Tedfoldol everything you have heard about this movie is true.

Comwayon A Disappointing Continuation

Winifred The movie is made so realistic it has a lot of that WoW feeling at the right moments and never tooo over the top. the suspense is done so well and the emotion is felt. Very well put together with the music and all.

Walter Sloane Mostly, the movie is committed to the value of a good time.

sandnair87 The Great Debaters chronicles a chapter in the life of a fascinating man, Professor Melvin B. Tolson, who created quite a name for himself by assembling a prodigious all-black debate team, while also creating a stir with his radical politics.The movie takes place in Marshall, Texas in 1935 at the all-black Wiley College. On the first day of class, Tolson (Denzel Washington oozing the charisma, intensity and barely reined rage he always taps into) announces the debate team tryouts at his house the same night. The tryouts draw 45 students, vying for four positions. He eventually staffs the debate team with an eclectic rag-tag group of debaters: Intelligent-but-brooding Henry Lowe (Nate Parker), who is a randy loose cannon, makes the team, along with returning member Hamilton Burgess (Jermaine Williams). The team is rounded out by alternates Samantha Booke (Jurnee Smollett), an absolute stunner and the only female to try out, and James Farmer, Jr. (Denzel Whitaker), the 14-year-old son of the college president, who has the experience to do the massive research required for the debates. Tolson employs unrelenting, unconventional methods to train his team, which pay off in victory after victory in debates with other Black colleges. Unbeknownst to his students, Tolson writes to several white universities to try to secure an unprecedented debate with one of them; his ultimate dream is a long-shot debate with Harvard.No story works well without conflict and The Great Debaters brings it on in the second act. Personal relations become a problem when Samantha and Nate form a couple, and James – who has had a crush on Samantha from day one – can no longer control his anger over their relationship. Another problem arises when the local police learns of Tolson's secret dealings trying to help unionize the local sharecroppers and farmers, a mixed-race partnership. But Tolson and the four under his tutelage fight not only with the racism of the time but also with tensions within their own ranks, as they eventually get the coveted shot against Harvard.As is well-known, academic competitions are addictive nail-biters. When you add the racial tensions of a segregated South, you've got a powerful emotional dynamic. Enough fictional liberties were taken with the movie to make it fit neatly on the inspirational genre shelf, but it's grounded in enough reality to excuse Robert Eisle's we-shall-overcome contrivances. Denzel Washington's crisp direction and the sharp performances by everyone – giving us characters we can root for - help to leaven the inspirational emphasis of the screenplay while steadily building tension. Surprisingly, for a film about the power of speech, it's the quiet moments of rapture that say everything.The Great Debaters may be accused of being naked in its shameless desire to make audiences wince at every setback and cheer at every victory. The strength of the movie is that it gets away with it almost every time. By the time it's over, even cynics will be fighting the impulse to stand up and cheer.

dushyant chaturvedi Denzel Washington is Mr. Tolson, the head of the debate team of a Blacks only Willey college. He starts building a team of students to participate at the inter college level. He is also secretly inspiring the cotton growing farmers to fight for their rights against the land owners. Forest Whitaker is the theology professor and the father of one of the students who gets selected for the debating team. How the debating team is selected, how they go on an unbeaten spree and how they perform against Harvard's debating team forms the core of the movie. There are 4 members on the team whose characters are well drawn. There is Ms. Booke who has joined the college with the express view of getting on this team. There is Whitaker's son who is the youngest member of the team. Then there is a restless soul called Lowe whose character goes through a huge transformation during the duration of the flick. The dialogues are wonderfully written and end up stirring your soul more often than not. The best part about Washington's direction is that he does not bring the focus on him but keeps it on the young debaters. There is a heart wrenching scene showing lynching of the blacks. Just wish that Whitaker would have got a few more scenes. The one scene between Washington and Whitaker is one of the best scenes of the movie. This is an inspiring movie and I loved it. 3.5 out of 5.

Desertman84 The Great Debaters is a biopic period drama film starring Denzel Washington and it co-stars Forest Whitaker, Kimberly Elise, Nate Parker, Denzel Whitaker, Gina Ravera, Jermaine Williams and Jurnee Smollett. The screenplay was written by Robert Eisele.It was directed also by Washington,the movie's lead star.Melvin B. Tolson is the kind of educator who truly recognizes the remarkable power of knowledge. An outspoken Wiley College professor who boldly challenged the discriminatory Jim Crow laws of the 1930s, Tolson's recognizes that his young debate students possess the spark of a new generation. Convinced that they could invoke great change if given the confidence and tools needed to do so, the tireless educator implores his students to take responsibility for the future while furtively attempting to protect them from his clandestine role as an organizer for the Southern Tenant Farmers Union. Chief among Tolson's promising young students is a 14-year-old prodigy named James Farmer, Jr. Farmer's father, James Sr., is a renowned scholar and an important presence in the emerging student's life. Yet despite his formidable reputation, James Sr. has not yet learned how to truly harness the power of knowledge through action and assertion. James Jr. has seen the raving effects of racism all around him, and longs to live in a future where no one must be in fear simply because of the color of their skin. Other talented debaters on Tolson's team include fiercely independent student Henry Lowe, and Samantha Brooke -- the first ever female ever to join the Wiley College debate team. While most educators may not have recognized the remarkable potential of assembling such a disparate team, Tolson's unique vision truly set him apart from the pack as the team begins to experience a series of consecutive victories on their road to challenging Harvard at the National Championships. The Great Debaters soars with words and feeling.The movie is important and it's deeply inspiring for it's something from our nation's not-so- distant past that we must not forget.Also, it is must-see viewing for students of all backgrounds.Finally,it is a wonderfully acted and directed movie and it has an important message to impart to the viewer particularly students.

Michael Thompson As a white man myself whenever I see movies involving racial hatred, none more so that movies depicting Nazi Germany during World War 2, and the antics of the Mississippi South in the 60's, all I want to do us puke ( be literally sick ).Because I cannot believe that white mindsets can "think" that just because someone has a different coloured skin, that those "coloured" people, are in fact inferior to white people.Anybody reading what im saying here, I ask you as a white person, to explain to me just how a black person, can be inferior to a white person ?, if anything, it is the other way round, ie that a white person is inferior to a black person.To me, The Great Debaiters simply told of a true life struggle, as all true life struggles are, of black people in America, but with a good solid central story.This film simply underlines a mindset that I thank god that I have never had.So, any film that shows up the whites as a bigoted, ill educated, and arrogant race, has my vote.Im aged 62 if anybody is interested, im not a young naive man, I've had black frienbds in my life, and white friends, and the blacks I have always found to be more interesting, and better educated, but my white friend just think they are.Descrimation is a terrible thing, so why are some white people descrimative ? When you reading this, finds out the real answer to this, pease let me know.