The Great Debaters

Review By: Rocco Passafuime
RoccoPassafuime@TheCinemaSource.com

The civil rights era has become one of the most profound turning points in American history. However, there are so many little stepping stones to that pivotal period that often get overlooked in the panorama of history. One of them is proudly portrayed in the Oprah Winfrey-produced, Denzel Washington-helmed The Great Debaters, now available on DVD.

In 1935 Marshall, TX, open segregation between blacks and whites are wildly rampant, particularly in the field of education. At the all-black Wiley College, professor Melvin B. Tolson (Denzel Washington) has assembled four potential students to be a part of his debate team.

They include the fairly undisciplined Henry Lowe (Nate Parker), Hamilton Burgess (Jermaine Williams), the son of a politically conservative father; Samantha Booke (Jurnee Smollett), the team's first female, and 14-year-old child prodigy James Farmer Jr. (Denzel Whitaker), whose strict father (Forest Whitaker), the school's theology professor.

They soon rise above the ranks, even winning against the against the all-white Oklahoma State City University, leading to the golden opportunity to debate against prestigious Harvard University, the title defenders, in the National Championships. However, the team’s chances are threatened by numerous personal problems including Henry’s budding relationship with Samantha and his subsequent drinking and womanizing, James Jr.’s struggles to stand tall against his father, and Tolson’s involvement in political activism in the integration of Southern farmers and sharecroppers into a union.

The Great Debaters is a unique and fairly overlooked story in the history of the civil rights movement. It benefits from a talented cast, particularly great performances from the always exquisite Denzel Washington and Forest Whitaker.

The story strives hard to dramatically connect with a wide audience and certainly hits its high note with a rousing climax at the Championships. However, it overreaches at times and as a result, it’s cluttered with too many subplots that ultimately spread the film a little thin.

The DVD’s picture quality is in the 2:35:1 anamorphic widescreen aspect ratio, with the sound quality in Dolby Digital Surround 5.1. The DVD is packed with plenty of special features spanning over two discs.

Disc 1 begins with three deleted scenes , as well as the featurette “The Great Debaters: A Historical Perspective”, which features interviews with the cast and crew, as well as the real-life professor and debate team the film’s story is based on. Rounding out disc 1 are music videos for the songs “That’s What My Baby Likes” and “My Soul Is A Witness”.

Disc 2 begins with the featurette “The Great Debaters: A Heritage Of Music” which focuses on the numerous songs played in the film. “Scoring The Great Debaters with James Newton Howard and Peter Golub” interviews the men who scored the film.

“Learning the Art: Our Young Actors Go to Debate Camp” is a featurette that focuses on how the young cast learned how to portray eloquent debaters on screen. “A New Generation of Actors” interviews stars Denzel Washington, Nate Parker, and Jurnee Smollett, while “Forest Whitaker on Being James Farmer Sr.” focuses on ...