Destined to be a classic, "The Great Debaters" is the inspiring story about an all-black college debate team that successfully confronts 1930s racism through the power of intelligence and words.
Determined to prove the talent of his students and his race, Melvin Tolson (played by Denzel Washington), steadily challenges all-white college teams to debate contests. The continual success of his team ultimate leads to the great debate against top-ranked Harvard University.
Based on the true story of Melvin B. Tolson and the Wiley College debate team, "The Great Debaters" is a dramatic telling of this little-known, but important piece of African American history.
Trivia
• "The Great Debaters" was produced by Harpo Films which is the film company the Oprah Winfrey owns. Harpo Films also produced Beloved and The Women of Brewster Place which are both Black Classic Movies Top 100 films.
• Denzel Washington directed and starred in this movie. "The Great Debaters" is the second movie that Denzel Washington has directed. The first one was the film "Antwone Fisher" in which Denzel Washington also starred.
• "The Great Debaters is based on the real debate team of Wiley College near Marshall, Texas. Wiley College is a historically black college that was founded in 1873 by Methodist Episcopal church Bishop Isaac Wiley. Wiley College is still in existence today and is one of the oldest historically black colleges west of the Mississippi River.
• In this movie, the Wiley College debate team challenges Harvard University. However, in actuality, the great debate was with the University of Southern California (USC).
• "The Great Debaters" is the first time that two African-American Academy Award winners have starred in a movie together - Denzel Washington and Forest Whitaker. Denzel Washington has won two Academy Awards: Best Actor in a Leading Role for the movie "Training Day" and Best Supporting Actor in a Movie for the film "Glory." Forest Whitaker won an Academy Award for Best Actor in the film "The Last King of Scotland."
Awards
• This movie won four NAACP Image Awards: Outstanding Motion Picture, Outstanding Actor in a Motion Picture (Denzel Washington), Outstanding Actress in a Motion Picture (Jurnee Smollett), Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture (Denzel Whitaker)
• "The Great Debaters" was also nominated for four additional NAACP Image Awards: Outstanding Director (Denzel Washington), Outstanding Supporting Actor (Nate Parker), Outstanding Supporting Actor (Forest Whitaker) and Outstanding Writing (Robert Eisele)
The Great Debaters DVD - Regular Edition
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"The Great Debaters" Special Edition DVD
The Great Debaters Special Edition DVD
The special edition DVD of "The Great Debaters" is a two-disc DVD set that has additional features and material not found on the regular edition DVD. Specifically, the special edition has the following special bonus material:
•"Great Debaters: A Historical Perspective" - Opens with a discussion by Oprah Winfrey which talks about the history behind the motion picture. This also includes interviews with Wiley College students who were at the school during the time that the movie takes place.
• Music Videos - "That's What My Baby Likes" and "My Soul is a Witness"
• Additional Featurettes
"The Great Debaters: A Heritage of Music"
"Scoring The Great Debaters"
"Learning the Art: Our Young Actors Go to Debate Camp"
"Forest Whitaker on Becoming James Farmer, Sr."
"The 1930s Wardrobe of Sharen Davis"
"The Poetry of Melvin B. Tolson"
•Deleted Scenes from the Motion Picture
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"The Great Debaters" Movie Soundtrack
The Great Debaters Movie Soundtrack
The movie soundtrack for this film features songs from artists like Alvin Youngblood Hart, Sharon Jones and Marian Anderson.
"The Great Debaters" Movie Posters
The Great Debaters Movie Posters
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