The Great Debaters



CouchPotatoes Top Spud! ?
What is a Top Spud?
These are movies hand-picked by the CPO team that have received good or great critical reviews and we feel are worth at least one viewing.

Check it out if you like this type of movie.


DVD Released (Y/M/D): 2008-05-13

Genre: Drama

Director: Denzel Washington

Stars: Denzel Washington, Forest Whitaker, Nate Parker, Jurnee Smollett-Bell, Denzel Whitaker, Jermaine Williams, Gina Ravera, Kimberly Elise, John Heard, Devyn A. Tyler, Trenton McClain Boyd, Ritchie Montgomery

MPAA Rating: PG-13

Synopsis: Denzel Washington directs and stars in this uplifting drama based on a true story about a small East Texas all-black college in 1935 that rises to the top of the nation's debate teams in a duel against Harvard. A poet and debating coach at Wiley College, Professor Melvin Tolson (Washington) sees debating as "a blood sport" and recruits the meanest and brightest, including troubled Henry (Nate Parker), driven Samantha (Jurnee Smollet), and the 14-year-old prodigy James Farmer, Jr. (Denzel Whitaker). Oscar® winner Forest Whitaker (no relation) plays Farmer's father, the initially unsupportive president of the school. There's tough training, romantic heat over the attentions of fiery Samantha (the first girl on the team), and some no holds-barred racism (including a witnessed lynching) before the big match-up against the Ivy League school, adding to the overall emotional force. Though feel-good historical competition movies like this have been done before, Washington serves up his effort as a lean, mean family dinner, with minimum fuss and maximum nutritional-educational value. Historical accuracy may be thrown to the wind more than once--Farmer is the only real student among the team, and the final debate was against USC, not Harvard--but the acting is uniformly superb. It's great to watch these kids slowly incorporate Tolson's incredible poise and intellectual rigor into their lives, and the message is as important as ever. Oprah Winfrey served as producer.     Source: RottenTomatoes.com


View theatrical trailer(s) here:






Search For A Movie Title    Actor    Director


Find Us On Facebook