The Hurricane (1999 film)

Promotional poster for The Hurricane

The Hurricane, a 1999 film which stars Denzel Washington, purports to be the true story of boxer Rubin 'Hurricane' Carter, whose conviction for triple murder was overturned after he had spent almost 20 years in prison.

Cast

Also starring: Vicellous Reon Shannon, Deborah Unger, Liev Schreiber, John Hannah, Dan Hedaya, Debbi Morgan, Clancy Brown, David Paymer, Harris Yulin, and Rod Steiger. The script was adapted by Armyan Bernstein and Dan Gordon from the books Lazarus and the Hurricane by Sam Chaiton and Terry Swinton and The 16th Round by Rubin 'Hurricane' Carter. The film was directed by Norman Jewison.

Controversy

The movie was criticized for misrepresenting some of the facts of Carter's life:

• He was actually convicted of three muggings prior his professional boxing career.
• During his military service he was court-martialed four times and discharged as "unfit".
• The movie shows him returning as a decorated soldier, though Carter never distinguished himself in the army.
• In the night after the murder, his car was stopped two times, only at the second stop he was arrested.

Awards

Washington was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor. Various newspaper articles have suggested that the controversy over the film’s accuracy may have cost Washington the Oscar. However, he received a Golden Globe Award in 2000 and a 'Silberner Bär' (Silver Berlin Bear) from the Berlin International Film Festival. Director Norman Jewison was awarded the 'Prize of the Guild of German Art House Cinemas' at the same festival. All in all, the film received six international awards.

Former Middleweight Champion Joey Giardello sued the film's producers for libel over the depiction of his fight with Carter. Eventually, the case was settled, with the producers paying the retired champion a hefty sum (reportedly $300,000).

Trivia

• Hurricane was also a song by Bob Dylan taken from his 1976 album Desire. It tells the story of the alleged injustice behind Rubin Carter's imprisonment.
• The real Rubin 'Hurricane' Carter is only 5'8" and 155 pounds, being about 4 inches shorter and nearly 40 pounds lighter than Denzel Washington (even when the actor slimmed down to play Hurricane). In actuality, Washington (and the actors who play his opponents in the ring) classify as heavyweights.

Tagline: His greatest fight was for justice.

External link

• "TheHurricane". Universal Movie Website. September 15. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= and |year= / |date= mismatch (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |Author= (help)
• The Hurricane at IMDb
• "Hurricane Carter". "The Hurricane" Misleads a Trusting Public. September 15. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= and |year= / |date= mismatch (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |Author= (help)