The Great Debaters (2007)

nothing special

Although Denzel Washington directed this capably, with a good feel for pace and timing, the script is predictable and formulaic: it's really nothing more than another flick about a teacher making a difference in the lives of disadvantaged students, something we've seen a few too many times.

The only divagation from the formula is that the students in this film actually want to learn. June 27, 2008

Awesome, Inspiring & Hopeful for today.

The Great Debaters is now on my list of great Movies! It ranks with Casablanca, To Kill A Mockingbird and White Christmas. When Professor Melvin Tolson chooses his first Wiley College Debating team it includes Samantha, Henry, James Farmer, Jr and Hamilton who wishes to be the Teacher's pet!

Since there are many excellent reviews, I will not repeat the awesome listing of great actresses & actors like Denzel Washington & Forest Whitaker & Denzel Whitaker! For my top choices of the debaters, I choose Samantha & James Farmer Jr. The young man who plays the part of Henry is a tremendous actor who makes powerful speeches for his arguments & resolutions. I am turned off by his weakness for drinking & fast moves with women!

There is a powerful contrast between white sharecroppers, who seem to be in authority with the local Sheriff and the Debaters who play the part of defenders as origins of the Civil Rights movement in the 1930's! Those first debates with other African American Colleges are soon overcome with the debates with white Oklahoma City U. and finally the climaxing debate with the Harvard's top notch debating team!

There is included as special events, some older students of Wiley College who were the original members of the first debating team! These older men & women provide quite the vivid contrast for the original debaters! Especially, the man who is portrayed by Henry, whose last name was Heights is said to be "arrogantly intellectual!"

Some of the most potent scenes are speeches from the debaters against the white college students! There is tremendous writing of those speeches quoting Gandhi, Thoreau & Du Bois! All-in-all this is one outstanding portrayal of the beginnings of the Civil Rights movement later by Matin Luther King, Jr!

Gratefully from Retired Chaplain Fred W Hood. June 26, 2008

Follows the formula

Whether the subject is sports or college debate, the same formula is applied over and over again. TGD is an ok movie but very far from being original. Denzel Washington, as always, is awesome but its not enough to carry the movie. Yes, there are some good parts but, overall, TGD is contrived and predictable. I just keep thinking: "Remember the Titians" with speeches instead of a football.

Not terrible but not recommended. June 25, 2008

"Rocky" Meets Black Forensics Program

"The Great Debaters" is an entertaining portrayal of a small black college debate team in the 1930's - Wiley College. They became the Davids who slew the white Goliaths in the art of debate. Against all odds, the team mows down opponent after opponent before its climactic contest - taking on the Harvard debate team in Cambridge.

Need I tell you how it ends? Without seeing the movie, you probably can guess. The cast is strong and the story is feel-good, but the characters are somewhat two-dimensional. White folks in particular do not come off very well, being stereotyped as either sadistic redneck crackers or smug intellectuals. Such is the portrayal in OprahLand perhaps.

The movie hearkens back to a bygone day when college debate involved reasoning and oratory; this, in stark contrast to modern college debate, which features how fast you can spit out information at 400-words per minute, incomprehensible except to the cognoscenti.

In "The Great Debaters", each black student becomes Demosthenes when he or she gets up behind the podium. Also, the Wilie team always gets the "proper" side of the debate resolution. They never have to argue AGAINST equal rights, civil disobedience or letting blacks into public universities. These awkward sides of the issue are always assigned to the white debaters in this morality tale. Funny how that works out....

Entertaining but not totally filling.
June 23, 2008

Much more than a movie about debaters

The Great Debaters is a terrific, multi-dimensional movie with layers of stories that each leave a profound impression. I can't offer a more descriptive review than amazon.com, and other customers, have already written here.

I am overly sensitive to violent scenes, and I found the lynching scene to be on the very edge of what I'm able to tolerate. The sex scenes were not blatant or gratuitous, mostly just suggested.

This is a powerful movie with important information about recent American history. I believe this movie should be required viewing for American kids in middle school. June 23, 2008

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