Remember the Titans

Remember the Titans is much more than a story about a high school football team. It is a true story about two men who overcome their differences and help an entire town deal with frustration, anger, and mistrust. Herman Boone (Denzel Washington) is the head coach of the football team at the black high school while Bill Yoast (Will Patton) is the head coach of the football team at the white high school. In 1971 the high schools are integrated and Coach Boone is chosen to become the head coach of the football team while Coach Yoast is demoted to assistant coach.

Remember the Titans is a powerful film with incredible performances by both Denzel Washington and Will Patton.

Based on real events in 1971, where T.C. Williams High School, a now hot bed integrated school, becomes a beacon of unification via their mixed race football team.

As is normally the case with films of this ilk, it quickly comes to pass that certain artistic licence has been taken with the truth. In reality the issues of race, integration and the near powder-keg atmosphere portrayed in the picture, were long past their worst in Virginia 1971. However, that should in no way detract from the thematics and truthful aspects of this Disney production. As is told in the film, the Titans did have what became known as the perfect season, whilst the bond formed between the black and white members most definitely existed. All told, the film soars high as an inspirational piece, not only for the mixed race community coming together plot's essential being, but in the crucial tale of one Gerry Bertier.

That this film urged me to seek out the story of Bertier is a testament to the power of film, regardless of any sort of sentimental prodding from the film makers. It's hoped that this film also prompts newcomers to research further the topics within the story.

The cast list is impressive, Denzel Washington and Will Patton find instant chemistry as the head coaches thrust together by outside influences, with both guys beautifully doing credit to the real life friendship that would be born from the situation. Ryan Hurst, Wood Harris, Ethan Suplee, Donald Faison, Kip Pardue, Craig Kirkwood and a pre-fame Ryan Gosling fill out the integrated football team. With two important family roles nicely portrayed by Hayden Panettiere and Nicole Ari Parker. The soundtrack is nicely put together, with the core offering of Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell's thumping rendition of "Ain't No Mountain High Enough" particularly potent and uplifting.

Though not primarily offering up anything new in the pantheon of race and sport related movies, Remember The Titans does have so much good going for it. It's hard to be picky, even churlish about the little faults (are these actors really the age of high schoolers for example?). So hopefully come the end, after the credits roll, you will be suitably inspired, and perhaps a touch more better off for having spent time with this particular football team. 8.5/10

"Remember the Titans" is a movie that by the end of seeing it makes you feel good. And why shouldn't it? You would figure that it'll be a nice little picture since it comes from the Walt Disney Company, and I think it's perfect for the whole family. "Remember the Titans" is a comedy-drama based on the true story of a high school in Virginia that is integrated with white and black students, white and black teachers, and white and black athletic coaches. Oscar winner Denzel Washington gives another one of his fine performances as the new head coach of the high school football team, and Will Patton is equally good as the current head coach who is now demoted to assistant coach under Washington. Together they try to get their players of both races to get along and put on a winning team. In addition to Washington and Patton, there are some other terrific performances by the young actors who portray the football players. I see some future stars here. The movie has plenty of dramatic moments with some delightful comedy thrown in the middle of it. It obviously gets a little predictable towards the end which keeps "Remember the Titans" from being a perfect movie. But so what? This is a sports movie and usually sports movies almost always ends with "the big game". Who's going to win that big game? I won't say who wins the big game in "Remember the Titans", but in the end you'll be rooting for the Titans to win, win, win! And that's all that matters. Bottom line: "Remember the Titans" is an excellent film, very well made and very well acted by everyone involved.

***1/2 (out of four)

This movie is more than just about football, race relations and integration. The lead characters excellently portray the human spirit, showing that everyone can overcome not just on the field but also in life. The ending is predictable, but it draws you in with the intense emotion to win both on and off the field.

Being a former white athlete and coach I am sick of sports movies where the story involves a team eventually winning a championship so I passed this one by when it first came out. Big mistake!! Like "Hoosiers" this one was an exception and what an exception. Remember the Titans is in my top five movies of the past ten years. Denzel Washington, as the coach, gave another of his consistently outstanding performances.

Like "Hoosiers" this is a true story and it is not just a story about sports but a strong story about race. I probably appreciated it more than most because of my background I connected to the movie. During the 1940s I attended schools which were well integrated and students of different races and cultures existed harmoniously. To a large degree, it was because the high school had a very successful football program in which unlike almost all of the other schools, minority athletes were welcome. In my junior year we went undefeated and won the State Championship and the team is still considered the best high school team of all time. The only time the team came close to defeat was in the State final when we played another well integrated team.

Consequently the community while generally middle and upper class except for its minorities was well integrated. As a result although I knew racism existed, I never encountered it in my community. But then I began to see its ugly head. First, the All-American end on our team, a superb athlete, was denied scholarships both to USC and Stanford because neither school accepted minorities. I had always wanted to go to USC but because of what USC did to my friend I turned down its offer of a scholarship the next year as I did to Stanford which I considered a snob school then as I do today.

But my college was cut short when the Korean War began and I was in the service. I was sent to bases in the South and I spent much of the next thirteen years in the South witnessing how bad it was for the blacks and I was involved in the civil rights movement in the South which got me into a lot of trouble with my military superiors.

During my tours in the South I became head coach of a football team at a Southern base. Filled with ex-collegiate stars and some pros, we regularly played Division I colleges and universities. However, because I had black players on my team I couldn't schedule games with any white southern colleges. Instead we scheduled one black college and several state universities in the mid-west.

Some critics have compared the summer camp at which Washington as Coach Boone brought the blacks and whites together as a team as like a Marine Boot Camp but everyone missed the subtlety of this. I went through Boot Camp at a time when the military was just integrating and we had southern blacks and whites as well as a mix of races from other parts of the country in my platoon as well as all classes. It didn't take very long for us to become as one unit. The first part of boot camp is sure hell and the reason for it is that it reduces everyone to the lowest common denominator of misery and you quickly learn that the only way to escape that misery is to work together. This is just the way Coach Boone made it work.

What I liked about this movie is that it showed how all this played out. Most moviegoers today are not really aware of how bad racism was in 1971 but this movie illustrates it well. Even though the movie has a few corny moments and the actors playing the roles as football players look old for high school, these faults are minimal and do not detract from the power of the film.