Rating: 
Summary: The Hurricane is great art, but is not a documentary
Review: What is the proof that The Hurricane is such a great film? Above all other reasons is this: It has inspired so much heated controversy. If it was dull, poorly written, and badly acted, no one would care to hate it with the vigor that its most strident critics do. But know this from the start: unlike its stranch fans whose reviews appear below claim, it is NOT a true story. It is a fictionalization of a real person. Without exception, not one scene of the film actually happened the way Norman Jewison's direction portrays it. And very few scenes are even remotely close to real events. You cannot fault Jewison or his screenwriters with taking such liberties with actual events any more than you can fault Monet or Picasso for not producing paintings that look like Koda-crome prints. Jewison is an artist, not a historian; a storyteller, not a court reporter. Also keep in mind that the film is based on Carter's book (and the Canadians', too) so it is not a master stroke of objectivity. Many of the sorted details of Carter's life are purposefully left out. By some definitions, Carter could fairly be said to be a "career criminal." His boxing career is very overstated. (He had a pro record of merely 27-12-1 and he was soundly beaten in his middleweight championship bout of 1964. The portrayal of the legal battles is very simplistic in the film. But again, don't blame Jewison for his choices here. The real legal history of the case is rather dry and technical. He was never "proven" not guilty. Rather, the federal court found that his second trial was not a fair one, and thus he was never correctly found to be guilty in the first place. NJ could have tried him a third time, but declined to do so. (And he was released from prison for over a year between the two trials.) Still Carter's case is a compelling story, and with a little adjusting and rearranging, makes good drama. The greatness of the film is its art. It is superbly acted, and Jewison does a wonderful job keeping the focus tightly on the Lasra/Rubin relationship. So what if he weaves the activities of hundreds of real life people in the case into a composited of about into about ten film characters. So does the film "A Civil Action." And there is some very real reasonable doubt about whether Carter committed these murders. The internet abounds with sites that claim that he is a guilty man walking free. That claim is highly suspect, especially since most of the eye witnesses (including one victim) failed to identify Carter as the killer even when shown his face (in an investigation procedure that is now illegal in the U.S.) within hours of the murders. Was Carter guilty or innocent? This movie is not the place to go to seek an answer to that question. The question the movie does answer is more important than that specific question. It tells us that in this country, our sadistic lust to blame people we think might be guilty or we merely want to be guilty can and does easily cause us to convict and punish the innocent. Don't fool yourself: It happens every day. Only courage and love can allow us to overcome our hateful temptations.
Rating: 
Summary: Awasome
Review: This movie is one of the best movies i have ever seen. It has action, drama, you name it.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent movie!
Review: I loved this movie. I don't know how much of it is true, but it was well done and very moving. I'm going to buy the DVD right now! If any of it was even half true, the Ruben Carter has every right to be angry. I'm a pretty angry individual and my life wasn't even a tenth of one percent that bad.
Rating:
Summary: Denzel can make any movie good, even this one
Review: The Hurricane is by no means a great movie. Denzel Washington is a great actor. His portrayl of the wrongly imprisoned Ruben "Hurricane" Carter is simply spellbinding. He deserved the Oscar nomination for this performance because without him this could have been a tv movie of the week.
Rating: 
Summary: DENZEL WAS ROBBED!
Review: DEnzel Washington can act Circles around Kevin Spacey&folks know that.He Got RObbed Years ago Vs.Al Pachino in that SOrry Scent of a WOman.now he Gets Robbed by that Garp Reject American Beauty.while The Movie was all over the place it made it's point.What Happen To Rubin Hurricane" Carter can Happen To Any Black Male in this COuntry at any Time.that's not Make Believe but Fact.what goes as far Left thinking to some is everyday life for the Black Male.Denzel Captures The Essence&Heart of Hurricane.He is as Powerful as Bob Dylan's Song.that Song For Me Took My Feelings For Dylan To a Whole Different Level.Denzel was a 5 in the film.the movie itself was a 1/2 to a 2.I Believe that if SPike Lee had Directed it it would have had more Depth.in the End You Have To Admire Mr.Carter.it takes a Hurricane To Overcome CLoudys Opposed to you.He is a True Warrior.Denzel is The MAN.
Rating:
Summary: Denzel is still a Hurricane!
Review: When the AFI released their 100 top movies of the millenuim in 1999, someone asked me, now that the old time greats like Bogart,Fonda,and Stewart were gone, who would be remembered in the next century. I remeber 2 of my answers; one was Harrison Ford and the other Denzel Washington. While Ford has had a string of mediocore roles of late, Denzel continues to prove why he's a real "heavyweight" in movies! His performance in the Hurricane only re-inforces my beleif!Not only does he turn in a performance that was well worthy of oscar nomination in 99,much like the fury and passion he showed in Malcom X, but he rose above what I would have to call the less than superb writing in this film. He gave a truly emotionally stirring performance, first in his breakdown in his prison cell, to the hardening of his will in order to serve his sentence, to his reluctant acceptance of help from outsiders in his bid for freedom.The story itself seems a bit contrived, although supposedly based on true events. Except for washington's performance, it would come off as just another "hopeless cause overcomes" movie ( my apologies to Leiv Schreiber who was also & always wondeful).What really strikes me, however, is how this film confirms the old adage of the more this change the more they stay the same.In our so called enlightened society, we seem to still be plagued by the same prejudices that pervaded 60's Patterson NJ.One last thing that bothers me is that I saw Denzel Washington having to defend himself from outraged viewers while promoting this movie! While I would never condone the freeing of a guilty man, it is an actors choice to chose any role they want to portray, regardless of their own feelings and popular opinion. That's their job. If people didn't beleive in the content of this movie then they should've banned or boycotted, not bothered the actors. That's THEIR constitutiional right!
Rating:
Summary: THE HURRICANE
Review: WE WATCHED BOTH THE HURRICANE AND AMERICAN BEAUTY AND BOTH OF US FEEL DENZEL WASHINGTON DID A FAR SUPERIOR JOB. THE WHOLE MOVIE WAS FANTASTIC AND THE BEST WE'VE SEEN. DENZEL WAS ROBBED.
Rating: 
Summary: Insulting the Audience
Review: People here have commented that the movie would have been better if the villain and other supporting characters were better developed. The most likely reason for this flaw is that most of them are entirely made up. I won't wear myself out trying to convince anyone, but if you do some objective research, you'll find that the Hurricane blatantly distorts facts and ommits crucial information. The movie for example, conveniently ignores the fact that one of the victims survived for a month and described the shooter to a police sketch artist. Instead, it opts to leave her dead at the shooting. This movie was sold as being a true story, but would have been no less accurate if it were claimed to be based on the life of Bjorn Bjorg. Is a movie praiseworthy simply because it succeeds in manipulating our emotions? The filmmakers set out to make a "feel-good" movie and felt they had the artistic license to spice up an already fictitious story with mumbo jumbo, racist sheriffs, child molestors, racial intrigue and -still- claim it is based on a true story.
Rating:
Summary: A powerful and compelling drama
Review: This is a powerful and compelling look at the life of Rubin Hurricane Carter (Denzel Washington) and his highly publicized fight for freedom from imprisonment. Based on a true story, the film is an in-depth character study including Carter's early life, the murders for which he was incarcerated, his coping with prison and his court battles. Veteran director Norman Jewison creates a tight weave of factors affecting Carter's life; his childhood, the turbulent civil rights movement of the 1960's, and the people who came to his defense. It is an impressive panoply of the forces that swept over his life like a tidal wave. The period props and costumes were well done and accurate in the 1960's scenes. I loved the fact that all the fight fans in the arena were wearing suits and ties. Strange as it seems, that's the way it really was in the early 1960's. The camera work was very good and I particularly liked the use of black and white for the fight scenes. Though he plays fast and loose with the facts, combining and inventing characters for dramatic effect, the changes do not substantially detract from the authenticity of the story. Unfortunately, Jewison made a few choices that bogged the film down in the middle and detracted from it. The film presents some good historical footage of the civil rights movement, but gets a little too preachy at times. The character development of Carter and Lesra was good, but the film would have benefited from a little less of Carter's internment angst and more time in character development of the Canadians. Jewison also presented Detective Della Pesca (Dan Hedaya) as an evil character of superhuman proportions, an inconceivable depiction. This was a superb performance by Denzel Washington, perhaps his best to date. His portrayal of the internal struggle to use his seething anger to help him survive was sensational. He got himself into tremendous shape for the boxing scenes and handled himself well in the ring. I was also impressed with Vicellous Reon Shannon who played Lesra. He exuded sincerity, toughness and genuine empathy, and had very good chemistry with Washington. This strong drama grabs you like a boa and doesn't let up. I rated it an 8/10. It is worth seeing for Denzel Washington's performance alone.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent Movie
Review: The Hurricane is the true story about Rubin "Hurricane" Carter, a prize fighter who was wrongly imprisoned on trumped up murder charges. Denzel Washington's performance is nothing short of stellar. Washington captures the essence of Carter's spirit and portray's it with exquisite fashion. The Hurricane is a long movie at 2 and a half hours or so, but you will be compelled to watch to see what happens with Rubin and his life. The Hurricane is quite possibly the best movie to be released for sale in the year 2000. I can't recommend this one enough! Buy it!
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