Get on the Bus (1996)

User Rating:

6.7/10   

Director:

Spike Lee

Writer (WGA):

Reggie Rock Bythewood (written by)

Release Date:

16 October 1996 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | History

Tagline:

On October 16, 1996, the one year anniversary of the Million Man March, Spike Lee invites you to lift your head, raise your voice, and...get on the bus.

Plot:

Get on the Bus follows several Black men on a cross country bus trip to the Million Man March. On the...

Plot Keywords:

Bus | Million Man March | Political | Father Son Relationship | Racial Slur

Awards:

2 wins & 5 nominations

Cast

Richard Belzer	...	Rick
De'aundre Bonds	...	Junior, aka 'Smooth'
Andre Braugher	...	Flip
Thomas Jefferson Byrd	...	Evan Thomas Sr.
Gabriel Casseus	...	Jamal
Albert Hall	...	Craig
Hill Harper	...	Xavier
Harry Lennix	...	Randall
Bernie Mac	...	Jay
Wendell Pierce	...	Wendell
Roger Guenveur Smith	...	Gary
Isaiah Washington	...	Kyle
Steve White	...	Mike
Ossie Davis	...	Jeremiah
Charles S. Dutton	...	George

MPAA:

Rated R for language.

Runtime:

120 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

SDDS | Dolby SR

Certification:

USA:R (certificate #34796) | Singapore:PG | Canada:PG (Ontario) | South Korea:15 | Spain:13 | UK:15

Company:

15 Black Men

Trivia:

Although the single most alluded to person in the film, Louis Farrakhan is only seen briefly as the men watch the footage of the March at the hospital. He is being escorted to the podium and viewed from the back.

Goofs:

Errors in geography: By evening on the second day of driving, the bus had gone from Los Angeles, CA to Memphis, TN (almost 1,800 miles). Despite driving through the night, by evening on the third day they had only traveled as far as Knoxville, TN (almost 400 miles).

Quotes:

Randall: [after Kyle changes seat] I DO MIND THAT YOU'RE NOT MAN ENOUGH TO ADMIT YOU DON'T LOVE ME!
Junior, aka 'Smooth': [bus Passengers react] Great, we goin' to the million man march with a bunch of homos.
Jeremiah: The bible says homosexuality is an abomination, but still I ask myself what would I do if my son was gay or worse, what would I do if I was the one born that way.
Flip: Tell me I didn't just here what I think I did
Xavier: What?
Flip: He just said "You're not man enough to admit you don't love me to him"
Xavier: So?
Flip: There's faggots on the bus!
Xavier: So what, do gays not have a role in the black community?
[...]

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Spin City: Don't Get on the Bus (#4.21)" (2000)

Soundtrack:

Papa Don't Take No Mess

I'm almost willing to say it's Spike Lee's best film.

I can't forget about the extraordinary Do The Right Thing though.

Get On The Bus follows the bus trip of a group of brothers on their way to the Million Man March. The acting is top of the line. The actor playing Evan Junior is a perfect match for his character. He turns in one of the greatest performances. The script is perfect and it only proves to be stronger when you remember that the film was shot in sequence. Which leads me to another point. Anyone with even a small amount of film-making understanding knows that it would have been hell to shoot this film in 35mm, so Spike Lee recorded in a smaller print and had it blown up. The result is a film that's almost documentary style but works perfectly.

Throughout the course of the film, Spike Lee introduces us to various personifications of the black man. Notice I used the word personifications, not stereotypes. We have a self hating brother, who is picked up halfway through the trip, who puts down on black schools and colleges. We have a highly homophobic brother who's loud and arrogant at the same time. We have a Muslim brother who has no lines but is integral even without lines. There are black republicans along on the trip. Two black homosexuals. And to top it off it's filmed entirely on a bus trip except for a few scenes which Spike Lee stated were on a sound stage.

Great film. 9/10