The Hurricane [Blu-ray]

Director: Norman Jewison Norman Jewison

Overview

In 1966, Rubin "Hurricane" Carter was a top-ranked middleweight boxer whom many fight fans expected to become world champion. When three people were shot to death in a bar in Paterson, New Jersey, Carter and his friend John Artis, driving home from another club in Paterson, were stopped and questioned by police. Although the police asserted that Carter and Artis "were never suspects," a man named Alfred Bello, himself a suspect in the killings, claimed that Carter and Artis were present at the time of the murders. On the basis of Bello's testimony, Carter and Artis were convicted of murder, and Carter was given three consecutive life sentences. Throughout the trial, Carter proclaimed his innocence, saying that his African-American race and work as a civil rights activist were the real reasons for his conviction. In 1974, Bello and Arthur Bradley, who also claimed that Carter was present at the scene of the crimes, recanted their testimony, but Carter and Artis were reconvicted. In the early 1980s, Brooklyn teenager Lesra Martin worked with a trio of Canadian activists to push the State of New Jersey to reinvestigate Carter's case; in 1985, a Federal District Court ruled that the prosecution in Carter's second trial committed "grave constitutional violations" and that his conviction was based on racism rather than facts. Carter was finally freed, and he summed up his story by saying, "Hate got me into this place, love got me out." The Hurricane is based on Carter's incredible true story and stars Denzel Washington as Carter, Vicellous Shannon as Lesra Martin, and John Hannah, Liev Schreiber and Deborah Unger as the Canadian activists. Veteran filmmaker Norman Jewison directed.

Product Details

Release Date:	06/04/2019
UPC:	0191329091395
Original Release:	1999
Rating:	R
Source:	Universal
Language:	English
Time:	2:26:00
Sales rank:	32,386

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Denzel Washington	Rubin Carter
John Hannah	Terry Swinton
Deborah Kara Unger	Lisa Peters,Actor
Liev Schreiber	Sam Chaiton
Vicellous Reon Shannon	Lesra Martin
David Paymer	Myron Bedlock
Dan Hedaya	Det. Della Pesca
Harris Yulin	Leon Friedman
Debbi Morgan	Mae Thelma
Clancy Brown	Lt. Jimmy Williams,Federal Court Assistant Prosecutor
Rod Steiger	Judge Sarokin
Garland Whitt	John Artis
Badja Djola	Mobutu
Vincent Pastore	Alfred Bello
Al Waxman	Warden
David Lansbury	U.S. Court Prosecutor
Chuck Cooper	Earl Martin
Brenda Thomas Denmark	Alma Martin
Marcia Bennett	Jean Wahl
Beatrice Winde	Louise Cockersham
Mitchell Taylor Jr.	Young Rubin
Bill Raymond	Paterson Judge
Merwin Goldsmith	Judge Larner
John A. MacKay	Man at Falls
Donnique Privott	Boy at the Falls
Moynan King	Tina Barbieri
Gary DeWitt Marshall	Nite Spot Cabbie
John Christopher Jones	Reporter at Bar
Gwendolyn Mulamba	Nite Spot Woman
Richard Davidson	Paterson Detective
George Odom	Big Ed
Tonye Patano	Woman at Prison
Fulvio Cecere	Paterson Policeman
Phillip Jarrett	Soldier No. 1 in U.S.O. Club
Rodney M. Jackson	Soldier No. 2 in U.S.O. Club
Judi Embden	Woman in U.S.O. Club
Terry Claybon	Emile Griffith
Ben Bray	Joey Giordello
Michael Justus	Joey Cooper
Kenneth McGregor	Detective at Hospital
Frank Proctor	Pittsburgh Ring Announcer
Peter Wylie	Pittsburgh Referee
David Gray	Pittsburgh TV Announcer
Joe Matheson	Philadelphia Ring Announcer
Bill Lake	Philadelphia TV Announcer
Robin Ward	Reading, PA TV Announcer
Harry Davis	Reading, PA Referee
Pippa Pearthree	Patty Valentine
Jean Daigle	Detective
Robert Lindsay Evans	Detective at Layfayette Bar
Scott Gibson	Reporter at Banquet
Ann Holloway	Cashier
Jim Bearden	Lieutenant
Bruce McFee	Prison Guard
Conrad Bergschneider	Prison Guard
Satori Shakoor	Prison Guard
Zoran Radusinovic	Prison Guard
Stephen Lee Wright	Prison Guard
Michael Bodnar	Prison Guard
Carson Manning	Prison Guard
Deborah Ellen Waller	Prison Guard
Richard Litt	Prison Guard
Adam Large	Prison Guard
Douglas E. Hughes	Prison Guard
Peter Graham	Prisoner With Camera
George Masswohl	Mechanic
Lawrence Sacco	New Jersey Policeman
David Frisch	New Jersey Policeman
Dyron Holmes	Reporter
Ryan Williams	Elstan Martin
Bruce Vavrina	St. Joseph's Doctor
Brenda Braxton	Dancer with John Artis
Christopher Riordan	Jury Foreman
Martin Sheen	Actor
Robert Knott	Actor
Marc McClure	Actor
Alexandra Powers	Actor
David Moses	Actor
Renée Estevez	Actor
Christopher Young	Composer

Technical Credits

Armyan Bernstein

Dan Gordon

Norman Jewison	Director,Producer
Armyan Bernstein	Screenwriter,Producer
Dan Gordon	Screenwriter
Marc Abraham	Executive Producer
Irving Azoff	Executive Producer,Producer
Thomas A. Bliss	Executive Producer,Producer
Robin D. Cook	Casting
Avy Kaufman	Casting
John Ketcham	Producer
Kaz Kobielski	Special Effects
Rudy Langlais	Executive Producer,Producer
Tom Rosenberg	Executive Producer,Producer
Bill Teitler	Executive Producer,Producer,Executive Producer
Harris Done	Director
Bruce Carwardine	Sound/Sound Designer

Editorial Reviews

Many know Rubin "Hurricane" Carter best as the subject of Bob Dylan's thundering '70s ballad (which plays over the credits of The Hurricane). But the harrowing, true-life story of the black prizefighter falsely convicted of murder then vindicated after two decades in jail becomes gripping screen entertainment in the hands of director Norman Jewison (A Solider's Story). Denzel Washington, at his most riveting, drives the film with his impassioned, Oscar-nominated portrayal of the hot-tempered pugilist whose prison-penned autobiography becomes the instrument of his salvation. After reading the book, black teenager Lesra Martin (played by Vicellous Reon Shannon) convinces three Canadian friends (Liev Schreiber, Deborah Unger, and John Hannah) to help him prove Hurricane's innocence -- but they're blocked at every turn by corrupt police and a disinterested judiciary. The Hurricane (cowritten by Carter) telescopes time and eliminates numerous characters and events from the incredible story, culminating with a suspenseful courtroom scene that will have you on the edge of your chair. The result is a heartfelt expression of social conscience that also manages to be dynamic cinema.