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.

---

Plot Keywords:

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

---

Taglines:

Based on the inspirational true story of a champion.

---

Genres:

Biography | Drama | Sport

---

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:

Canada

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 Hurricane is considered the third and final part of a loose trilogy of racism-themed films directed by Norman Jewison. The first two were In the Heat of the Night (1967) and A Soldier's Story (1984).

---

Goofs

When they show the bar shooting, when the woman, Hazel Tanis is shot, as she is going down you can see the actress is wearing knee pads. When Bello comes into the bar and looks at Tanis, she is no longer wearing the knee pad.

---

Quotes

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

---

Connections

Featured in Private Screenings: Norman Jewison (2007)

---

Soundtracks

Can I Get a Witness
Written by Eddie Holland (as Edward Holland Jr.), Brian Holland, Lamont Dozier
Performed by Marvin Gaye

User Reviews

The Hurricane Hoax, Shame Denzel Shame.

I saw this movie on DVD because it was my friend's birthday and while at the end most of them were applauding or shedding tears for Carter, I felt like I had seen a movie that had a compulsive lying disorder. While in the movie he is portrayed as a noble black man, persecuted his whole life but an obsessed detective, but in real life it was quite the opposite. 0/10. Go see it if you enjoy watching director's distort true stories as much as they can.

Also a note: Carter no longer speaks to the Canadians who devoted so much time and effort to free him.