Race (2016)

Jesse Owens' quest to become the greatest track and field athlete in history thrusts him onto the world stage of the 1936 Olympics, where he faces off against Adolf Hitler's vision of Aryan supremacy.

Director:

Stephen Hopkins

Writers:

Joe Shrapnel, Anna Waterhouse

Stars:

Stephan James, Jason Sudeikis, Eli Goree

6 wins & 8 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Stephan James	...	Jesse Owens
Jason Sudeikis	...	Larry Snyder
Eli Goree	...	Dave Albritton
Shanice Banton	...	Ruth Solomon
Carice van Houten	...	Leni Riefenstahl
Jeremy Irons	...	Avery Brundage
William Hurt	...	Jeremiah Mahoney
David Kross	...	Carl 'Luz' Long
Jonathan Higgins	...	Dean Cromwell
Tony Curran	...	Lawson Robertson
Amanda Crew	...	Peggy
Barnaby Metschurat	...	Joseph Goebbels
Chantel Riley	...	Quincella
Vlasta Vrana	...	St-John
Shamier Anderson	...	Eulace Peacock

Storyline

In the 1930s, Jesse Owens is a young man who is the first in his family to go to college. Going to Ohio State to train under its track and field coach, Larry Snyder, the young African American athlete quickly impresses with his tremendous potential that suggests Olympic material. However, as Owens struggles both with the obligations of his life and the virulent racism against him, the question of whether America would compete at all at the 1936 Olympics in Nazi Germany is being debated vigorously. When the American envoy finds a compromise persuasive with the Third Reich to avert a boycott, Owens has his own moral struggle about going. Upon resolving that issue, Owens and his coach travel to Berlin to participate in a competition that would mark Owens as the greatest of America's Olympians even as the German film director, Leni Riefenstahl, locks horns with her country's Propaganda Minister, Josef Goebbels, to film the politically embarrassing fact for posterity.

---

Plot Keywords:

track and field | 1930s | olympics | 1936 olympics | athlete | 

---

Taglines:

The incredible true story of gold medal legend, Jesse Owens.

---

Genres:

Biography | Drama | Sport

---

Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for thematic elements and language

Did You Know?

Trivia

As shown in the movie, Jesse Owens won an individual record of 4 gold medals. The movie does not show the overall medal count by country. Germany won the most, with 89: 33 gold, 26 silver, 30 bronze. The USA was second, with 56 medals: 24 gold, 20 silver, and 12 bronze. Italy was third, with 22 metals overall. Hungary was third in the gold medal count, with 10.

---

Goofs

When Jesse is tying up his spikes, the two white stripes are missing, and the area around the eyelets should be white as well.

---

Quotes

Jesse Owens: In those ten second, there's no black or white, only fast or slow.

---

Connections

Featured in Late Night with Seth Meyers: Kiefer Sutherland/Carice van Houten (2016)

---

Soundtracks

Gotta Get Loose
Written by George Acogny
Performed by Amy Keys
Published by Sessiwede Inc.
Courtesy of Sessiwede Inc.

User Reviews

Covered Too Much For Its Own Good

The Jesse Owens story is extraordinary. It deserved a film for sure. But it deserved to be told with care. I have no doubt there was a ton of passion from everyone involved with the making of 'Race' but I also think there was just too much information for the filmmakers to give Owens the proper big screen adaptation. At times the film is special as Stephan James gives a really good performance as Owens, but other times I felt myself wondering why I was watching a film focusing on a handful of other characters when this was supposed to be a legit Jesse Owens biopic.

James' performance is probably the standout here but the entire cast rounds out the film well. Jeremy Irons, Carice van Houten, William Hurt, and even Jason Sudeikis bring plenty of credibility to one of the most important stories in Olympic history as Jesse Owens attempted to overshadow Hitler's regime by breaking records in the 1936 Berlin Olympics. Although predictable and cliché at times, I found myself enjoying the relationship between Owens and his coach/trainer played by Sudeikis. I wasn't however that found of them including so much focus on the other aspects of the Berlin Olympics (though still interesting material).

I understand these Olympics had many moving vehicles that were important to the overall history of the event, but I just ended up wishing Jesse Owens got more of a focus. With that said, the times when he got his time to shine, the film was at its best. The last act of the film in Berlin felt very cinematic. The games, beginning with one long shot, felt like something made for an IMAX screen. The CGI for the Olympic Stadium also looked surprisingly well for a lower budget film (apparently 5 million). Overall, I don't think this film is as fascinating as the story it's based on is, but there's still redeemable qualities to make it a winning sports drama in my book.

+James' lead performance

+CGI

-Covered too much for its own good

6.3/10

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official site

Country:

Canada Germany France

Language:

English German

Release Date:

19 February 2016 (USA)

Also Known As:

Race

Filming Locations:

Olympiastadion, Charlottenburg, Berlin, Germany

Box Office

Budget:

$35,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$7,353,922, 21 February 2016

Gross USA:

$19,206,207

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$25,070,261

Company Credits

Production Co:

Forecast Pictures, ID+, Jesse Race Productions Quebec

Technical Specs

Runtime:

134 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1