Race
Based on the incredible true story of Jesse Owens, the legendary athletic superstar whose quest to become the greatest track and field athlete in history thrusts him onto the world stage of the 1936 Olympics, where he faces off against Adolf Hitler’s vision of Aryan supremacy. “Race” is an enthralling film about courage, determination, tolerance, and friendship, and an inspiring drama about one man’s fight to become an Olympic legend
Director:
Stephen Hopkins
Cast:
Stephan James, Jeremy Irons, Jason Sudeikis, Anna Waterhouse, William Hurt, Carice Van Houten
Screenplay:
Joe Shrapnel, Anna Waterhouse
Screening Date:
Feb 06, 2016
Studio:
Focus Features
Running Time:
134 minutes
| Excellent | Very Good | Good | Fair | Poor |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 55.6% | 30.6% | 8.3% | 2.8% | 2.8% |
“An eye opener of racism in the US. I didn’t know 2 Jewish athletes were eliminated from the race.”
“Hope the film is historically accurate because it’s an amazing story.”
“Much like ‘MY AMERICAN HERO’ we all know the story and the outcome – at least I hope we would know this amazing piece of history – so the script should concentrate on the emotions behind the facts. Still, great acting from all concerned, and I liked the divide between Hurt and Irons.”
“Not CHARIOTS OF FIRE but I was moved by Jesse Owens’s story. Jason Sudeikis was terrific as the coach. Some interesting facts, which were new to me especially about Brundage and Larry and Jesse’s friendship. Too much talk, not enough connection to Owens and the emotional content of this stirring story. Too little made of the Jewish runners being cut.”
“Shame on the US for not recognizing Owens in his lifetime. Wonderful film with great acting!”
“Production values were tops, they literally re-created Germany and the Olympic stadium of 1936 with tens of thousands of spectators. Wonderful to look at, script not so much, which is amazing as the story is all there to tell.”
“My History students will love it, my writing class will be disappointed. In a story filled with racism, persecution, friendship, politics and sports one would have thought there would be more emotion.”
“Stephan James very good, wish there had been more about his father and family as well as the enormous implications of the historic events.”
“This was a good enough telling of a great story. I’m glad it’s been told; wish it had been a little stronger. But I was very taken with the backroom stories. The bad old Olympic committee and coaches, the lughead football team and coach. Yikes.”
“Beautiful job! Thanks for getting it for us. Almost too true!”
“Trite and predictable from the silly title to the banal song during the closing credits. This significant and seminal event was presented as Hollywood pop. Very disappointing!”
“A film that needed to be made and needs to be seen by this generation. Unbelievable that he had to use the servant’s entrance to the White House in the 1960’s. Was that true? (Ed. Notes – YES!) Too bad coach and his wife didn’t go with Jessie and his wife but that would have been too trite. Very true atmospheric production to the times and locals. Acting was excellent. USA used him too. Not a great film but important topic and film. Very kind to Riefenstahl.”
“Loved it! We need to be reminded of this story and history. Thanks!”
“Best line – ‘Shall I translate or interpret?’”
“He was lovely to look at.”
“ Unfortunately, this film does not service to a very remarkable story. The dialogue was too often clichéd and delivered by actors who seemed miscast. Jesse Owens was an American hero but Stephen James is not up to the task of portraying him. Jeremy Irons and William Hurt were lending their names perhaps for the paycheck but they were not good enough to make this move worthwhile. This film is an example of an opportunity missed. How does this happen? The screenplay was a huge disappointment. Why could this glaring issue not be seen by the producers or studio? The graphic history superimposed at the end was more interesting than the movie itself but they did not even handle that well; they should have let the commentary to the end and not have it play during the filmed scenes.”
If you'd like to know more about the film...
In the film the question of racial influence on the Olympics is presented. In particular Jesse Owens is put in a position in which he must decide whether or not to let his racial background influence his position on the Olympics. The following link concerns another black athlete who discusses his own action involving race and the Olympics as well as a letter he wrote to Jesse Owens about this issue.
http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/more-sports/black-power-olympian-mend-...
In the film the audience is introduced to Leni Riefenstahl who is seen filming the 1936 Olympics. The film makes a point to discuss her talent and recognition among German officials. While the film does make a point to highlight the filming of the Olypmics and show some insight into her character it does not go very in depth. The following link is a somewhat brief biography which details some of the more significant aspects of her life.
http://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/article.php?ModuleId=10007410
As mentioned before Leni Riefenstahl is featured in the film, largely due to her filming of the Olympics. The film, known as Olympia, is shown being made throughout the last act of the film but with that much of the finished product is not shown. If you would like to view the actual film the link below can send you to the film.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lLnGqMoNXRI
The film goes about covering a somewhat broad portion of Jesse Owens' life, particualry the time surrounding his participation in the Olympics. If you would like like to learn a bit more about Jesse Owens the following link provides ten facts about Jesse Owens, including some which concern Owens following the 1936 Olympics.
http://www.history.com/news/10-things-you-may-not-know-about-jesse-owens
When a film is made with the goal of portaying a real live event or the life of a real person there is always the potential for it to fall short. In particular this can easily happen as a result of the film covering to much history in one's life or by it not focusing enough on certain aspects which deserve more attention. The link below consists of an article in which a sports curator at the Smithsonian discusses aspects of the film in regards to what really happened and what may not have.
http://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/sports-curator-smi...
