Men of Honor (2000)

The story of Carl Brashear, the first African American, then also the first amputee, US Navy Diver and the man who trained him.

Director:

George Tillman Jr.

Writer:

Scott Marshall Smith

Stars:

Robert De Niro, Cuba Gooding Jr., Charlize Theron

11 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Robert De Niro	...	Master Chief Billy Sunday
Cuba Gooding Jr.	...	Chief Carl Brashear
Charlize Theron	...	Gwen Sunday
Aunjanue Ellis	...	Jo
Hal Holbrook	...	'Mr. Pappy'
Michael Rapaport	...	GM1 Snowhill
Powers Boothe	...	Captain Pullman
David Keith	...	Captain Hartigan
Holt McCallany	...	MM1 Dylan Rourke
David Conrad	...	Lt. / Cmdr. / Capt. Hanks
Joshua Leonard	...	PO2 Timothy Douglas Isert
Carl Lumbly	...	Mac Brashear
Lonette McKee	...	Ella Brashear
Glynn Turman	...	Chief Floyd
Dennis Troutman	...	Boots

Storyline

The story ultimately revolves around two "men of honor"; their relationship, their individual and joint failures and triumphs. Carl Brashear is determined to be the first African American Navy Diver in a time where racism is rife. Leslie Sunday is his embittered trainer, determined to see him fail. Fate, challenges and circumstances eventually draw these two men together in a tale of turbulence and ultimately triumph.

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Plot Keywords:

navy | african american | training | determination | racism | 

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Taglines:

History is made by those who break the rules.

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Genres:

Biography | Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

10 November 2000 (USA)

Also Known As:

Navy Diver

Filming Locations:

Cathlamet, Washington, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$32,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

£453,448 (UK) (30 March 2001)

Gross:

ESP 480,280,323 (Spain) (29 June 2001)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Fox 2000 Pictures, State Street Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

129 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital SDDS DTS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Carl Brashear's great-nephew is NHL bruiser Donald Brashear of the New York Rangers.

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Goofs

As Carl is listening to his radio in 1952, he hears a baseball score of the Milwaukee Braves one and Brooklyn Dodgers zero. However the Boston Braves did not move to Milwaukee until 1953.

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Quotes

Jo: Why do you want this so bad?
Carl Brashear: Because they said I couldn't have it.

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Crazy Credits

The woman in the detox center is listed as "Pinch-Faced Woman at Detox Center"

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Connections

Referenced in Antwone Fisher (2002)

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Soundtracks

"I Want You to Be My Baby"
Written by Jon Hendricks
Performed by The Count
Arranged by Shelly Berg
Produced by Tom Halm and Shelly Berg

User Reviews

The movie tells the story of a Professional Navy Man.

This film is an excellent military movie. It may not be an excellent Hollywood Movie, but that does not matter. Hollywood has a reputation of sacrificing accuracy for good entertainment, but that is not the case with this movie. Other reviewers have found this movie to be too slow for their taste, but – as a retired Soldier – I appreciate the pace the movie crew deliberately took to tell their story as completely as possible given the two hours and nine minutes allotted. The story itself has been told and retold several times over, but it remains for a professional soldier – and an African American at that – to report on the story as presented by the movie crew, and as it presents the US Navy to the world. The story of Brashear's work to become a Navy Diver, and his life as a Navy Diver beyond his graduation, is not the only story that is presented. There I also the story of how Master Chief Petty Officer Sunday defied the illegal order of his Commanding Officer that Petty Officer 2nd Class Brashear not be passed in his test dive no matter how well he did, and paid the price of a loss of one Stripe and a change of assignment. It also told the true story how Brashear found the third Hydrogen Bombs lost in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Spain in the 1950's, and how he saved the life of another seaman who was in the line of the snapped running line that would have snapped him in two if Brashear had not shoved him out of the way and took the shot himself. This was a complex story that was worth telling, and I will admit that two hours and nine minutes was not enough to tell the full story, and I can tell from the deleted scenes on the DVD that the crew tried their best to tell a story as full as possible. As a professional soldier, I was proud to see such a great story told in such a comprehensive manner, and to see the traditions and honor of the navy preserved in such a natural and full manner.