Region 1 Genius Products (USA)
NTSC, 2.35:1 16x9 enhanced
124 minutes
Audio: DD 5.1 English, DD 5.1 French
Subtitles: Optional English SDH and Spanish
Extras: deleted scenes; The Great Debaters: An Historical perspective; music videos; trailers; The Great Debaters: A Heritage of Music; Scoring The Great Debaters; Learning the Art; Forest Whitaker on Becoming James Farmer, Sr.; A New Generation of Actors; The 1930s Wardrobe of Sharen Davis; The Production Design of David J. Bomba; The Poetry of Melvin B. Tolson
Released: 13 May 2008
slim double keepcase with cardboard slipcover
25 chapters
Denzel Washington and Forest Whitaker, like so many other actors, won Oscars for playing loudmouths. For me, Washington and Whitaker are far more impressive when they’re quiet, letting their eyes and their facial muscles convey the depths of their characters’ souls. Their pairing in The Great Debaters could’ve been a bombastic exchange of contrasting ideologies, but they graciously retreat to the background and let three very fine young performers shine in an important, inspiring presentation of the stunningly successful debaters from Wiley College during the 1930s.
Melvin B. Tolson, one of America’s best poets of the 20th Century, taught English at Wiley College. He also coached the school’s debate team to an impressive string of victories. Initially, black schools only debated black schools, but Tolson’s drive yielded debates against white schools. (Some white schools probably thought that the Wiley students would be easy prey, so they “generously” agreed to interracial debates.) The Wiley teams were so successful that they won the national championship against USC.
The Great Debaters fudges facts a bit by pitting Wiley against Harvard, though this is an understandable artistic decision. After all, Harvard is a bit more than just another academic institution; it represents what we want to see in ourselves when we think of our universities. The movie still makes the same point that Tolson wanted to make--with vigorous mental training, any youth can achieve the highest levels of intellect.
As I already wrote, Denzel Washington and Forest Whitaker anchor the movie but let the young leads carry the story. The movie’s heart and soul reside in Denzel Whitaker (no relation to either of the movie’s big stars), who plays a fourteen-year-old college freshman--too young for some of life’s experiences but more capable and more perceptive than his peers. Nate Parker is the charismatic, talented leader of the team. Parker is forceful and authoritative without venturing the over-the-top ranting that Denzel Washington and Forest Whitaker sometimes exhibit. Jurnee Smollett, whom some of you might remember as the little girl in Kasi Lemmons’s Eve’s Bayou from so many years ago, eloquently conveys the difficulties faced by black women, who were essentially double minorities in the Deep South.
The screenplay is structured along the lines of a Cinderella sports movie, and it covers familiar territory (such as a budding romance between two of the debaters). However, as Denzel Washington doesn’t dwell on the conventional tropes, the movie has a sprightly energy as it progresses from debate tryouts to debate practices to debate meets. The debate speeches are particularly well-written--and well-delivered.
Some part of me agrees with Stephen Holden of The New York Times; the movie would’ve been bolder and smarter had it shown the black students arguing in favor of policies that would’ve hindered social progress. However, The Great Debaters was designed to be an enabling experience, not one that might confuse impressionable young viewers. Besides, smart viewers will readily see the dilemma--debaters have to prepare to argue both sides of an issue as they don’t know if they’ll be on the affirmative or negative side until the last moment.
The Great Debaters would be a valuable addition to many school syllabi, and it’s definitely one of the most-uplifting movies that I’ve ever seen.
Video:
The 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen transfer is a handsome showcase for Philippe Rousselot’s ace cinematography. The movie is dominated by rich yellows and browns, and the image is very smooth pleasing to the eye. Some shots are a tad soft, though I couldn’t tell if the softness was intentional or if it was a result of downgrading from film to 480p.
Audio:
Understandably, The Great Debaters is a dialogue-driven film, so most of the important sonics emanate from the front center channel. However, the front spread is very wide, and the rears have plenty of music cheer. Bass response is also very robust courtesy of the music as well as a quasi-action sequence early in the movie.
You can also watch the movie with a DD 5.1 French dub. Optional English SDH and Spanish subtitles support the audio.
Extras:
--Disc 1--
First up are three brief deleted scenes. They’re not bad, but they wouldn’t have added much to the movie, either.
Next up is “The Great Debaters: An Historical Perspective”, which is a broad overview of the production as well as the real-life story’s historical significance.
You also get two music videos and trailers for The Great Debaters as well as other Genius/Weinstein movies.
(Disc 1 is probably identical to the single-disc release.)
--Disc 2--
“The Great Debaters: A Heritage of Music”, “Scoring The Great Debaters With James Newton Howard & Peter Golub”, and “Forest Whitaker on Becoming James Farmer, Sr.” have self-explanatory titles.
With “Learning the Art: Our Young Actors Go to Debate Camp”, we see footage of the actors learning debate tactics from college students.
“A New Generation of Actors” sings praises of the young leads.
“The 1930s Wardrobe of Sharen Davis” and “The Production Design of David J. Bomba” spotlight two aspects of the movie’s visual composition.
Finally, in “The Poetry of Melvin B. Tolson”, you can read excerpts from two of Tolson’s works.
--Miscellaneous--
In addition to a cardboard slipcover, you also get a handsome collector’s booklet.
Considering that the two-disc set sells for only $3 more than the one-disc release, getting this version is a no-brainer.
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