The Hurricane

The Hurricane videos

Denzel Washington Coolest Lines Mashup

Denzel Washington Coolest Lines Mashup

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Cast & Crew

Denzel Washington

Rubin "Hurricane" Carter

Vicellous Reon Shannon

Lesra Martin

Deborah Kara Unger

Lisa Peters

Liev Schreiber

Sam Chaiton

John Hannah

Terry Swinton

Dan Hedaya

Detective Vincent Della Pesca

Debbi Morgan

Mae Thelma

Clancy Brown

Lt. Jimmy Williams

David Paymer

Myron Bedlock

Harris Yulin

Leon Friedman

Rod Steiger

Judge H. Lee Sarokin

Garland Whitt

John Artis

Norman Jewison

Director

Rubin "Hurricane" Carter

Writer

Sam Chaiton

Writer

Terry Swinton

Writer

Armyan Bernstein

Screenwriter

Dan Gordon

Screenwriter

Marc Abraham

Executive Producer

Irving Azoff

Executive Producer

Armyan Bernstein

Producer

Suzann Ellis

Co-Producer

Thomas A. Bliss

Executive Producer

Jon Jashni

Co-Producer

Norman Jewison

Producer

Michael Jewison

Co-Producer

John Ketcham

Producer

Tom Rosenberg

Executive Producer

Rudy Langlais

Executive Producer

William Teitler

Executive Producer

Christopher Young

Original Music

Roger Deakins

Cinematographer

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Critic Reviews for The Hurricane

Audience Reviews for The Hurricane

• Aug 17, 2013

  "Here comes the story of the Hurricane, the man the authorities came to blame, for a crime he never done; put him in a prison cell, but one time he could have been the champion of the world!" Yeah, maybe that song got carried away when it called Rubin Carter the "number one contender", seeing as how he apparently never ranked higher than third, but hey, that only makes the song even more fitting here, seeing as how this isn't the most accurate portrait of "The Hurricane" either. Besides, there was no way I was not going to make that reference, based on its being a pretty darn good, if somewhat monotonous Bob Dylan song alone. Seriously, Bobby, I dig "Desolation Row" and all, the lyrics are sharp enough to keep you going, but jeez, the mamma jamma is eleven-and-a-half minutes long, so I reckon you could have at least considered breaking that tradition in folk music of barely bothering to keep the song structure somewhat dynamic. There's probably some kind of militant black protestor out there who would be frustrated by my going on and on about someone as white as Bob Dylan, but don't worry, this film isn't that black, as reflected by its starring Denzel Washington and being directed by Norman Jewison, the guy who did stuff like "The Statement", "Moonstruck", "...And Just For All", "Rollerball", "Fiddler on the Roof" and, of course, a rock opera about white Jesus. Man, you win the Oscar for "In the Heat of the Night", and all of a sudden, people are looking to you to tell us about black problems. Oh well, Jewison still had his heart in this project enough to make a pretty decent film (Hey, in this liberal day and age, you better not half-bake things if you're a white guy telling of the struggles of a black guy), which isn't to say that this film is the world-class champion that Rubin Carter apparently was, according to Bob Dylan, taking more than a few heavy blows. Running just shy of two-and-a-half hours, this film, at least on paper, seems to be at in serious danger of collapse into dragging, but the real problem with this film's pacing is all-out unevenness, because even though there are a fair deal of scenes that go bloated by repetitious fat around the edges, just as big, if not a bigger problem is hurrying, which thins out exposition and leaves storytelling to put only so much attention into fleshing out depths. In one too many places, the film feels somewhat slam-banged, almost in the fashion of a TV film or something, even with a hefty length, and that's pretty costly to the full impact of this drama, yet no matter how uneven storytelling may be, it at least keeps consistent in genericism. Rubin "Hurricane" Carter's story is about as important as the story of any black person who went what he went through, but if there's anything distinct about Carter's story, this film doesn't tell you, unraveling a familiar tale in a fashion that is often simply formulaic, and just as often, well, borderline trite, which would be fine and all if this racial conflict drama didn't practice its brethren's tradition of taking on subtlety issues. I haven't looked too much into Rubin Carter's story, but from what I gather, this film takes liberties, and if that's the case, then chances are that they are liberties aimed at supplementing thematic depth, seeing as how this film is all but entirely driven by its heavy-handed thematic weight, which is explores in a near-comical fashion that blatantly overemphasizes racial conflicts and black struggles, often at the expense of genuine characterization, whose superficiality actually proves to be detrimental to the impact of this film's worthy themes. Sure, the thematic overbearingness settles down a bit, or is at least gotten used to, after a while, but on the whole, this promising biopic isn't about Carter's relationships, military service, or even, believe it or not, his boxing career, just about race issues, thus making Carter not much more than a component to themes dealing with struggles against dehumanization, which ironically dehumanizes our lead, while reflecting director Norman Jewison's being too passionate to tell this tale. Jewison is just too ambitious for his own good, so much so that he ends up betraying his vision more than doing it as much justice as it should be given, while leaving you to meditate upon other glaring issues, until the final product ends up so tattered that it comes dangerously close to collapsing into mediocrity. Of course, no matter how messy the film gets, what it does right it does well enough to achieve genuine decency, which is shaky, but ultimately stands, even within visual style, at least to a certain extent. The film is lensed by the great Roger Deakins, so it's rather disappointing to find that many areas in this film's cinematography is kind of flat, but someone like Deakins can have his photographic eye blinded for only so long, and sure enough, for every simplistic area in the film's visual style, there is a subtly tasteful play with color and lighting that proves to be both attractive and complimentary to the tone of a certain area in storytelling. Again, there's only so much kick to visual style, but when the film's photographic value picks up, it ends up doing a better job of defining the range of this film's depth than Norman Jewison's direction, which I suppose is good, because the celebration of this film's story needs as much flavor as it can get. Rubin "Hurricane" Carter's story is a pretty familiar one, and much of its value is lost at the hands of superficiality and heavy-handedness to the interpretation of this worthy tale, but the point is that this story is worthy, not just because its thematic depth is pretty important, but because it boasts a legal and dramatic juiciness that is much too often betrayed, yet never fully obscured, boasting an immediate degree of intrigue that is, in fact, built upon at times. Norman Jewison's direction is an absolute mess, especially within the first, say, hour-and-a-half of the film, which is almost sloppy enough to drive the film into mediocrity, but there is mediocrity during the first half or so in this film, then even it is barely achieved, because for every hiccup made, there is a moment in which Jewison's directorial thoughtfulness genuinely works as controlled enough to compel. If Jewison is consistent with nothing else, it is a certain degree of entertainment value, which holds you over through all of the lowlights in this drama until things start to pick up enough to keep your somewhat compelled, even with the pacing, expository and subtlety issues, but what truly secures the final product beyond mediocrity is, of course, the acting. Sure, there are plenty of good performances within the unevenly used supporting cast, but the man who really impresses is leading man Denzel Washington, who is, of course, playing Denzel Washington, but does so particularly well, boasting enough genuine charisma and inspired dramatic range to bypass characterization superficiality and bring life to the primary focus of this character study, which is largely made effective by Washington. Sure, Washington, as the main portrayer of a character, rather than the main teller of a character study, can do only so much to carry the drama's effectiveness, but in spite of some underwriting to acting material, Washington ends up doing a lot, saving a lead who could have fallen flat as somewhat disingenuous enough to sustain your investment, whose being further reinforced by what is, in fact, done right in the telling of a worthy tale saves the final product as decent, if rather underwhelming. To close this case, unevenness in pacing both bloats storytelling repetitiously and rushes much expository depth into disconcerting thinness, which joins conventionalism and overambition in making overwhelming subtlety issues almost grating enough to drive the final product into mediocrity, but through tasteful moments in cinematography, highlights in direction and a strong performance by Denzel Washington, Rubin Carter's story of injustice is done enough justice for Norman Jewison's "The Hurricane" to stand as an entertaining and generally intriguing drama, in spite of its considerable flaws. 2.5/5 - Fair
  

  Super Reviewer
• Apr 22, 2013

  Norman Jewison's The Hurricane is a pulse pounding drama about middle weight boxer Rubin "Hurricane" Carter who was wrongly imprisoned for a murder he did not commit. Denzel Washington stars in the lead role, and he gives a stunning performance, and it ranks among his strongest of his career. This is a film that boasts a strong story with equally great acting. Norman Jewison crafts a worthwhile film that is a near flawless biopic. Like I previously stated, Washington delivers here, and he carries the film. He is the perfect choice to play Rubin Carter. The film has its flaws, as it tends to get a bit too dramatic, luckily it does manage to tone it down to make this film a well crafted Drama. The story is compelling and entertaining from start to finish. What I love the most about Denzel Washington is how he delivers a performance. He is a fine actor who is very talented, and he yet Again brings a stunning performance. With his powerful performance as Rubin Carter, he elevates the film's strength to overcome its flaws. This is a great film that is worth seeing if you love Washington's work. The film is powerful and poignant. Aside the plot, which is well layered, the film does carry an important message and it will certainly carry on with viewers. The message is that if society does you a wrong, in this case, a wrongful murder conviction, then it's worth fighting for if you strongly believe that person is innocent, and in the case of The Hurricane, it shows how crooked the system is and how right can prevail. Norman Jewison has made a fine drama that tells a very good story and is elevated by a wonderful cast of terrific talented. If you're looking for one of Denzel Washington's finest roles, you will be more than satisfied with The Hurricane.
  

  Super Reviewer
• Jul 18, 2012

  A story about life, racism, inspiration and boxing, it's based on a true story but however highly altered. The plot was touching and motivative. It's hard to understand how a man can really spend 20 years in jail when he's innocent. Denzel was simply amazing in this film, the sub-plot was slightly unrealistic but still maintained a good message. The final shot was beautiful, truly enjoyable.
  

  Super Reviewer
• Feb 21, 2011

  The Hurricane is a solid film, and could have benefited from a three hour run time. There are so many aspects to this story and so much ground to cover that I think director Norman Jewison might have slightly edited himself out of an Oscar. That's not to say that this isn't a well paced, well put together film, but it's missing that "wow" factor; it's hard to explain, but it's that feeling you get when the credits role and you're still sitting in your seat captivated by what you just saw. I think it's because the film under-develops some of its characters. I wanted to know more about the racist cop who frames Denzel Washington's character, Rubin Carter, for murder. The guy's a prick no doubt, but I wanted to know more about why he does what he does, instead of just seeing him as Satan Incarnate. Also, I wanted to know more about the Canadians who fought tooth and nail to appeal the case; they seemed just as important as Rubin Carter, but the movie doesn't give them enough screen time - but then again, I might be biased because I am a Canadian. Other than that, a solid effort, and Denzel Washington gave another brilliant performance; one of his finest even to this day.
  

  Super Reviewer