A gifted high-school football player must learn to embrace his talent and his faith as he battles racial tensions on and off the field.A gifted high-school football player must learn to embrace his talent and his faith as he battles racial tensions on and off the field.A gifted high-school football player must learn to embrace his talent and his faith as he battles racial tensions on and off the field.
- Awards
- 4 nominations
Lance E. Nichols
- Junior
- (as Lance Nichols)
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaSean Astin's character "Hank" is actually a composite of three people: Wales Goebel, a former house builder who began reaching out to area high schools; Hank Erwin, father to co-creators Andrew Erwin and Jon Erwin, who was the team's chaplain for two years; and Mike Huckabee, whose experience at Explo 72 informed some of the dialogue.
- GoofsDuring the game between Woodlawn and Banks where it is pouring with rain, the Woodlawn sideline players and coaches are seen to be wet. However, the Banks sideline players and coaches are dry with dry hair and clothing. The rain can be seen falling in front of them.
- Quotes
Tandy Gerelds: Adversity is the crucible for greatness.
- ConnectionsFeatured in One: The Woodlawn Study: Who Is Your Team? (2016)
- SoundtracksSweet Home Alabama
Written by Edward King, Gary Rossington, and Ronnie Van Zant
Performed by Lynyrd Skynyrd
Courtesy of The MCA Records under license from Universal Music Enterprises
Featured review
Released in 2015, "Woodlawn" is an inspirational sports film based on the true story of Tony Nathan, a running back who went on to play for the Miami Dolphins and played in two Super Bowls (XVII and XIX). The story focuses on his experiences at Woodlawn High School in 1973-1974 as Nathan and other black students desegregate the school under government mandate. Nic Bishop plays the coach, Sean Astin a motivational minister, Jon Voight Paul "Bear" Bryant, C. Thomas Howell a coach from a rival high school and Joy Brunson Tony's potential babe.
The plot and tone are very similar to 2000's "Remember the Titans." They're also both based on true stories. The main difference is that "Woodlawn" is decidedly faith-based, albeit not as overt as movies like "God is Not Dead" (2014) and "War Room" (2015). The filmmakers are just telling the true story in which Christian faith was an essential part. If you can't stomach this element I suggest staying away.
In any case, the story moves briskly and there's a lot of football action. The problem is that, like "Remember the Titans," the film doesn't focus on character development. I suppose this is so because they're both based on true events and the writers didn't want to stray from reality. Whatever the reason, it prevents the story from truly captivating the viewer, but it's worthwhile if you like inspirational sports flicks like "Remember the Titans" or movies that focus on the black experience in the South during the Civil Rights era, like 2011's "The Help."
The film runs 123 minutes and was shot in Birmingham and Hueytown, Alabama.
GRADE: B-
The plot and tone are very similar to 2000's "Remember the Titans." They're also both based on true stories. The main difference is that "Woodlawn" is decidedly faith-based, albeit not as overt as movies like "God is Not Dead" (2014) and "War Room" (2015). The filmmakers are just telling the true story in which Christian faith was an essential part. If you can't stomach this element I suggest staying away.
In any case, the story moves briskly and there's a lot of football action. The problem is that, like "Remember the Titans," the film doesn't focus on character development. I suppose this is so because they're both based on true events and the writers didn't want to stray from reality. Whatever the reason, it prevents the story from truly captivating the viewer, but it's worthwhile if you like inspirational sports flicks like "Remember the Titans" or movies that focus on the black experience in the South during the Civil Rights era, like 2011's "The Help."
The film runs 123 minutes and was shot in Birmingham and Hueytown, Alabama.
GRADE: B-
- How long is Woodlawn?Powered by Alexa
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Language
- Also known as
- 橄欖球傳奇
- Filming locations
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- $12,000,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $14,394,097
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $4,002,226
- Oct 18, 2015
- Gross worldwide
- $14,401,617
- Runtime2 hours 3 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 2.35 : 1
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