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Great Debaters: 2-Disc Collector's Edition (The)
R1 - America - Genius Products Review written by and copyright: James Teitelbaum (15th June 2008). |
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The Film
 Denzel Washington and Forest Whitaker star with four young unknowns in this tale set in 1935. The story details the lives of the debate team from a tiny black school in rural Texas. They are living in difficult times but they are determined to prove that their intellect is equal and that they deserve respect. Washington plays a professor who also coaches the debate team. He is an intelligent, caring, compassionate man who has seen the world's good and its evils and has an endless sage wisdom. He is a stern and no nonsense taskmaster who always has the best interests of his students in mind. He has also done some time, and is involved with organizing local labor unions, for which he is labeled a commie or a socialist. Whitaker plays the pious non-nonsense father of one of the debaters, a firm and gruff man, but ultimately a gentle and kind one. Amidst the endless racial turmoil faced by southern blacks (a handy and ubiquitous background conflict no matter what time period a film takes places during), Washington's professor must deal with his past and his political issues while coaching his brilliant group of misfits (the rebel, the girl, the super-young chubby prodigy) to intellectual victory. One member quits, the rest observe a lynching, Denzel is unfairly imprisoned (again), and romances blossom and wither. Obstacles are overcome, fears are faced, debates are won, and after a crucial match is lost, the team are awarded one last chance. If it all sounds like a textbook script full of template characters, that should not be a surprise, because it plays that way too. There is nothing here that you haven't seen before, and the three acts are neatly laid out and paced just as one might expect them to be. Character reactions and lines of dialogue are almost always predictable before they occur. The sad moments and the funny moments and the dramatic moments are all lined up right where they should be. However, what the film lacks in stylistic, structural, or thematic creativity or originality is partially compensated for in the technical realm. Strong performances are delivered by the entire cast. The sets, lighting, costumes, and camerawork are all rather nice as well, even if they are at times a bit too movie-ish and not always convincing as reality. Ultimately, "The Great Debaters" is an unchallenging and by-the-book drama about a bunch of kids who, in their own little way, helped their people gain a little bit more respect in their difficult world.
Video
"The Great Debaters" is presented in the theatrical aspect ratio of 2.35:1, enhanced for widescreen televisions. The film runs 2:06:45, divided into 25 chapters. Considering the slightly long running time and the fact that there is about 45 minutes worth of bonus content on disc one, the film looks pretty good. Signs of compression are minimal, and the color palette is clean and bright.
Audio
Audio for the main feature is in English or French Dolby Digital 5.1, with optional English and Spanish subtitles. The orchestral underscore is disposable, but there is some nice folk music on the soundtrack, mainly modern recordings of period songs purposely chosen for their obscurity. These were nicely recorded, but I can't always say as much for the dialogue. At times I went for the subtitles to stick with the story.
Extras
Genius has released this film as a two-disc set. The extras include 8 featurettes, 2 music videos, 3 deleted scenes, some text peoms, theatrical trailer, bonus trailers and a booklet. Below is a closer look at these supplements broken down per disc. DISC ONE: "The Great Debaters: An Historical Perspective" featurette runs for 23 minutes 6 seconds and is hosted by Oprah Winfrey, and provides a bit of information about the real-world people whose lives are detailed in the film. Some of the actual people portrayed in the film are interviewed as are the film makers and some historians. There are 2 music videos next which are: - "That's What My Baby Likes" which runs for 3 minutes 4 seconds. - "My Soul As A Witness" which runs for 4 minutes 4 seconds. A series of 3 deleted scenes follows: - "Samantha And Henry Kiss" runs for 1 minute 35 seconds; they flirt on the steps of their school and then kiss. - "Cake?" runs for 2 minutes 33 seconds; Whitaker's character brings two of the younger boys some cake in their room, and discuses their departure. - "Sheriff At Tolson's House" runs for 44 seconds; two young men get nervous when they see a patrol car. Next is the film's original theatrical trailer that runs for 2 minutes 31 seconds. Rounding out the extras on this disc is a bonus trailers gallery that includes: - "Grace Is Gone" which runs for 2 minutes 17 seconds. - "Cassandra's Dream" which runs for 2 minutes 18 seconds. - "I'm Not there" which runs for 1 minute 9 seconds. - "The Hunting Party" which runs for 2 minutes 32 seconds. DISC TWO: Disc Two of this set is entirely made up of extras, first of which is "The Great Debaters: a Heritage of Music" featurette that runs for 11 minutes 59 seconds and discusses the assembly and production of the music in the film. The music supervisor and Washington are interviewed, and some of the musicians put in their two cents too. "Scoring the great Debaters with James Newton Howard and Peter Golub" featurette that runs for 10 minutes 45 seconds and continues the exploration of the film's music, this time focusing on the orchestral underscore. Shots of the orchestra playing in the studio are mixed with interviews with the composer and conductor. "Learning the Art: Our Young Actors Go To Debate Camp" runs for 21 minutes 53 seconds and is a featurette about how the actors were trained in the art of the debate in order to prepare for their film roles. Washington appears again, as do the actors and their debate coaches. Dr. Thomas Freeman, one of the coaches is a riot - although I think it is unintentional. Words like overblown and pompous have never been used more accurately, and yet the man is strangely endearing. "Forest Whitaker on Becoming James Farmer Sr." featurette runs for 3 minutes 59 seconds. More people involved with the film discuss Whitaker's casting. "A New Generation of Actors" featurette runs for 9 minutes 45 seconds is another short clip about the juxtaposition between the four young new actors in the film, and the rather famous Washington and Whitaker. the newcomers are interviewed about working with their elder icons. "The 1930's Wardrobe of Sharen Davis" featurette runs for 5 minutes 29 seconds and is an interview with the costume designer in which she discusses the challenges of her job "The Production Design of David J. Bomba" featurette runs for 8 minutes 57 seconds and features an interview with the designer, in which he discusses how he recreated the 1930's for this film. He name-checks famous photographers like Walker Evans and Dorthea Lange, two famous photographers of the era as references, while the producers of the film praise Bomba's work and discuss how the towns used for filming were de-modernized. "The Poetry of Melvin B. Tolson" is a text feature. The title says it all. Two long poems. Rounding out the extras is a 28-page booklet that features some liner notes and photos from the production. These features run a grand total of about 74 minutes, and while they do not provide a comprehensive overview of the making of the film, they do nicely spotlight a few selected areas of interest. It is odd that they included a 26-minute featurette and the deleted scenes on the main disc, given that the feature is over two hours long, and that disc two runs barely an hour and a quarter.
Packaging
Packaged in a 2-disc amaray case housed in a cardboard slip-case.
Overall
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