...an old-fashioned, feel-good film..
VIDEO:
The video is presented in anamorphic widescreen with an aspect ratio of 2.35:1. This is a great transfer as expected from such a recent release. The colors runs towards earthy tones to play up the period.
AUDIO:
The audio is presented in Dolby Digital 5.1 with an alternate track dubbed in French which is also in 5.1. Obviously, this is a dialogue heavy film. Each line comes in crisp and clear.
FILM VALUE:
"Great Debaters" is available in a single disc edition and this 2-disc collector´s edition. Disc 1 contains the following extras:
The Great Debaters: An Historical Perspective (23:06) begins with an introduction from Producer Oprah Winfrey and features interviews with the cast and crew along with interviews from actual members of the Wiley Debate Team. Among those interviewed are Henrietta Bell Wells, upon whom the character of Samantha Booke was loosely based on, and Melvin Tolson´s son, Dr. Melvin Tolson Jr.
Rounding out Disc 1 are music videos for the songs "That´s What My Baby Likes" and "My Soul is a Witness", the film´s theatrical trailer and trailers for other Genius/Weinstein releases such as "Cassandra´s Dream", "I´m Not There", and "The Hunting Party."
Plug in the second disc and you´ll find:
The Great Debaters: A Heritage of Music (11:59) is a featurette focused on the film´s soundtrack where the filmmakers worked with an assortment of recording artists to capture the authentic sounds of the time through jazz, blues, gospel, etc.
Scoring The Great Debaters with James Newton Howard & Peter Golub (10:45) follows Denzel Washington collaborating with the composers to create the film´s score. We get talking head interviews along with footage from inside the recording studio.
Learning the Art: Our Young Actors Go to Debate Camp (21:53) elaborates on the debate camps which prepared and trained the film´s cast for their roles.
Forest Whitaker On Becoming James Farmer, Sr. (3:58) is a short featurette as the cast and crew talk about Forest Whitaker coming on board the project and what it was like working with him. Of course, they all say it was great.
A New Generation of Actors (9:45) focuses on the casting of the young actors and how they prepared for their roles which were based on real people.
The 1930´s Wardrobe of Sharon Davis (5:28) is a featurette about the costume design. Davis discusses putting together the outfits for the main characters along with gathering clothing from vintage stores to dress background characters.
The Production Design of David J. Bomba (8:57) takes a look at the work to create an authentic representation of the 1930´s.
The Poetry of Melvin B. Tolson is a text-based extra allowing you to read two of Tolson´s poems, Dark Symphony and LAMBDA.
FILM VALUE:
"The Great Debaters" is part inspirational teacher story and part underdog sports film. I almost had bad flashbacks to "Dead Poets Society" when Washington entered the scene and stood on top of his desk. Thankfully, he didn´t lead the class into a reciting of "O, captain, my captain." As for the latter, "Debaters" does follow the standard formula of the team coming together, embarking on a win streak, facing insurmountable odds, then rallying back to score a victory in the final game. Even if you don´t know anything about the Wiley debate team, it´s obvious they´ll win in the grand finale. That´s not an indictment against the movie. "The Great Debaters" is well-written with a cast of talented actors that rises above any clichés. It´s an old-fashioned, feel-good film.
The video is presented in anamorphic widescreen with an aspect ratio of 2.35:1. This is a great transfer as expected from such a recent release. The colors runs towards earthy tones to play up the period.
AUDIO:
The audio is presented in Dolby Digital 5.1 with an alternate track dubbed in French which is also in 5.1. Obviously, this is a dialogue heavy film. Each line comes in crisp and clear.
FILM VALUE:
"Great Debaters" is available in a single disc edition and this 2-disc collector´s edition. Disc 1 contains the following extras:
The Great Debaters: An Historical Perspective (23:06) begins with an introduction from Producer Oprah Winfrey and features interviews with the cast and crew along with interviews from actual members of the Wiley Debate Team. Among those interviewed are Henrietta Bell Wells, upon whom the character of Samantha Booke was loosely based on, and Melvin Tolson´s son, Dr. Melvin Tolson Jr.
Rounding out Disc 1 are music videos for the songs "That´s What My Baby Likes" and "My Soul is a Witness", the film´s theatrical trailer and trailers for other Genius/Weinstein releases such as "Cassandra´s Dream", "I´m Not There", and "The Hunting Party."
Plug in the second disc and you´ll find:
The Great Debaters: A Heritage of Music (11:59) is a featurette focused on the film´s soundtrack where the filmmakers worked with an assortment of recording artists to capture the authentic sounds of the time through jazz, blues, gospel, etc.
Scoring The Great Debaters with James Newton Howard & Peter Golub (10:45) follows Denzel Washington collaborating with the composers to create the film´s score. We get talking head interviews along with footage from inside the recording studio.
Learning the Art: Our Young Actors Go to Debate Camp (21:53) elaborates on the debate camps which prepared and trained the film´s cast for their roles.
Forest Whitaker On Becoming James Farmer, Sr. (3:58) is a short featurette as the cast and crew talk about Forest Whitaker coming on board the project and what it was like working with him. Of course, they all say it was great.
A New Generation of Actors (9:45) focuses on the casting of the young actors and how they prepared for their roles which were based on real people.
The 1930´s Wardrobe of Sharon Davis (5:28) is a featurette about the costume design. Davis discusses putting together the outfits for the main characters along with gathering clothing from vintage stores to dress background characters.
The Production Design of David J. Bomba (8:57) takes a look at the work to create an authentic representation of the 1930´s.
The Poetry of Melvin B. Tolson is a text-based extra allowing you to read two of Tolson´s poems, Dark Symphony and LAMBDA.
FILM VALUE:
"The Great Debaters" is part inspirational teacher story and part underdog sports film. I almost had bad flashbacks to "Dead Poets Society" when Washington entered the scene and stood on top of his desk. Thankfully, he didn´t lead the class into a reciting of "O, captain, my captain." As for the latter, "Debaters" does follow the standard formula of the team coming together, embarking on a win streak, facing insurmountable odds, then rallying back to score a victory in the final game. Even if you don´t know anything about the Wiley debate team, it´s obvious they´ll win in the grand finale. That´s not an indictment against the movie. "The Great Debaters" is well-written with a cast of talented actors that rises above any clichés. It´s an old-fashioned, feel-good film.
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[release]23600[/release]