A Soldier's Story (1984)

An African American officer investigates a murder in a racially charged situation in World War II.

Director:

Norman Jewison

Writers:

Charles Fuller (screenplay), Charles Fuller (play)

Stars:

Howard E. Rollins Jr., Adolph Caesar, Art Evans

Nominated for 3 Oscars. Another 6 wins & 6 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Howard E. Rollins Jr.	...	Captain Davenport
Adolph Caesar	...	Sergeant Waters
Art Evans	...	Private Wilkie
David Alan Grier	...	Corporal Cobb
David Harris	...	Private Smalls
Dennis Lipscomb	...	Captain Taylor
Larry Riley	...	C.J. Memphis
Robert Townsend	...	Corporal Ellis
Denzel Washington	...	Private First Class Peterson
William Allen Young	...	Private Henson
Patti LaBelle	...	Big Mary
Wings Hauser	...	Lieutenant Byrd
Scott Paulin	...	Captain Wilcox
John Hancock	...	Sergeant Washington
Trey Wilson	...	Colonel Nivens

Storyline

A black soldier is killed while returning to his base in the deep south. The white people of the area are suspected at first. A tough black army attorney is brought in to find out the truth. We find out a bit more about the dead soldier in flashbacks - and that he was unpopular. Will the attorney find the killer ?

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Plot Keywords:

based on play | soldier | flashback | military lawyer | captain | 

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Taglines:

Alone, far from home, and far from justice, he has three days to learn the truth about a murder...and the truth is a story you won't forget.

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Mystery | War

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

2 November 1984 (USA)

Also Known As:

A Soldier's Story

Filming Locations:

Clarendon, Arkansas, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$6,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$156,383, 16 September 1984, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$21,821,347

Company Credits

Production Co:

Columbia Pictures, Caldix

Technical Specs

Runtime:

101 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Though Denzel Washington was not Oscar nominated for this film - and had never been - had prior to this movie been mostly known at the time for co-starring with George Segal in the racial comedy Carbon Copy (1981). However, Washington would go on to get Oscar nominated seven times (as of July 2017), winning two Academy Awards, and in total has received more Oscar nominations, than what this film received, which was three.

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Goofs

When the three black sergeants and Pvt Wilkie are seated in the bar, Pvt Wilkie has his unit patch sewn on his right shoulder. We later see Pvt Wilkie with his unit patch on his left shoulder.

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Quotes

Private First Class Peterson: I didn't kill much. Some things need gettin' rid of. Man like Waters never did nobody no good anyway, Captain.
Captain Davenport: Who gave you the right to judge? To decide who is fit to be a negro, and who is not? Who?

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Alternate Versions

CBS edited 5 minutes from this film for its 1987 network television premiere.

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Connections

Referenced in The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson: Ricky Schroder/Lisa Eilbacher/Justin Wilson (1985)

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Soundtracks

Bright Red Zoot Suit
Written and Performed by Larry Riley

User Reviews

A military attorney from the North arrives in a Southern base to investigate a murder of a detestable sergeant

Interesting and electrifying movie with African American all-star-cast who makes memorable performance , it packs suspense , mystery , thrills , jazzy music and is quite entertaining . An African American officer (Howard E. Rollins) from the North is sent to a Southern base stationed in Louisiana to investigate a killing of an unpopular sergeant (Adolph Caesar) in a racially charged situation in World War II . He has three days to learn the truth about a murder and the truth is a story you won't forget plenty of racism in outside the corps . There he finds a motley group of soldiers (Art Evans , Denzel Washington , David Alan Grier , William Allen Young , Robert Towsend) and various suspect white officers (Scott Paulin , Wings Hauser) .

This intriguing and totally absorbing film features solid acting , suspense , whodunit , mysterious elements , racism , jazz and blues . From the Pulitzer-prize winning play by Charles Fuller , with the most of the Broadway cast and dealing about an incisive probe into racism . Adolph Caesar, Denzel Washington, and Larry Riley all recreated their roles from the original 1981 Lucille Lortel Off-Broadway production; when the play was revived in 2005, James McDaniel assumed Caesar's Sgt. Waters character . Magnificent performances from main cast as Howard Rollins and Adolph Caesar as a hateful sergeant who achieved prize as the best actor given by L.A. Films Critics 84 . Extraordinary support cast as a then little-known Denzel Washington -who went on to win an Academy Award for Glory- , William Allen Young whose role of Pvt. Henson in "A Soldier's Play", was played by Samuel L. Jackson in the stage version . Jazzy and atmospheric musical score by Jazzman Herbie Hancock is full of blues , and wonderful songs sung by Patti LaBelle . Evocative cinematography by Russell Boyd , being filmed in Little Rock and Fort Smith , Arkansas .

The motion picture was professionally produced and directed by Norman Jewison . He is a prestigious and veteran filmmaker, his greatest film is of course ¨Jesus Christ Superstar¨ . He directed successful movies as ¨Fiddler on the roof¨ , ¨Agnes of God¨ , ¨Moonstruck¨ , ¨Thomas Crown¨ and ¨Cinncinati Kid¨ . However , he also got some flops as ¨Bogus¨, ¨In country¨ , ¨Only you¨ and ¨Other's people money¨ and his last picture titled ¨The statement¨. He considers ¨The Hurricane¨ (1999) the last in a trilogy of racial bigotry movies he's realized, the first two being ¨In the Heat of the Night¨ (1967) and ¨A Soldier's Story¨ (1984) . Rating : Better than average .