Product Description: Fighter Rubin \""Hurricane\"" Carter is convicted of murder at the height of his boxing career and after 20 years in prison, four people go to extraordinary lengths to prove his innocence. Genre: Feature Film-Drama Rating: R Release Date: 28-MAR-2006 Media Type: DVD
Amazon.com essential video: In his direction of The Hurricane, veteran filmmaker Norman Jewison understands that slavish loyalty to factual detail is no guarantee of compelling screen biography. In telling the story of boxer Rubin "Hurricane" Carter--who was wrongly convicted of murder in 1967 and spent nearly two decades in jail--Jewison and his screenwriters compress time, combine characters, and rearrange events with a nonchalance that would be galling if they didn't remain honest to the core truth of Carter's ordeal. Because of that emotional integrity--and because Denzel Washington brings total conviction to his title role--The Hurricane rises above the confines of biographical fidelity to embrace higher values of courage, compassion, and ultimate justice.
Jewison is woefully heavy-handed in his treatment of the fictionalized, absurdly villainous detective (Dan Hedaya) who zealously plots to keep Carter in jail, and anyone familiar with Carter's story may object to the film's simplified account. But what matters here is the shining star of hope that is Lesra (Vicellous Reon Shannon), the Brooklyn teenager who rejuvenates Carter's legal battle in the early 1980s. This surrogate father-son relationship is what revives Carter's hope for family and future, and makes The Hurricane so engrossing and emotionally effective. Lesra's real-life Canadian mentors are compressed from nine characters to three, but their efforts are superbly dramatized, and Jewison hits the small but important grace notes that make a good film even better. By its final scenes, The Hurricane conveys the rich, rewarding satisfaction of surviving a difficult but valuable journey of mind, body, and soul. --Jeff Shannon
Amazon.com: In his direction of The Hurricane, veteran filmmaker Norman Jewison understands that slavish loyalty to factual detail is no guarantee of compelling screen biography. In telling the story of boxer Rubin "Hurricane" Carter--who was wrongly convicted of murder in 1967 and spent nearly two decades in jail--Jewison and his screenwriters compress time, combine characters, and rearrange events with a nonchalance that would be galling if they didn't remain honest to the core truth of Carter's ordeal. Because of that emotional integrity--and because Denzel Washington brings total conviction to his title role--The Hurricane rises above the confines of biographical fidelity to embrace higher values of courage, compassion, and ultimate justice.
Jewison is woefully heavy-handed in his treatment of the fictionalized, absurdly villainous detective (Dan Hedaya) who zealously plots to keep Carter in jail, and anyone familiar with Carter's story may object to the film's simplified account. But what matters here is the shining star of hope that is Lesra (Vicellous Reon Shannon), the Brooklyn teenager who rejuvenates Carter's legal battle in the early 1980s. This surrogate father-son relationship is what revives Carter's hope for family and future, and makes The Hurricane so engrossing and emotionally effective. Lesra's real-life Canadian mentors are compressed from nine characters to three, but their efforts are superbly dramatized, and Jewison hits the small but important grace notes that make a good film even better. By its final scenes, The Hurricane conveys the rich, rewarding satisfaction of surviving a difficult but valuable journey of mind, body, and soul. --Jeff Shannon
The Hurricane {HD DVD} I saw this movie when first released and since I'm a Boxing fan & book main events like the Boxing on my satellite TV had to get The Hurricane for my collection with a great performance by Denzel Washington Recommended .
This Is NOT The Story Of The Hurricane In June 1966, two men entered a bar and grill in Paterson, New Jersey and opened fire. Two people were killed and one was to die later of injuries. A fourth victim survived.
Eventually arrested for the murders were Rubin "Hurricane" Carter and a friend. Carter was a one-time contender for middle-weight title whose career was on the decline. He had an extensive criminal record.
Carter was tried for murder in 1967 and found guilty. The New Jersey Supreme Court reversed his conviction, and he was put on trial again in 1973. The jury (which had two blacks) found him guilty within a matter of hours. The New Jersey Supreme Court upheld the conviction.
In 1988, the federal Court of Appeals affirmed a decision by the District Court that prosecutors had withheld material evidence. New Jersey decided not to try Carter again, believing that a good case couldn't be made after so many years.
Contrary to what Carter and his apologists now say, he was never found innocent or exonerated of the murders.
The prosecution of Carter was not the strongest murder case brought in New Jersey in 1967 or 1973, but there was ample evidence to support a conviction beyond a reasonable doubt, as even the New Jersey Supreme Court (not known for its conservatism) held.
This brings me to "Hurricane." Even by Hollywood standards, the movie takes incredible license with the facts, not only with the trial but also Carter's life.
The production values are excellent and Denzel Washington's performance is outstanding. It does drag at times.
For more information on the case against Carter and this movie's misrepresentations, see Cal Deal's web site.
The Hurricane: A failed docudrama but a successful movie Rubin 'Hurricane' Carter had been a nonstop hurricane in the racist world of white police, disrupting the white police for more than 20 years. The Hurricane, directed by Norman Jewison in 1999, was a well made docudrama that was based on Carter's autobiography, 'The 16th Round', which was published in 1974. It was also based upon a book, 'Lazarus and the Hurricane', written by Chaiton and Swinton's, Carter's Canadian friends, published in 1991. This film, or a docudrama, tells the story of Rubin 'Hurricane' Carter, an African-American middle-weight boxer. Rubin Carter spent quite a troubled youth, mostly in prison, but he made it through to become a champion. However, Rubin Carter was accused of a murder, in 1966, and was convicted to three life prison terms. He tried very hard to prove his innocence, but his efforts were no good for 19 years. In November 8, 1985, Rubin Carter had another trial and finally won with the help of an African American boy and his Canadian friends, who read the autobiography written by Carter. The moive, Hurricane, is a successful Hollywood film. The different scenes of the movies combine together and tells a great story of an unfortunate black boxer. However, the movie does not do a good job on accurately conveying the truth of the Rubin Carter case. It misses some important information of the case and it does not present other cases, which might have connections with the Rubin Carter case, that has also involved racism. The movie is very well made. Rubin Carter is played by Denzel Washington, and he delivers Carter to the audience in a way that helps the audience to feel the character. This is shown especially in a scene where Carter is put in a cell for 90 days after he gets arrested as a 1966 murder. Denzel Washington performs Carter in three different moods, including anger, fear, and hopelessness. The movie itself is hightly praiseworthy with actors' realistic and excellent acting. The movie goes back and forth in time. The very first scene is about boxing championship tournament that happened in 1963. Then it shows the scene in Trenton State Prison in 1973 with Carter being mad at the news of the police's search of his cell without particular reasons. The scene changes between these two events twice and then comes the key incident of the movie, which is the murder at the Lafayette Bar and Grill in Paterson, New Jersey. This raises the audience an interest of what happens to the main character, since it requires the audience to see the whole movie to get a sense of what the beginning scenes are all about. The movie does not show all of Carter's early lives through himself but through another person named Lesra, an African American boy studying in Canada. Lesra reads Carter's autobiography and decides to meet Carter in prison. Carter's early life, including the reason why he goes to the Jamesburg State Home for Boys as a 12 year-old boy, his love life, and his life as a boxer, is shown as flashbacks with Denzel Washington's narrations. This is a time saving technique, because two different stories are told at the same time, the story of Carter and Lesra. It also shows the difference between Lesra and Rubin effectively; Rubin's life is full of hardships and troubles, but Lesra has a gifted life as an African American in Canada. The movie does not have enough information of Rubin Carter case. The name, Leroy Holloway, is never mentioned in the movie, but he is considered as a person to be deeply related to the case. He was an African American owner of the Waltz Inn in Paterson. He was murdered by a white man, who had sold the Walztz Inn to Holloway, came to Holloway and murdered him because Holloway had been behind his payments. This incident only happened eight hours before the murder at 2:30 a.m. that Rubin Carter was wrongly accused of. The police assumed that it was hightly possible that the black men might had committed the second murder for the revenge. The movie does not show the whilte police's clear reasons for Carter's arrest, but rather shows the police's act as racist. In actual history, the police had enough evidence to support their arrest of Rubin. They not only faked some of the testimony, but also found some weapons, which looked similar to the actual weapons that were used in the murder, in Rubin's car. Although the film is not perfect as a docudrama, it is a successful Hollywood movie. The movie uses the historical facts well enough to let the audience not being aware of the incident's historical accuracy. All the scenes and the acting blend very well to produce a one great piece of art. The Hurricane could have been a great docudrama, but its failure as a docudrama makes it a praiseworthy film.
The Hurricane The Hurricane: Entertainment Purposes Only
Haven't we learnt that there are always two sides to a story? Norman Jewison's film, The Hurricane; which was released in 1999 is a story that attempts to explain and depict the story of Rubin "Hurricane" Carter. It fails miserably on this account but superb, indelible acting from the movie's star - Denzel Washington - who plays Rubin Carter, saves this film from being a complete tragedy. Set in 1966 and encapsulating nearly twenty years of Carter's life, The Hurricane is based upon the trials and conviction of Rubin Carter and his accomplice John Artis for the alleged murder of three people at a bar in New Jersey in 1966. Jewison draws upon Rubin Carter's autobiography The 16th round and Sam Chaiton's Lazarus and the Hurricane. Screenplay is a combination of historical quotes, and fictionalized story. As director Jewison has done with his previous films, Hurricane's underlying theme is that of racial injustice, and the wrongful imprisonment of Rubin Carter. Historically speaking, the trials of Rubin Carter sparked a great deal of controversy regarding racial injustice, but Jewison presents an entirely lopsided view and inevitably simplifies the plot. The simplification that takes place ignores crucial details, presenting a movie very different from history. One pitfall Jewison unnecessarily fell into was its glorification of actor Denzel's character - Carter. Carter is portrayed as an innocent boxer; the film even suggests that a white racist cop is targeting him. In reality and history, Carter was arrested because a witness identified the vehicle and the police found matching caliber weapons in the Carter's car. Jewison also left out how Carter had been in jail for four years previously due to a mugging. Jewison irresponsibly paints Carter as a simplified model of the actual Rubin `Hurricane' Carter which strengthens Jewison's overall theme of racial injustice but weakens the movie in terms of its historical accuracy. Secondly, Jewison exaggerates the racial discrimination and injustice. In opening scenes, clips of cops attacking African American protesters, a racist cop, Carter losing a fight because of racist judges, and an all-white racist jury depict Jewison's view of discrimination. Reality check? The fight against Giardello's win was legitimate according to most of the press and the jury at his trials underwent racial bias tests before being accepted. Lastly, Jewison brings back thoughts of the film Burning Mississippi, and commits the same mistake of glorifying the wrong heroes. Similar to how the FBI was depicted as saviors in Burning Mississippi, Jewison exalts the Canadians and Lesra as the heroes who attempt to rescue Carter. These are not the true heroes though. As NYT reporter -Selwyn Raab - wrote with the release of Hurricane "While glorifying the Canadians, the film plays down the heroic efforts of the lawyers whose strategy finally won the day for Mr. Carter. Overall the film is plagued with historical inaccuracies due to the oversimplification of a more complex issue. With all that said, Denzel Washington, in his Oscar nominated role, performs extraordinarily well. Denzel's emotionally powerful performance encapsulates the viewer into his struggles of hope and despair. Torn between these two conflicting emotions, Denzel's most powerful scene is when he is sent to solitary confinement - termed the "hole" for 90 days. Although this scene is criticized as never actually occurring, Jewison must be given acclaim for such a powerful and riveting scene that provides for a more coherent and better movie. In this scene, Denzel undergoes a fierce mental struggle, in which he is torn between two conflicting personalities - one violent, one more conscious - something similar to the angel and the devil cartoon interpretations we're so familiar with. Denzel struggles to choose, and he ends up breaking down and crying to end the scene. Coupled with "in-your-face" camera angles, alternating between his two personalities, this scene at the very least will make everyone in the audience silent. It is a real shame that Denzel did not win the Oscar for Best Actor in Leading Role. Credit to Jewison must be given for his cinematography, which was captivating and was superb during the gripping scenes such like the "hole" scene. "In your face" camera shots worked well to allow audience members to feel more involved in the film rather than a sort of bystander. Along with Denzel's acting and decent acting from other cast members, Hurricane is a brilliant film (not a docudrama). What Jewison calls his best film may very well be called Denzel's best film instead. Denzel completely ran away with Hurricane, leaving a struggling film trudging behind in a convoluted mix of fact and fiction. Alone, Denzel accomplishes an incredible feat of making an otherwise bad movie good, leaving the audience in astonishment at the end. Nonetheless, a good film to watch for entertainment purposes, and if you want to see a remarkable performance by Denzel Washington. Let me say no more.
The Hurricane: More Movie Than History "Oh I'll always be the `Hurricane'", and a hurricane is beautiful." The Hurricane, starring Denzel Washington and directed by Norman Jewison, was released on March 16, 2000 in Hong Kong. The movie tells the story of Rubin `Hurricane' Carter, a world famous African-American boxer convicted for the murder of three whites in Patterson, New Jersey. The antagonist is Della Pesca, played by Dan Hedaya, a racist white detective out to get Rubin Carter. During the summer of 1966, two black men entered a bar and murdered three white men. Rubin Carter and John Artis were arrested and convicted. After nineteen years in prison, Rubin Carter was freed by Judge Lee Sarokin under the ruling that "the prosecution had appealed to racism over reason" in 1985. As a movie, The Hurricane is brilliant. It keeps the audience interested and builds empathy for Rubin Carter as the film progresses. The intensity increases at the right moments, such as when Carter calls the Canadians and tells them that he "can't do it anymore", and is ready to give up on his freedom. The acting is superb with Denzel Washing, the perfect choice for the role of Rubin Carter. He displays the character's emotions and dignity colorfully and effectively. One scene that will be etched forever in the audience's mind is the speech Carter gave the judge before the decision is made to free Carter. Although this speech was fictional, the words "Don't turn away from the truth. Don't turn away from your conscience. Please, don't ignore the law. No, embrace that higher principle for which the law was meant to serve: justice - that's all I ask, Your Honor - justice" sends shivers down the audience's spine. Another scene where Denzel Washington manages to show the dignity Carter held is when he refuses to take a shower in order to avoid wearing a prisoner's uniform. The movie is presented in such a way that the audience will always side with Rubin Carter. As a docudrama, The Hurricane is lacking in historical evidence. There are many scenes in the movie that deviate from what actually happened. For example, in the movie, Officer Della Pesca arrests John Artis and Rubin Carter without extensive evidence right away. In reality, it was several months before they were arrested because the police were building a case. They found two bullet shells in Carter's car. Artis and Carter's alibis also didn't match up: Carter claimed that he was leaving his house at 10:00 pm while Artis said that he was arriving at Club La Petit with Carter at 10:00 pm. Some evidence against Carter is completely left out of the movie, such as the fact that Carter failed a lie detector test during his first trial. The night before his second trial, Carter was given an offer: Take a second lie detector test, pass it, and the charges would be dropped. Carter refused, raising the question why, when he could have been freed easily. At the end of the film, Rubin Carter is exonerated, contrary to reality. The actual ruling was that "the prosecution erred in advancing a motive theory not supported by the evidence" (Capitalism Magazine p. 3). Furthermore, in the movie, Carter says that his first two trials had a jury of all whites. Yet, in reality, the jury of the second trial had two black people. In the movie, Officer Della Pesca, real name Vincent DeSimone, is portrayed as a racist who is determined to put Carter in prison. In reality, Vincent DeSimone was the opposite of his portrayal in the film: he was religious and didn't swear. He was not a racist. DeSimone also died many years prior to the release of Rubin Carter, so the last scene in the movie where Della Pesca frowns is complete dramatic license. In order to create the empathy felt for Carter in the movie, it is understandable for the filmmakers to write up scenes and alter the facts. The Hurricane sends a powerful message about racism and corruption in the American legal system, but does not completely qualify to be a docudrama. These fabrications detract from the true story, because they make the audience believe that Carter is innocent. When the audience hears the true story and all the lies by Carter, they will still believe that he is the innocent man of considerable dignity as portrayed in the movie. In docudramas, some amount of dramatic license must be taken, otherwise they become documentaries. In the case of The Hurricane however, there seems to have been too much dramatic license.
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