偉大辯手

Director 導演：

Denzel Washington 丹澤爾#8226;華盛頓

Leading Cast 主演：

Denzel Washington 丹澤爾#8226;華盛頓

Nate Parker 奈特#8226;帕克

Jurnee Smollett 杰妮#8226;斯默里特

Denzel Whitaker丹澤爾#8226;懷塔克

Forest Whitaker福里斯特#8226;惠特克

Genre 類型：Drama 劇情

Runtime 片長：123分鐘

Distribution出品：Harpo Films 哈珀電影

Plot Outline故事梗概

在20世紀30年代的德州，政府依舊沿用著19世紀70年代的法律對黑人實行種族隔離和種族歧視。作為一名有知識有頭腦的黑人，Melvin B. Tolson非常希望通過自己的力量為同胞們做些事情，于是在空余時間他開始在學校中成立黑人高校的第一支辯論隊。在辯論隊成長的道路上，Melvin不斷挑戰著社會當時的傳統觀念、反抗著當時的游戲規則。他反叛的精神和激進的教學方式不斷遭到當局的審查，但他始終堅持著自己的信念，最終，辯論隊員們進入了哈佛大學的辯論殿堂，成為了第一支打敗哈佛高才生的辯論隊。

Movie Review 影評

By Scott Lewis

It's 1935， and life is hard for the residents of Marshall， Texas. For the landowners and the sharecroppers， there's the threat of poverty brought about by crushing labour laws， greedy corporations and a country recovering from a depression. For the local African-American population， there's abundant racism， segregation and double standards.

For debate team-mates 14-year-old James Farmer， Jr.， teammates Henry Lowe， Samantha Booke and Hamilton Burgess， and firebrand teacher Melvin Tolson， there's another problem: no black college has ever debated their white counterparts， and won.

When Denzel Washington teams up with Oprah Winfrey to make an underdog movie about a college debate team in the Deep South before the Second World War， litters the script with real-life heroes and founders of the Civil Rights movement， and throws in some sharecroppers， lynchings and a lovesick 14-year-old genius， you can be certain of one thing: this is going to be a movie with a message.

It doesn't disappoint – the movie is full of righteous anger and moral lessons. Set in the small town of Marshall， Texas， The Great Debaters is based on the true story of the Wiley College Debate Team， the first black college to take on an Ivy League school. It's full of underdog movie tropes – family issues， interpersonal conflicts and social taboos all conspire to wreck the team's one big shot at success. As a result it's generic， the outcome is obvious from the start， and there's nothing remotely original in the entire movie… but it's still a damn good way to spend a couple of hours.

Where The Great Debaters really， truly comes in to its own is on the strength of its scripting. Screenwriter Robert Eisle has put together a fantastic story， littered with quotable lines and dramatic， uplifting speeches. The casting is another stroke of genius – Denzel Washington (rather predictably) excels in his role as Melvin Tolson， and Hollywood legends John Heard and Forest Whittaker are also on board， but these noted luminaries are all outshone by the performances of the younger cast – Nate Parker (Lowe)， Jurnee Smollet (Booke) and Denzel Whittaker (Farmer). All three of the principal younger actors put their heart and soul into this movie， infusing it with a passion unmatched since 2000's Remember The Titans.

If you're looking for a decent feel good movie to while away an afternoon， then this is certainly a solid candidate. It won't change the world， but it will definitely make you stop and think about it for a while.

1935年，德州居民的生活十分艱苦。勞動法的頒布、貪婪的企業的蠶食以及剛從大蕭條中緩過勁的國家都讓當地的地主和佃農面臨著窮困的威脅。對于當地的美裔黑人來說，他們飽受歧視、種族隔離以及雙重標準的欺壓。

而對于由激情澎湃的教師麥爾文組織的辯論隊（隊員包括14歲的詹姆士、亨利、莎曼莎以及漢密頓）來說，他們又面臨著另一個挑戰：沒有哪所黑人大學曾擊敗過白人大學。

當丹澤爾#8226;華盛頓聯合奧普拉#8226;溫弗瑞制作一部反映二戰前南部大學辯論的故事的電影時；當他們將現實中的英雄和民權運動的創始人與佃農、私刑及14歲的天才少年融合一起時，那么有一件事是確信無疑的：這部電影肯定是在傳遞一個訊息?！?br>