Remember the Titans

I remember the power that I felt when I first saw this movie and I am glad I saw it in theaters. The film had a huge impact on the Disney studio and the musical score has become part of Olympic & political television coverage. This is my fourth favorite sports movie and some people may wonder how I could possibly rate “The Mighty Ducks” as better than “Remember the Titans”. My review for that film should hopefully explain my reasons but let me point out most importantly that if I were to rate both films with percentages, only a few percentiles would separate them. The greatest attributes of “Remember the Titans” are Denzel Washington & the supporting cast, the musical score and the adaptation of the true story. The themes explored are very bold for a Disney film but the tradition of the Disney inspirational sports movie is more than upheld. In terms of racism-themed films, you can organize them along a feel-good/feel-sorry spectrum. The more recent films that explore this theme tend to be in the middle of the spectrum but "Remember the Titans" is the most uplifting racism-themed movie I have seen to date. The turmoil of the era is portrayed but what is more important is that the victories in the story outnumber the setbacks.

Before this film, Disney made family sports films that were slightly more comedic in nature than inspirational such as “Angels in the Outfield”, “Cool Runnings” and “The Mighty Ducks”. In the first decade of the 21st Century, Disney made sports movies that include “The Rookie”, “Miracle” and “Glory Road”. These latter films were more inspirational & serious in nature and the reason was the success of “Remember the Titans”. Producer Jerry Bruckheimer before 2000 was producing many successful films for the Disney Company but under the Touchstone banner such as “Con Air”, “Enemy of the State” and “Armageddon”. “Titans” was his first produced film under the “Walt Disney Pictures” banner but it was far from the last. Bruckheimer would later produce the “Pirates” and “National Treasure” franchises for Walt Disney Pictures. I feel that the success of “Remember the Titans” led to Bruckheimer’s involvement with those film franchises. The opening scene of 1971 Virginia establishes very well the hateful feelings of the time and puts the audience back in that mindset. The period song of that scene and the other period songs throughout the film are perfectly chosen and used to great effect. The period songs not only create setting but an original feeling for the film. The same thing was accomplished on “Forrest Gump”. The film is amazing in good part because of them. Some period films keep you conscious of the time period for the duration of the whole movie but “Remember the Titans” is able to put us back in the 1970’s and then make us forget that the film takes place then. This happens because of the amazing story portrayed and its positive themes. When you spend a lot of screen time showing how bad circumstances and prejudices were back then, you fail in creating a truly uplifting tale that preaches hope and how far we as a society have come since. I enjoy the stories of both Coach Herman Boone and Coach Bill Yoast. It is interesting how Herman does not want the head coach job initially because he knows exactly how Yoast feels to be replaced. The film uses the crowd of people outside Herman’s house to show us why he agrees to take the job. The press conference at the restaurant shows why Yoast stays as assistant coach. Both parts of the city need these two men. The first scene between Herman and Petey Jones has become one of the most famous scenes in the movie and this is because of the screenwriting & both actors. It was also used in the marketing. The scene is very funny but it shows us how tough Herman is and before this moment, we were unaware of this side of his character. We must be introduced to this “Herman” the same time as the team so that we have an emotional connection with the players. Herman has a similar moment with Garry a few scenes later in the “Who’s your daddy?” scene. This shows that Herman will deal with every kid the same, regardless of race. A football team has been formed that must face great challenges. The first challenge is learning to overcome the discrimination within the team. Every scene at camp furthers the story. I love how Garry gets the nickname Superman because it happens during a negative moment and later in the film, it becomes positive. The audience is meant to ask whether Herman is too tough. Why does he push the team so hard? I feel it is because the team can only rise above the racism through hard work. If they work hard on the football field, they will work to look past their differences. The conversation between Julius and Garry after a tiring practice doesn’t appear to accomplish anything but in a little way, it sets up the scene during the night practice where they first bond. The monologue at Gettysburg helps put the events of the film in the context of history. America got their freedom but failed to address the slavery problem. The slavery problem had to be solved through another war but the country failed to address racism. The 50’s and 60’s saw the country once again in turmoil. The team must come together now or they will repeat history and disastrous consequences will arise. That message has become even more important these days, over fifteen years since the release of "Remember the Titans".

Just like in the real life story, Garry and Julius begin the bonding. The locker room scene with the Mama jokes demonstrates just how bonded the team has become. They can insult each other in a fun way, which is a huge breakthrough. Also in this scene, Ray is shown very clearly as having not gotten over his race issues. The “soul power” cheer after the team turns in at the end of camp shows how both races uses their unqiue cultures for the motivation of the team. The return of the buses from camp foreshadows the next trial that the team has to deal with. Both races are separated on the parking lot just like before camp. The team has to battle the city’s prejudices now. The “First Day of School” text is quite contrasting from the images we are seeing of protestors and police officers. If that trial is not bad enough, the board of education is revealed to be against Herman. When football camp fails to break Herman, they try the no-win situation. The scene after the first game against Hayfield shows how the world is starting to affect the bond of the team. Some issues even develop between Garry and Julius. It is good though that they break up the fight at school despite the little issues they have. The team meeting without the coaches in the gym is vital to the movie. The Titans agree to stand up the world. Once again however, Ray is clearly shown to be against any bonding. These little hints about Ray suddenly take center stage in a big way. I don’t think that Ray's action on the field meant for Rev to get hurt but it shows Ray’s immaturity. When Garry asks Herman to have Ray kicked off the team, his eyes seems to say how hard it is for him. This is his friend he has to cut. Garry comes to understand though that Ray cut himself in a way and that Ray’s act destroyed their friendship. The scene with Julius and the cop shows how the city is changing thanks to the team. It is quite a funny moment too. Those who won’t change their attitudes are taken off the team or leave by themselves like Ray and Coach Tyrell. They aren't the winners at the end of the show. When the board of education realizes that the no-win situation has failed, they try to sabotage a game but Yoast does the right thing. He has to decide between getting the hall of fame illegally or not at all. Finally everything is going right for the team and the city. Even Yoast is okay with not winning the hall of fame and Herman’s neighbors are supporting him. All of a sudden, happiness ends for the Titans. The film does a good job of delivering a stunning blow of a plot point for the characters and the audience. The celebration and period music abruptly ends. The first scene with Garry and Julius after this tragic scene is extremely dramatic and sad but only because of the sincere, emotional journeyl that the characters and we, the audience, have gone through. The screenwriting is the champion of this scene as the theme of the movie can be found in this sad moment. Julius’ line “You’re Superman” is quite heartbreaking. The climax has some differences from the usual sports movie. Coach Ed Henry is made out to be the least antagonist coach that the team must face. Marshall is made out to be a respectable opponent as well where as other teams and other coaches in the film have been quite antagonistic. In addition, a sports movie usually has a hopeless first half that the team must overcome. The first half of the state championship game in “Remember the Titans” is not entirely hopeless for the Titans as they are only down by 7 points but they need something to put them over the top. The whole movie has shown a group of people overcoming racism and pride but the coaches of the Titans have failed to fully do so themselves. Both coaches have pride that isn’t given up until the final half. Yoast asks Herman for help on defense and in turn, Herman takes Yoast’s advice on the final play of the game to win it. The funeral is a great framing device for the film.

As mentioned, it is the actors and their characters that also make the film special. Oscar-winner Denzel Washington leads this team of actors in the successful portrayal of a true story. Every scene of his is a winner and he should have been nominated for another Academy Award that year. "Remember the Titans" is my favorite movie of his. Will Patton’s performance showed me that he is a skilled actor in that his work differed a lot from his performance on Bruckheimer’s “Armageddon”. The same can be said for Hayden Panettiere. Her work as Sheryl makes you almost forget about her performance on “A Bug’s Life”. Ryan Hurst as Garry sure stands out from everyone else because of his voice and appearance. Wood Harris as Julius is awesome in the dramatic scenes towards the end. The characters of Sunshine and Louie come represent the parts of the US where racism isn’t as big of a problem. Ethan Suplee’s best scene as Louie is the lunch scene when he tells some things about his black teammates. Louie’s role in the story is important because he is an example for the whole team. This film introduced me to Kate Bosworth and the whole world got its first glipse at Canadian actor Ryan Gosling. Unlike some instances where I discover that a famous actor began his career in a favorite film of mine, I have never forgotten that Gosling was in this Disney show. It has been neat to follow him over the years from a supporting actor to Hollywood stardom, despite not seeing very many of his films. The scene in "Remember the Titans" where Gosling is dancing to "Act Naturally" is ironic these days. All the players on the team are different and add something to the team & the film. They are also introduced to us better than in any other sports film I can think of and this is because of the casting. All the actors did so well in this movie that their characters feel real.

Trevor Rabin’s musical score is one of my top 20 favorite film scores and the movie itself is my second favorite film based on a true story after "Apollo 13". It is apparent that I love this movie so much. “Remember the Titans” deals with some bold issues and themes such as racism & homosexuality but the end product is so fresh and powerful that you wouldn’t want the film to be any other way. The acting, music & story are winners and hopefully the film will live on for generations. I feel that the film brought the live action section of the Disney studio into the 21st Century. It is fitting that the film came out in the year 2000 and I think it is my best movie of that year.

5 Stars