The Hurricane (1999)

The story of Rubin "Hurricane" Carter, a boxer wrongly imprisoned for murder, and the people who aided in his fight to prove his innocence.

Director:

Norman Jewison

Writers:

Rubin 'Hurricane' Carter (book), Sam Chaiton (book)

Stars:

Denzel Washington, Vicellous Shannon, Deborah Kara Unger

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 7 wins & 17 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Denzel Washington	...	Rubin Carter
Vicellous Shannon	...	Lesra (as Vicellous Reon Shannon)
Deborah Kara Unger	...	Lisa
Liev Schreiber	...	Sam
John Hannah	...	Terry
Dan Hedaya	...	Della Pesca
Debbi Morgan	...	Mae Thelma
Clancy Brown	...	Lt. Jimmy Williams
David Paymer	...	Myron Bedlock
Harris Yulin	...	Leon Friedman
Rod Steiger	...	Judge Sarokin
Badja Djola	...	Mobutu
Vincent Pastore	...	Alfred Bello
Al Waxman	...	Warden
David Lansbury	...	U.S. Court Prosecutor

Storyline

This film tells the story of Rubin "Hurricane" Carter, an African-American man who rose above his troubled youth to become a top contender for the middle-weight boxing title. However, his dreams are shattered when he is accused of a triple murder, and is convicted to three natural-life terms. Despite becoming a cause celebre and his dogged efforts to prove his innocence through his autobiography, the years of fruitless efforts have left him discouraged. This changes when an African-American boy and his Canadian mentors read his book and are convinced of his innocence enough to work for his exoneration. However, what Hurricane and his friends learn is that this fight puts them against a racist establishment that profited from this travesty and have no intention of seeing it reversed.

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Plot Keywords:

toronto ontario | historical revisionism | reference to fyodor dostoyevsky | reference to w.e. b. dubois | reference to richard wright | 

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Taglines:

Based on the inspirational true story of a champion.

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Genres:

Biography | Drama | Sport

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language and some violence

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

14 January 2000 (USA)

Also Known As:

Lazarus and the Hurricane

Filming Locations:

East Jersey State Prison, Rahway, New Jersey, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$50,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$384,640, 2 January 2000

Gross USA:

$50,699,241

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$73,956,241

Company Credits

Production Co:

Azoff Entertainment, Beacon Communications, Beacon Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

146 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Black and White Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The film cast includes two Oscar winners: Denzel Washington and Rod Steiger; and one Oscar nominee: David Paymer.

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Goofs

Credits at the end of movie state that Rubin Carter is the only boxer to have received an honorary championship title belt from the World Boxing Council in 1993. This is incorrect as the boxer Joey Giardello also received an honorary championship belt at the same banquet in Las Vegas.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Announcer: Ladies and gentlemen, this fine young fighter will be right here in Pittsburg on the boxing cog, this Monday night.

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Connections

Referenced in Black-ish: Christmas in Theater Eight (2018)

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Soundtracks

Get Down on It
Written by Ronald Bell, J.T. Taylor (as James Taylor), George Funky Brown (as George Brown), Robert Kool Bell (as Robert Bell), Claydes Smith (as Charles Smith), Robert Spike Mickens (as Robert Mickens), Eumir Deodato
Performed by Kool & The Gang

User Reviews

Denzel Deserved an Oscar

I am not going to get into details regarding how true an account this is or not. I have read a lot that seems to indicate he was guilty and others that he was innocent, both accounts seeing to contradict themselves. I guess we may never really know, but as someone who believes that racism infects a lot of society including organisations like Sporting bodies and the police I can well believe that being black would not guarantee a fair trial. However I also find it hard to believe that Mr Carter was as peaceful a person as depicted in this film. But this is down to the way the film was written and directed and in no way detracts from a truly remarkable piece of acting by Mr Denzel Washington. It seems in every part he plays, you believe that he IS that character and this film was no exception. In the boxing scenes or the prison scenes and in every scene you believe that you are watching Rubin 'The Hurricane' Carter. A truly outstanding performance.