Actors - The Hurricane

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	Actors - The Hurricane

The Hurricane, a 1999 film starring 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 and Team

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.

Storyline

The film narrates the life of middleweight boxer Rubin "Hurricane" Carter, concentrating on the period between 1966 and 1985. It describes his fight against the conviction for triple murder and how he copes with nearly 20 years in prison. In a parallel plot, an underprivileged youth from the Bronx becomes interested in Carter's destiny after reading Carter's autobiography, and convinces his Canadian friends to engage themselves in the case. The story culminates with the Carter team's successful plea to Judge H. Lee Sarokin of the United States District Court.

Controversy

The movie was criticized for misrepresenting some of the facts of Carter's life, which are well documented in both his criminal and military records, police reports and court documentation. In particular by Cal Deal, the Herald-News reporter, Larry Elder, Thomas Clough, Barbara Burns, the daughter of victim Hazel Tanis, New York Times (refered to as the "newspaper of record") reporter Selwyn Raab and Jack Newfield of the New York Post who stated, "I knew Rubin Carter, attended his fights, covered his retrial and I didn't see much reality on the screen". For example;

He didn't stab a pedophile to protect himself and a friend, it was an assault and robbery.
He was actually convicted of three muggings prior to his professional boxing career.
Carter was a savage street fighter and leader of a gang called The Apaches.
During his military service, he was court-martialed four times and discharged as "unfit".
The movie depicts him returning as a decorated soldier, though Carter never distinguished himself in the army.
On the night after the murders, his car was stopped twice, but only at the second stop he was arrested.
Carter did not ride in the front seat.
Movie places Carter in a Dodge Monaco not a Polara.
The Lafayette Grill did not welcome African Americans.
The police emergency call log was not faked to frame Carter.
Police did not use heavy-handed tactics to arrest Carter.
The Canadians did not discover new evidence.
Detectives did not threaten the Canadians or tamper with their car.
The Racist Detective who hounded Carter from childhood, did not exsist.
Carter was not the #1 contender for the middleweight title.
Burglars "conspiring" to frame Carter were really seventy five miles apart, one was in prison at the time.
The getaway scene is misleading in Carter's favor.
There was no speech given by Carter in Federal Court.

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).

Some film critics defend the movie despite its inaccuracy. Roger Ebert states: "Those who seek the truth about a man from the film of his life might as well seek it from his loving grandmother," and further, "The Hurricane is not a documentary but a parable, in which two lives are saved by the power of the written word."

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