Wow, my holiday camp job has been and gone, I spent 2 months as a BT apprentice and now i'm looking ...
Wow, my holiday camp job has been and gone, I spent 2 months as a BT apprentice and now i'm looking for work again. Phew, time to pay Ciao some more attention. Hope u all missed me guys ;-p
Member since:30.03.2001
Reviews:55
Members who trust:29
I'm a huge fan of Denzel Washington from Pelican Brief to Training Day i feel he is an amazing actor and his work in this film is no exception. Based on a true story from the early 70's, Remember The Titans is all about racial intergration within a small town and the emotional rollercoaster that followed. With a number of subplots and high emotions this film works on a number of levels.
The story begins when the town of Alexandria decides to force the issue of racial intergration between the black and white communities, including the schools. The black high school and the white one are forced to merge and this includes a merger of the football teams, the focus of the film. In addition to the teams the coaching staff merge and the position of head coach is given to the black man, Coach Herman Boone (Washington) over white man Coach Bill Yoast (Will Patton - Armageddon, Gone in 60 Seconds). After small arguements the teams and the staff agree to merge together and operate as one unit and with that they head off to training camp, with all of their racial prejudices
fully intact.
It is here at the training camp that we see how Coach Boone forces the players to accept each other for what they are and ignore the colour of their skin. He seperates the players into offense and defense and decides their roomates by who they end up sitting next to. This leads to the white team captain Gerry Bertier (Ryan Hurst) and black player Julius Campbell (Wood Harris) sharing a room together. This leads to a scuffle over a poster and eventually involves the entire team. How does Coach Boone solve the in-fighting? By drilling the team as hard as he can with gruelling training and forcing them to involve themselves with one another.
Eventually the racial barriers break down between everyone and they return to the school only to find that in the 'real world' their racial prejudices re-surface because they are not accepted due to their newfound stance on the racial issue. This is especially hard on Julius & Gerry who formed a special bond with one another and the emotional tensions within this sub-plot is a great addition.
From this point the film focuses on the team and how they have to re-learn what they have forgotten from training camp. They realise that they have to come together as a team if they want any chance of winning games. It shows how friendships are forged and lost all as a result of the racial intergration as well as a superb scene where Coach Yoast gives up his spot in the local hall of fame to remain loyal to the team and not be dictated to.
Another smaller element of the film is the use of the young daughters of both Coach Yoast & Coach Boone. To me, this drives home the whole point of the film to younger viewers who can fully understand that Yoast's daughter initially dislikes both Boone & his daughter because of their colour but, comes to like both when she gets to know them.
One of the great lines in the film comes near the end from coach Yoast when he says to the team 'You've taught me to judge people by their soul, not their look' which realistically sums up the film in a nutshell.
There are a number of other recognisable actors in the film including Ethan Suplee (Evolution, American History X, Road Trip) who plays Lewis Lastik, Donald Faison (Currently starring in Channel 4's Scrubs) who plays Petey and Kip Pardue (Driven, The Rules Of Attraction) who plays Ronnie 'Sunshine' Bass. Also watch out for a small cameo by Steve Martin (Bringing Down The House, Three Amigos).
This film was directed by Boaz Yakin who's other films i have never heard of nor seen such as A Price Above Rubies & Fresh but, i found that his technique of using close ups on facial expressions, especially those of Washington & Patton, helped to stamp the point of what was being said in that scene. These close ups also helped to build the all of the main characters. Another element which may have seriously helped in making this film was the producer, Jerry Bruckheimer. With films suck as Armageddon, Pearl Harbour, Black Hawk Down and Bad Boys 1 & 2 under his belt it's no surprise this film is such a masterpiece.
Overall Remember The Titans is an extremely uplifting and positive film aimed at people of all ages. There is no profanity in the film and the only violence in the film is from pushing and shoving and the roughness from the actual game scenes. Even if you have no clue about American Football you will most probably still like this film because it focuses more of the story behind the team. With another supreb performance from Denzel Washington makes this film a very possible all-time classic. Excellent viewing choice and regularly shown on the Disney Channel on Sky.
Production Year: 1995 - Drama - Director: Ang Lee - Original Language: English - Classification: Universal - Starring: Emma Thompson, Alan Rickman, Kate Winslet, Hugh Grant, Greg Wise, Hugh Laurie, Robert Hardy
Production Year: 2004 - Drama - Director: Nick Cassavetes - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over, 12 years and over - Starring: Rachel McAdams, Ryan Gosling, Gena Rowlands
Production Year: 1995 - Drama - Director: Ang Lee - Original Language: English - Classification: Universal - Starring: Emma Thompson, Alan Rickman, Kate Winslet, Hugh Grant, Greg Wise, Hugh Laurie, Robert Hardy
Boaz Yakin'sRemember the Titansboasts only one major star (Denzel Washington), but it does ... more
have an appealing cast of fresh unknowns and a winning emphasis on substance over self-indulgent style.Set in Alexandria, Virginia in 1971, the fact-based story ...
Postage & Packaging: Free! Availability: Usually dispatched within 24 hours...
Boaz Yakin'sRemember the Titansboasts only one major star (Denzel Washington), but it does ... more
have an appealing cast of fresh unknowns and a winning emphasis on substance over self-indulgent style.Set in Alexandria, Virginia in 1971, the fact-based story ...
Postage & Packaging: £1.21 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
Based on a real-life drama, Remember The Titans is a rousing celebration of how a town ... more
torn apart by resentment, friction and mistrust comes together in triumphant harmony. After leading his team to fifteen winning seasons, football coast Bill Yoast is...
Advantages: Modern day epic, Denzel Washington Disadvantages: none
christianfilmcritic 21.01.2006 (09.02.2006)
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of Remember The Titans (DVD)
Advantages: Awesome! Soundtrack, acting, script, everything is top notch. Disadvantages: Predicatable, you laread know the outcome of the movie from the pre-release blurb.
Advantages: Great acting, great casting, a good story, tackles emotive and sensitive issues, no bad langauge and violence (apart from the football) Disadvantages: A little slow to start off with
Advantages: Modern day epic, Denzel Washington Disadvantages: none
christianfilmcritic 21.01.2006 (09.02.2006)
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of Remember The Titans (DVD)
![Remember The Titans [DVD] [2001]](http://picnica.ciao.com/uk/78537122.jpg "Remember The Titans [DVD] [2001]")
Jul 26th, 2003
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