Academy Award(R)-winner Denzel Washington (Best Actor, TRAINING DAY, 2001) gives a victorious performance in this stirring and uplifting film. REMEMBER THE TITANS is a rousing celebration of how a town torn apart by resentment, friction, and mistrust comes together in triumphant harmony. The year is 1971. After leading his team to 15 winning seasons, football coach Bill Yoast (Will Patton) is demoted and replaced by Herman Boone (Washington), tough, opinionated, and as different from the beloved Yoast as he could be. How these two men overcome their differences and turn a group of hostile young men into champions, plays out in a remarkable and triumphant story full of soul and spirit. You and your family will never forget the Titans.

Though the plot seems rather dark from the above description, the movie does a great job balancing itself so that it is dramatic and you are able to understand what racism was like during that time period, but there is plenty of humor to cause you not to be upset during the entire film.

This has got to be one of the best movies I have seen throughout my entire life (okay, I'm only fourteen, but give me a break). I saw this movie three times while at the movie theaters (my mom saw it five times; believe me, she isn't the type to see a movie while it's in theaters that many times), and you can bet that Remember the Titans will become a part of my video library when it comes out on video. This movie made me laugh, made me cry, and made me that much wiser about the world. When Remember the Titans comes out on video, please at least do yourself the favor of renting it. I can almost guarantee that you will absolutely enjoy this film. That's how good it is.

39 of 42 found the following review helpful:


A memorable movie and DVD....  Apr 03, 2001 By L. Quido "quidrock"
I first saw "Remember the Titans" in the theater with a group of younger friends, who did not live through the civil rights movement or the uneasy truce that existed through the next 10 years. It was interesting to see their reactions to the chasm that existed on the "battlefield" of the public school system. Although "RtT" doesn't explore the issues of the time in a substantive way, the film makes it easy to believe that the situations were real. The football field action is impressively filmed and the soundtrack is outstanding.

Will Patton and a terrific cast of young actors will entertain you and make you believe for the run of the movie. And although some scenes are corny, (every scene that features Coach Yost's daughter!) you find yourself caught up in not only the game, but in what it represents as a centerpiece for a small town or city.

I confess that there is no movie featuring Denzel Washington that I don't like! His performance here is solid, and he hides his natural charm well - Coach Boone is not a charming guy!

In DVD, the film is enhanced with many special features that are just as entertaining as the movie. I particularly enjoyed the discussion between the two coaches and the items that were edited out of the movie.

Not an award winning movie, but definitely a feel-good flick with an edge of some of the hardships that make life worth living. It's great to see such favorable and complex reviews from younger watchers; it makes you realize that the film hit its mark!

25 of 27 found the following review helpful:


A MOVING STORY OF HEROIC DETERMINATION  Mar 22, 2001 By Gerard T. McGuire
Denzel Washington is Coach Boone, a black football coach who finds himself in unfamiliar territory when he is appointed head coach of a high school team in its first year of intergration. When the fomer coach Yoast agrees to be his assistant it seems that turmoil and not determination will rule the squad.

Boone's determination to win is only outmatched by his drive for racial harmony within the team and coaching staff. By forcing his players to interact he creates bonds and friendships. Throughout all of this he knows he must win or his tenure as head coach will be short lived. He must not only battle the racial tension in the team, but in the town as well. Only his sheer will can guide his team to the promised land.

The movie is an outstanding piece of cinema. It adresses a social issue with raw emotional power. It teaches a lesson without screaming it in your face. The acting is without a doubt full of some of the best performances of the year to not have been recognized by Oscar and the likes. While Denzel Washington and Will Patton are phenomenal the show is stolen by the members of the team. Watch this film and you will get the point. An emotional five star film worth watching again and again.

17 of 18 found the following review helpful:


Look for the Deeper Meaning  May 16, 2001 By Tiffany Jackson
After working in a video store for nine months, it's hard to find a good new release. Pretty soon, you begin to nit pick everything about the plot, director, actors, characters, etc. So, when I took a chance on this football movie, I wasn't expecting to be blown away.

Not only is Denzel better than ever, so is Disney! When first deciding whether or not to actually take this one home, I had to think about the dreading football action. (You know, all of the stuff that the guys want to see) Honestly, this one isn't another guy show. Remember the Titans is about so much more.

In a time of corrupt racism, the boys of a small southern town are forced to be civil, and it even goes farther than that. The black football team and the white football team must play as one. They must join to stay in the game, and the players must get along. This movie is about dreams, determination, hope, and fear.

This movie is excellent! I guarentee it won't be a waste of your time. From the very beginning the magic was there, and it flows throughout the show. If you like drama, you'll love Remember the Titans. Ever hear of the "Clash of the Titans"? Well, this movie gives another meaning to the phrase. Oh yeah, about the nit picking thing, I couldn't even bring myself to do it with this winner.

14 of 16 found the following review helpful:


A lesson on racism for young and old  Mar 06, 2002 By Fanoula Sevastos
If you have teenagers in your household, rent this movie for them. It's rated PG for a reason. This isn't a movie about football; it's a movie about the pointlessness of racism, that uses the football field as a metaphor. That the kids won't understand that doesn't matter, they'll absorb the message while being too entertained to notice.

Disney always produces movies that both young and old can appreciate and so the adults will enjoy the movie too. The script may not be very original and the end result may not reach any deeper than the life-lessons it sets out to teach, but it teaches them with a lot of heart and there's a lot to be said for that.

In this true story, Denzel Washington plays Herman Boone, a no-nonsense football coach who has been handed the job of Head Coach at a high school in Alexandria, Virginia that has suddenly been desegregated. It's the early 70's. His players consist of the school's white football team and the new black kids who played for their former all-black high school team. That these two factions don't want to have anything to do with each other is an understatement. During football camp, through the will and drive, the insight and courage, of Coach Boone, they are forced to treat each other with respect, which turns out to be the first step towards friendship, and they become a more unified team. This all happens a little too easily, but then, it's a feel-good Disney movie, not a three and a half hour Oliver Stone saga. Once school starts, they face the same conditions they faced going into camp: they step into a desegregated school environment that is now segregated internally. The community at large is more to blame than the kids themselves, but that doesn't make the students any less prejudiced. As the football season unfolds, racial lines become more and more blurred for the team members to the disdain of all others around them. Friendships gets tested and relationships get nurtured, on and off the field, including the growing but guarded friendship that takes root between Coach Boone and his assistant coach, Bill Yoast, (a convincing performance by Will Patton). Yoast was head coach before he was forced out to make room for Boone, and is a hard-edged but, we slowly find out, open minded and big hearted, member of the white community.

Denzel Washington puts in his usual winning performance. One wishes that his character was written with a little more depth and was less of the Cheerleader-for-the-Movement variety. What he does with the script that he's handed, however, is memorable. In fact, you can tell Washington is relaxed and enjoying himself here; he doesn't exactly have to stretch his acting skills to nail this character, and it's obvious that it's a character he believes in.

Hayden Penettier who plays Coach Yoast's daughter Sheryl, is hilarious as a 7-or-so year old tomboy who calls her father "coach" instead of "dad" and knows more about football than most of the players do. She's a very talented young actress and this role should land her more significant ones. She very nearly stole the show.

The various members of the football team are a well-rounded and capable group of actors even if they're your standard stereotyped bunch of characters. They're the primary source of fun in the movie, filling up the screen with various locker-room antics. The strongest of these characters is Gary Bertier, the white team captain (played by Ryan Hurst) and Julius Campbell (played by Wood Harris) the strongest minded black player, who start out as enemies and whose evenutal friendship plays a pivitol role in the film.

Remember the Titans is the kind of movie Hollywood is continually accused of not making: a movie aimed at kids that doesn't pander to sex and violence. That it isn't Oscar material should be of no consequence. It may not have won any awards, but that doesn't make it any less worthy of an audience.

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