Get on the Bus (1996)

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 | Politics | Million Man March | Prejudice | Journey

Awards:

2 wins & 5 nominations

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

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:

Rather than seek studio financing, Spike Lee financed the film with monetary contributions from famous black men so as to reflect the spirit of the Million Man March. The contributors included (but were not limited to): Will Smith, Danny Glover, Wesley Snipes, Johnnie L. Cochran Jr., and Robert Guillaume.

Goofs:

Errors in geography: While driving from South Los Angeles to Washington DC, the bus takes the Pasadena Freeway north from downtown LA. This freeway ends in Pasadena and is not the way one would travel across the country. Furthermore, a bus of this size would not be permitted on this freeway.

Quotes:

Flip: ...And here comes my mama, marching across the field with a big leather belt in her hands. This belt was so wide couldn't nobody even wear it; this belt was made for whoopin' ass.

Movie Connections:

References The Defiant Ones (1958)

Soundtrack:

People Get Ready

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