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The Great Debaters 
| 80% Recommended by our customers. Studio: WELLSPRING/GENIUS Catalog: DVD Release date: 2008-05-13 Media: DVD released in theatres: 2007 Running time in minutes: 124 Audience Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested) Format: Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, NTSC, Widescreen DVD Region code: 1 released in theatres: 2007 Ean: 0796019810708 Upc: 796019810708  Tip: compare prices with similar DVDsActors:
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| User Reviews: |
 Written on September 9, 2008 Summary: The best This movie is the best---The story and the acting is the best...I certainly would purchase it again. Written on September 7, 2008 Summary: Stirring reminder of Jim Crow and the courage of those who overcame it This movie takes us back to an ugly time in U.S. history -- the Jim Crow era. In a segregated little town in Texas, the African American teachers and students of tiny Wiley College pursue excellence in education and recruit a world-class debate team, good enough to take on the debaters of Harvard and win. I'm not sure how much of this movie is fact and how much fiction but it pushed all the right buttons with me. Denzel Washington, who directed, plays the debate coach Melvin Tolson. He is fiercely intelligent, proud, politically active, angry, fearless and demanding. Washington makes him truly convincing. His debate team includes a 14-year-old budding genius and a brave young woman breaking gender and race barriers as well as a philanderer with a roving eye. Forest Whitaker plays the 14 year-old's father, a preacher with an angry exterior but a soft heart. The movie explicitly shows the humiliations blacks suffered living in the South, including a horrific lynching. It portrays the self-hatred such scenes inspired in blacks who had to suffer them without the power to do anything about them. One interesting aspect for me is the movie's constant refrain that education is the way out of this poverty and humiliation. By training their intellects, African Americans can reclaim their autonomy, confront their oppressors and build a better life, the movie argues. I am afraid this lesson has been lost somewhere along the way. In those days, people paid good money to watch colleges debates and they were even boradcast on national radio. Today, we're all about glorifying rap singers and basketball players. All our communities, but especially the African American community, are the poorer because of it. The documentary accompanying this movie shows some of the real-life characters who inspired it. You listen to those fierce, passionate, articulate, educated voices and you not only are filled with admiration for them but you also bemoan the state we've reached now. This movie isn't perfect. It's a little formulaic perhaps. But its strengths far outweigh its weaknesses. It's good entertainment that also carries a message we need to hear. Written on August 27, 2008 Summary: Brillant Movie by Denzil and Oprah This is a wonderful movie that you will love. very great and positive and teaches one to work hard and the shy is the limit and once you believes that God is the judge and the opponent doesn't exist you will win. Challenges will arise but with hard work you can reach for the skies. Excellent movie Denzil Washington. Written on August 23, 2008 Summary: A Great, Non-Confrontational Look At The Jim Crow South In my opinion, Denzel Washington is the foremost actor (in terms of actual talent, not money making ability) of our generation. Yet, my one beef with him has often been his very sympathetic, almost revisionist-history take on certain race issues, such as Malcolm X or the story of Rubin "Hurricane" Carter. In those types of films, one race can do no wrong while the other is the root of all evil, which (in reality) is usually never the case. When viewing this film, then, I had myself steeled for that sort of thing once again...the "take with a grain of salt" mentality. Fortunately, this movie had zero problems in that area. The film tells the story of the small Wily College debate team in 1930s Texas (deep in the Jim Crow South) under the tutelage of the famous Melvin Tolson that took on all-comers (big or small) and defeated nearly every one of them. Yet, despite the amazing feats accomplished by that debate team, the real message of this film centers on the actual issues that are being debated, mainly having to do with civil rights or civil disobedience. This is where the debate format comes in very handy, as it allows for both sides of those important issues to be aired in the film. Does some bias show? Yes. Yet, everyone has their own opinion, and the bias that is evident in the film does not go beyond that. The acting in this movie is also terrific. Washington is at his cool-as-a-cucumber best, while the young acting talent (forming the debate team) is also very strong. The presence of Forest Whitaker is another plus. Overall, this is a great film that will really get you thinking about the issues that plagued the Jim Crow South. Most importantly, though, you will be able to see both sides of the story before making your decision. While in the film the judges decide who wins each debate, you can decide for yourself what you believe to be the most convincing argument. Written on August 5, 2008 Summary: The Great Debater - DVD This DVD was truly outstanding in every way. The storyline though not new was so well done. The acting was oscar quality. I can only highly recommend this DVD to those that enjoy a good movie where in the end everybody wins. Harvard wins for allowing the debate to happen and Wiley wins by invoking real life experience into a usually academic event. |
| Comparison map |
| Wondering how the DVD "The Great Debaters" relates to similar DVDs? Find out at a glance here: |
| Price comparison |
 The Great Debaters |
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| Our price | $14.99 | $7.99 | $17.99 | $14.99 | $17.99 | $14.99 |
| List price | $29.95 | $19.98 | $29.98 | $29.99 | $19.94 | $19.98 |
| Lowest used price | $5.97 | $5.00 | $4.20 | $4.35 | $2.40 | $4.45 |
| Lowest new price | $9.35 | $7.99 | $9.95 | $6.47 | $4.64 | $10.11 |
| Collectible price | - | $28.98 | $29.98 | $29.99 | $28.95 | $28.98 |
| Catalog | DVD | DVD | DVD | DVD | DVD | DVD |
| Release date | 2008-05-13 | 2008-06-10 | 2008-04-22 | 2008-05-20 | 2008-05-13 | 2008-05-06 |
| Media | DVD | DVD | DVD | DVD | DVD | DVD |
| released in theatres | 2007 | 2007-12-25 | 2007 | 2007 | 2008 | 2007-12-21 |
| Running time in minutes | 124 | 97 | 102 | 124 | 101 | 127 |
| DVD aspect ratio | - | 1.33:1 | 1.85:1 | 2.35:1 | 2.40:1 | 1.85:1 |
| Audience Rating | PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested) | PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested) | R (Restricted) | PG (Parental Guidance Suggested) | R (Restricted) | PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested) |
| Format | Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, NTSC, Widescreen | Color, Full Screen, Widescreen, NTSC | Widescreen, NTSC | Anamorphic, Color, Dolby, Widescreen, NTSC | AC-3, Color, Dolby, Dubbed, DVD-Video, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC | Color, Full Screen, Widescreen, NTSC |
| DVD Region code | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 99 | 1 |
| Ean | 0796019810708 | 0085391139881 | 0025195004848 | 0786936735390 | 0043396191341 | 0085391138624 |
| Upc | 796019810708 | 085391139881 | 025195004848 | 786936735390 | 043396191341 | 085391138624 |
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