Release Date
December 25, 2007 (Limited)
DVD Release Date
May 13, 2008 (Buy on Amazon)
Director
Writer
Cast
Studio
Running Time
123 minutes
MPAA Rating
Rated PG-13 for depiction of strong thematic material including violence and disturbing images, and for language and brief sexuality
Set against the backdrop of the Jim Crow South and inspired by a true story, "The Great Debaters" chronicles the journey of a brilliant but volatile coach (Denzel Washington) who uses the power of words to shape a group of underdog students from a small, modest black college in East Texas into an elite debate team while challenging the social mores of the time, culminating with a groundbreaking invitation to debate Harvard's championship team.... Full synopsis »
MOVIE REVIEW
The latest in a subset genre I like to call "teacher genres", The Great Debaters is Denzel Washington's second directorial effort after the critically acclaimed Antwone Fisher. Washington also stars as Melvin B. Tolson, a teacher who led his all-black debate team to go up against a white school - Harvard, no less - for the first time in history.
Full movie review »
