Bray | ... Joey Giardello | | Michael Justus | ... Joey Cooper | | Kenneth McGregor | ... Detective at Hospital | | Frank Proctor | ... Pittsburgh Ring Announcer | | Peter Wylie | ... Pittsburgh Referee | | David Gray | ... Pittsburgh TV Announcer | | Joe Matheson | ... Philadelphia Ring Announcer | | Bill Lake | ... Philadelphia TV Announcer | | Robin Ward | ... Reading, PA TV Announcer | | Harry Davis | ... Reading, PA Referee | | Pippa Pearthree | ... Patty Valentine | | Jean Daigle | ... Detective | | Robert Evans | ... Detective at Lafayette Bar | | Scott Gibson | ... Reporter at Banquet | | Ann Holloway | ... Cashier | | Bruce McFee | ... Prison Guard | | Conrad Bergschneider | ... Prison Guard | | Satori Shakoor | ... Prison Guard | | Zoran Radusinovic | ... Prison Guard | | Stephen Lee Wright | ... Prison Guard | | Michael Bodnar | ... Prison Guard | | Carson Manning | ... Prison Guard | | Debrah Ellen Waller | ... Prison Guard | | Richard Litt | ... Prison Guard | | Adam Large | ... Prison Guard | | Peter Graham | ... Prisoner with Camera | | George Masswohl | ... Mechanic | | Lawrence Sacco | ... New Jersey Policeman | | David Frisch | ... New Jersey Policeman | | Ralph Brown | ... Federal Court Assistant Prosecutor | | Dyron Holmes | ... Reporter | | Ryann Williams | ... Elstan Martin | | Bruce Vavrina | ... St. Joseph's Doctor | | Brenda Braxton | ... Dancer with John Artis | | Christopher Riordan | ... Jury Foreman |
REVIEWS Review by anonymous (posted on 19-Sep-2006) There are a lot of things wonderful about this film. Anyone who has seen this film without viewing the bonus features should watch it again in order to hear director Jewison explain scene deletion or selection decisions. This is like a tuition-free “master class” into the mindset of a clout-heavy big production director. Denzel Washington’s compelling, physically transformative performance (he trained for a year prior to beginning filming), validates Hollywood’s recognition of him as filmdom’s best actor. Seeing and hearing the actual Reuben Carter and the teenager who befriended him is a special treat, adding a documentary flavor. A great story of the weaknesses of the criminal justice system, but it also is a wonderful study on learning to live without bitterness. It has coarse language and adult themes with brief nudity—it’s a prison movie, for goodness sakes!—but with some helpful guidance, it is appropriate for youth over 13 years. Trivia: if you get a “Shawshank Redemption” déjà vu feeling during some prison scenes, having the same compassionate prison guard appear in both movies may be a contributing factor.
Review by Walter Frith (posted on 8-Jun-2007) Norman Jewison's
attachment to racial issues in film is hardly new for the great
director. Before 'The Hurricane', he has tackled the issue with two of
Hollywood's more under appreciated films, 'In the Heat of the Night'
and 'A Soldier's Story' (which helped Denzel Washington gain major
recognition). Neither film made the 1998 list of 100 greatest films as
selected by the American Film Institute and the latter wasn't even a
nominee in the final 400 nominees out of 40,000 American films from the
first century of film 1896-1996. In fact, from 'The Cincinnati Kid' to
'Fiddler on the Roof' to 'Moonstruck', Jewison didn't get a film on the
final 100 list and that's a travesty. As a fellow countryman from
Canada, I admire Jewison's trek to get international recognition and he
still may win an Oscar one day. But 'The Hurricane' won't earn him one.
This is an absorbing but slow moving motion picture that only has one
great performance from a cast that could have performed in top fashion
but didn't. Many films have one great performance that save them from
failure. Michael Douglas' Oscar winning performance in 1987's 'Wall
Street' (the film received no other Oscar nominations) was the only
thing that helped the film fight off charges that it was a sexist and
chauvinistic portrayal of high rollers in the financial world. The film
was also criticized for its nasty portrayal of bankers and stock
traders as all being evil, weak minded or completely greedy. Jack
Palance's Oscar win in the 1991 caper 'City Slickers' (the film
received no other Oscar nominations) was more than a career award. In
my opinion, Palance truly deserved to win but many thought it was a
year in which the Oscar then should have gone to Anthony Hopkins in the
supporting category for 'The Silence of the Lambs' (Hopkins WON in the
lead best actor category for having less than half an hour on screen in
a two hour film) and to Warren Beatty in 'Bugsy' in the leading actor
category. And finally, Marisa Tomei's performance in 1992's 'My Cousin
Vinny' earned her a best supporting actress Oscar and the film, again,
received no other Oscar nominations. At the time of this review, Denzel
Washington stands alone in this film as the only Oscar nominee. He is
nominated in the best actor category for 'The Hurricane' and stands a
good chance of winning. His courageous performance as a man standing
almost alone against the system is one that reminded me of Daniel
Day-Lewis' performance in 1993's 'In the Name of the Father' as a man
wrongly sent to prison. In 'The Hurricane' Denzel Washington portrays
Rubin 'Hurricane' Carter. In the late 1960's, he was on his way to a
glorious and successful boxing career before it ended tragically at the
satanic hands of racism. The film states that a New Jersey police
officer name Det. Vincent Della Pesca (Dan Hedaya) helped frame Carter
in a multiple murder case and sent him to prison for over 20 years
before Carter had any real chance for his case to be heard with new
evidence. Della Pesca had a run-in with Carter when Carter was a little
boy as Carter was brought in for assault (actually self defense) at
about the age of 10. It was as situation where the boy looked guilty
but was very much innocent. Carter writes a book about his trials and
tribulations and many years after his incarceration, Carter's book
about his unjust prison sentence finds its way into the hands of Lesra
Martin (Vicellous Reon Shannon), a young black teenager from Brooklyn,
New York whose parents are alcoholics and Lesra is adopted by a group
of young Canadian commune individuals from Toronto, Ontario, and is in
part, raised by them in learning how to read and write and be sent off
to college to pursue his dream of becoming an attorney. Lesra's passion
is to meet Rubin Carter face to face in prison and tell him that he
believes in his cause and offers to help fight his conviction with the
help of his Canadian pals. Their investigation sheds new light on
Carter's possible innocence and the information is presented before the
law for serious consideration. Denzel Washington does it again. He
plays a real life character as he did in his first Oscar nominated role
as Steven Biko in 1987's 'Cry Freedom' and his only other Oscar
nomination in a leading role to date is for 1992's 'Malcolm X'.
Washington lets the layers of his acting ability do the talking like
other actors such as Gene Hackman, Nicolas Cage and Tom Hanks who all
use very little if no make-up and rely on good old fashioned academics
to enhance a movie. As Rubin Carter, Washington has many points in the
film where he flat out carries the film himself. 'The Hurricane' is
long, drawn out and worth one viewing as far as I'm concerned but
Denzel Washington does his job and the film only thrives when he's on
screen and many would argue he's absent in this film a bit too much.
Still worth a marginal recommendation, however, for Washington's
amazing performance. Visit FILM FOLLOW-UP by Walter Frith
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