Training Day (2001)

A rookie cop spends his first day as a Los Angeles narcotics officer with a rogue detective who isn't what he appears to be.

Director:

Antoine Fuqua

Writer:

David Ayer

Stars:

Denzel Washington, Ethan Hawke, Scott Glenn

Won 1 Oscar. Another 17 wins & 23 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Denzel Washington	...	Alonzo
Ethan Hawke	...	Jake
Scott Glenn	...	Roger
Tom Berenger	...	Stan Gursky
Harris Yulin	...	Doug Rosselli
Raymond J. Barry	...	Lou Jacobs
Cliff Curtis	...	Smiley
Dr. Dre	...	Paul
Snoop Dogg	...	Blue
Macy Gray	...	Sandman's Wife
Charlotte Ayanna	...	Lisa
Eva Mendes	...	Sara (as Eva Mendez)
Nick Chinlund	...	Tim
Jaime Gomez	...	Mark (as Jaime P. Gomez)
Raymond Cruz	...	Sniper

Storyline

In Los Angeles, a city where streets are overrun by drug dealers, those who have sworn to uphold the law are breaking them to clean up the streets. Denzel Washington plays L.A.P.D. detective Alonzo Harris, a veteran narcotics officer whose methods of enforcing the law are questionable, if not corrupt. 'Training Day' follows Harris as he trains rookie Jake Hoyt over a 24-hour period. Ethical dilemmas arise for Hoyt as well as the audience as questions present themselves as to whether or not Harris' methodology for ridding the streets of South Central Los Angeles of drugs is right or wrong.

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Plot Keywords:

narc | day of reckoning | die hard scenario | wedding ring | neo noir | 

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Taglines:

The only thing more dangerous than the line being crossed, is the cop who will cross it.

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong brutal violence, pervasive language, drug content and brief nudity

Did You Know?

Trivia

Denzel Washington's Virtuosity (1995) and American Gangster (2007) co-star Russell Crowe lost out to Washington when Washington won the Best Actor Oscar for Training Day (2001). Russell Crowe was nominated for his performance as John Nash in A Beautiful Mind (2001) and a year earlier, he won an Best Actor Oscar for his performance as Maximus in Gladiator (2000).

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Goofs

To escape, alonzo could've just driven left or right since the russian hummer blocking in front of his car.

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Quotes

Alonzo Harris: [while driving in his Monte Carlo] You okay, kid? That was a man-sized hit you took, dog. When was the last time you smoked weed?
Jake Hoyt: Last time I smoked weed... 12th grade. We were... we were...
Alonzo Harris: Smoking weed.
Jake Hoyt: Yeah, yeah.
Alonzo Harris: Left that out your service jacket. Yeah, I know you got secrets. Everybody got secrets. Didn't know you liked to get wet, dog.
Jake Hoyt: What's "wet"?
Alonzo Harris: Butt-naked. Ill. Sherms. Dust. PCP. Primos. P-Dog. That's what you had. That's what you were smoking, you couldn't taste it?
Jake Hoyt: No, I've never done it.
Alonzo Harris: ...
[...]

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Crazy Credits

There are no opening credits after the title is shown.

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Connections

Referenced in Abdel et la comtesse (2018)

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Soundtracks

American Dream
Written by Sean 'Diddy' Combs (as Sean Combs), David Bowie, Mario Winans, Tommie Gibson, Kain Cioffe, Black Rob (as Robert Ross), Mark Curry, Pat Metheny and Lyle Mays
Produced by Sean 'Diddy' Combs and Mario Winans (as Mario "Yellow Man" Winans)
Performed by Sean 'Diddy' Combs (as P. Diddy), David Bowie, Big Azz Ko, Kain,
Mark Curry and Black Rob
P. Diddy and The Bad Boy Family appear courtesy of Bad Boy Entertainment

User Reviews

Street Justice Dispensed

Ethan Hawke, bright eyed and innocent, reports to his training officer for his first day on the job in narcotics in the LAPD. He never could have fathomed just how much he would learn on that very first Training Day.

His training officer is Denzel Washington, a thirteen year veteran on the police who's put in a few years in plainclothes in Narcotics. He certainly has the experience, but just what kind of experience and what he imparts to Hawke is the subject of Training Day.

A film like Training Day will rise and fall with the performances of these two characters since one or the other and mostly both is on screen from the beginning. Fortunately both Washington and Hawke complement each other's performances like jigsaw puzzle fit.

It is no accident that Denzel Washington won his second Oscar, his first as Best Actor. This performance is working on so many levels it's astonishing. Washington is at all times, charming, capable, corrupt, violent, street smart, and arrogant. What I liked most about it is how the various facets of this character are revealed bit by bit to the audience and to Hawke though not at the same time.

As for Ethan Hawke it takes him to realize just exactly what he's dealing with in a training officer. Hawke was nominated himself as Best Supporting Actor, but lost to Jim Broadbent for Iris. Still it remains his career role so far.

Corruption in the Los Angeles Police Department isn't exactly a new story. In fact one of the supporting players, Scott Glenn who plays a drug peddler and well, did another film about LAPD corruption in Extreme Justice. LA Confidential also dealt with this issue recently, another fine film.

Denzel Washington is a great example in this film of the arrogance of power. He's a guy who dispenses more street justice than going through the traditional system. So with what happens to him here, he gets one of the best comeuppances ever seen on the big screen.

And I won't say what it is, but you've got to see Training Day to find out.

Details

Official Sites:

Warner Bros.

Country:

USA

Language:

English Russian Spanish Korean Greek

Release Date:

5 October 2001 (USA)

Also Known As:

Training Day

Filming Locations:

Santa Clarita, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$45,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$22,550,788, 7 October 2001

Gross USA:

$76,631,907

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$104,876,233

Company Credits

Production Co:

Warner Bros., Village Roadshow Pictures, NPV Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

122 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1