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Movies / On DVD / The Defiant Ones
The Defiant Ones

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The Defiant Ones (1958)

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86 %
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Reviews Counted:14

Fresh:12

Rotten:2

Average Rating:7/10

Runtime: 1 hr 41 mins

Genre: Dramas

Synopsis: Two escaped convicts -- one black (Poitier), one white (Curtis), and both shackled in the same pair of handcuffs -- battle the elements and each other as they travel Southern back roads eluding the... Two escaped convicts -- one black (Poitier), one white (Curtis), and both shackled in the same pair of handcuffs -- battle the elements and each other as they travel Southern back roads eluding the ever-approaching posse. Though the device of binding two racial antagonists together for survival may be rather obvious, the performances make the result compelling. Watch for Lon Chaney, Jr. along the way. [More]

Starring: Tony Curtis, Sidney Poitier, Theodore Bikel, Lon Chaney

Starring: Tony Curtis, Sidney Poitier, Theodore Bikel, Lon Chaney, Charles McGraw, King Donovan, Cara Williams, Kevin Coughlin, Lon Chaney, Claude Akins, Lawrence Dobkin, Whit Bissell, Carl "Alfalfa" Switzer

Director: Stanley Kramer

Director: Stanley Kramer
Screenwriter: Nathan E. Douglas
Producer: Stanley Kramer
Composer: Ernest Gold
Screenwriter: Harold Jacob Smith

[See More Credits]

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Release:

Jan 8, 2008

No Details Exist
 
 

Reviews for The Defiant Ones

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N/R

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Full Review Source: Variety | comment Comment
02/19/09
Variety
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

It becomes shackled with its heavy-handed liberal message.

Full Review Source: Ozus' World Movie Reviews | comment Comment
05/21/08
Dennis Schwartz
Dennis Schwartz
Ozus' World Movie Reviews

Although an advance on Hollywood's usual treatment of racial themes, the script is too message-laden and the direction (by do-gooder Kramer) too single-minded and naively optimistic to really work.

Full Review Source: Channel 4 Film | comment Comment
11/07/07
Channel 4 Film
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

This was the film that established Poitier as a star.

Full Review Source: TV Guide's Movie Guide | comment Comment
11/07/07
TV Guide's Movie Guide
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Kramer was never much of a director, but there's still power in some of the performances, especially Poitier's.

Full Review Source: Chicago Reader | comment Comment
11/07/07
Jonathan Rosenbaum
Jonathan Rosenbaum
Chicago Reader
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

The suspense of the manhunt in the swamps never really overcomes the dead weight of Kramer's 'message', but pleasures are to be found in the supporting roles of McGraw and Chaney.

Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
01/26/06
Melissa Anderson
Melissa Anderson
Time Out

No review available.

comment Comment
06/27/05
Emanuel Levy
Emanuel Levy
EmanuelLevy.Com

No review available.

comment Comment
04/22/05
Philip Martin
Philip Martin
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

No review available.

comment Comment
10/08/04
Robin Clifford
Robin Clifford
Reeling Reviews

Given the era of this movie, it was a controversial topic and a theme that Kramer handles courageously. He does a good job of showcasing Poitier and Curtis in their prime and the film's Oscar-winning cinematography is crisp and outstanding.

Full Review Source: Apollo Guide | comment Comment
03/16/04
Mike DeWolfe
Mike DeWolfe
Apollo Guide

It is nervous and suspenseful from the start.

Full Review Source: New York Times | comment Comment
05/20/03
Bosley Crowther
Bosley Crowther
New York Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Groundbreaking.

Full Review Source: Austin Chronicle | comment Comment
03/10/03
Marjorie Baumgarten
Marjorie Baumgarten
Austin Chronicle

It’s not high art, but it is a well-made, well-rounded movie.

Full Review Source: Movie Habit | comment Comment
08/21/02
Marty Mapes
Marty Mapes
Movie Habit

Poitier and Curtis are great. Whoever thinks Curtis is just a pretty face should see his gripping performance.

comment Comment
08/20/02
Bob Bloom
Bob Bloom
Journal and Courier (Lafayette, IN)

With two superb performances and palpable tension, the film has a strength that rises above the simplicity of the storyline.

Full Review Source: Internet Reviews | comment Comment
01/01/00
Steve Rhodes
Steve Rhodes
Internet Reviews
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Tim Dirks' The Greatest Films | comment Comment
01/01/00
Tim Dirks
Tim Dirks
Tim Dirks' The Greatest Films
 
 
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