Men of Honor (2000)

Director:

George Tillman Jr.

Writer (WGA):

Scott Marshall Smith (written by)

Release Date:

10 November 2000 (USA)

Genre:

Biography | Drama

Tagline:

History is made by those who break the rules.

Plot:

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

Plot Keywords:

Navy | African American | Determination | Training | Racism

Awards:

9 nominations

Cast

Robert De Niro	...	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

Also Known As:

Men of Honour (UK)
Navy Diver (USA) (working title)
The Diver (USA) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated R for language.

Runtime:

129 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital | SDDS | DTS

Certification:

Iceland:12 | Malaysia:18PL (uncut) | Malaysia:U (cut) | Philippines:PG-13 | Brazil:12 | Argentina:Atp | Australia:M | Chile:TE | Finland:K-11 | France:U | Germany:12 (w) | Hong Kong:IIA | Netherlands:12 | New Zealand:M | Norway:11 | Peru:PT | Portugal:M/12 | Singapore:M18 | South Korea:12 | Spain:13 | Sweden:11 | Switzerland:12 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:12 (canton of Vaud) | UK:15 | USA:R (certificate #37764)

Filming Locations:

Cathlamet, Washington, USA

Company:

Fox 2000 Pictures

Trivia:

In Russian the title of this movie is, "Military Diver".

Goofs:

Anachronisms: When the divers are inside the sunken ship, the hose is taped. The MkV diving helmet was replaced by the Mk12 in 1979, and taped hoses were not used until 1984.

Quotes:

Mr. Pappy: [in his flat, Sunday just walked in] Did you know that ordinary house dust is composed primarily ofhuman skin ?
Billy Sunday: No sir, I didn't know that.
Mr. Pappy: [chuckles] Makes you think twice about who you invite into your home.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Howard Stern on Demand: Cuba Gooding Jr." (2006)

Soundtrack:

Blue Yodel #4

The Man Who Wouldn't Quit

The inspiring story of Carl Brashear (Cuba Gooding, Jr.), a black man who grew up in poverty in Kentucky and then joined the US Navy, aspiring to be the first black Master Diver in Navy history. We are shown the series of struggles from boyhood on that Brashear has to overcome to make his dream come true (and then to keep it alive.) Not the least of the challenges was Master Diver Bill Sunday (Robert DeNiro), the head trainer at the diving school the Navy sends Brashear to, who is not especially sympathetic to Brashear's goals, but who ultimately becomes an unlikely friend and supporter.

This is a good movie; fast paced and with a lot of action, although not an "action" pic in the normal sense of the word. There's a very human story here as well, and an interesting study of racism and the struggle to overcome it; there's also a sense of the struggle that took place in the 1960's between older and younger naval officers (the "old navy" vs the "new navy.") The performances are quite good - particularly Goodings'. I thought DeNiro was perhaps a bit over the top in his portrayal of Sunday (although, who knows, Sunday might well have been this extreme kind of loose cannon) and the portrayal of Sunday's wife Gwen (by Charlize Theron) also made me question whether these parts were "jazzed up" to provide entertainment value.

A good movie, though. I never once wondered if it was worth tuning into.

7/10