REEL HISTORY 1302: 
| Aileen Villarreal | Fall 2000| History 1302
| Myers & Scharf | |
FILM DESCRIPTION:
FILM FACTS:
HURRICANE DATE OF RELEASE : Friday, January 14, 1999
DIRECTOR: Norman Jewison
PRODUCER: Norman Jewison
Armyan Bernstein
John Ketcham
WRITER: Armyan Bernstein
Dan Gordon
FEATURED ACTORS: Denzel Washington
as Rubin "Hurricane" Carter
Liev Schreiber as Sam Chaiton
Vicellous (IV) Reon Shannon as Lesera Martin
John Hannah as Terry Swinton
Deborah Kara Unger as Lisa Peters
David Payner as Myron Beldock
Dan Hedaya as Detective Vincent Della Pesca
Harris Yulin as Leon Friedman
Debbie Morgan as Mae Thelma
Clancy Brown as Lt. Jimmy Williams
Rod Steiger as Judge Sarokin
RATED R for language and some violence.
DRAMA
LENGTH: 155 minutes
TOPICS/THEMES/ISSUES:
PROTEST MOVEMENT TO FREE RUBIN HURRICANE CARTER: Songwriter and poet Bob Dylan
wrote lyrics describing the unfair arrest and subsequent kangaroo court trial
of Carter in 1975. Dylan contributed to the public's awareness of the Carter case. Bod Dylan's song
was written to help finance the second trial for Rubin "Hurricane" Carter. Dylan wrote this song in 1975 but
"Hurricane" Carter was not released until 1986.
Bob Dylan was one of the many celebrities that helped to free The "Hurricane". Among the many to
help in the case, was Mohammed Ali.
He too helped to finance the second trial for Rubin Carter, which was still found guilty for the triple homicide.
HISTORICAL CONTEXT:
In the movie, not only was the prejudice of the Detective shown but also riots were being
pointed out. It showed how the police department treated the blacks during the riots. They were
abused, sprayed with pepper spray, and basically treated like animals by the police. African
Americans were also not allowed to enter the same bars as the white Americans. There was a lot of
segregation around this time and blacks were still not treated equally as the whites. In one
part of the movie, Hurricane is in a boxing match and without a doubt won the fight against the
white boxer, but the judges ruled that it was a unanamous victory, for the other fighter. This
is an example of how prejudice was still going on when the fight for slavery had won years before.
BENEFITS:
This movie opened my eyes to the
legal system. It showed me that the legal system is not always correct and that prejudice
does exist in places that we are to feel safe at. Police officers, still to this day, feel that
they have a lot of power, which make them think that they have the right to judge people.
POSSIBLE PROBLEMS: The problems I found in this movie is the prejudice shown
to a black man from a white man. This kind of prejudice is still shown today like the
Los Angeles Police Department vs. Rodney King. This was a black man that was severely beaten by white police officers.
Another type of prejudice today comes from the Ku Klux Klan (K.K.K.)
The K.K.K. is an organization that was formed in 1865 by
Nathan Bedford Forrest and is based on white power. This clique is the
worst group that I have ever seen in my life. They literally hate Blacks,
Hispanic, Jews, etc. and believe that whites have lost total power because of the other ethnics group.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
1. In the beginning of the movie, Rubin Carter was a child when he first was
sent to jail. Do you think that his punishment was justifiable?
2. Do you think that Rubin "Hurricane" Carter was guilty for the crime of
triple homicide?
3. What was the name of the person that was also convicted for these murders?
4. Do you feel that Detective Vincent Della Pesca was prejudice against all
African Americans or just Rubin Carter?
5. Why did Rubin refuse to put on a prison uniform?
6. Where did Rubin spend his first month in prison?
7. Why do you think Rubin asked his wife not to visit him anymore?
8. Why did Lesera and the Canadians feel that they had to help Rubin "Hurricane" Carter win this
case?
9. Before Lesera and the Canadians got involved with Rubin Carter's case, who were some of the people
that also volunteered to prove Carter's innocence?
10. Do you feel that Rubin's first two court trials were fair compared to his last court trail?
FILMOGRAPHY:
A drama directed by Martin Ritt. Starring James Earl Jones
and Jane Alexander. This movie is about the life of the first black heavyweight champion Jack Johnson.
He causes controversy with his cocky attitude and his love affair with a white female.
The Bingo Long Traveling All-Stars and Motor Kings (1976)
A comedy directed by John Badham. Starring Billy
Dee Williams and James Earl Jones.
This movie is a comedy about a baseball players leaving a Negro League for a travelling
road show.
A Drama directed by Frank Darabont. Starring
Tom Hanks,
Michael Clark Duncan, and Patricia Clarkson. This film is about an African American
male accused of murdering two young sisters. Tom Hank's character suspects that
he is innocent of the crime. The movie is based on a
Stephen King novel.
WEBOGRAPHY: This website gives a brief review of the 1999 movie The Hurricane
written by Maitland McDouagh and some of the credits and awards given to the cast and actors of
this movie.
Newsmaker/Rubin 'Hurricane' Carter: Film of His Life Contender is an article found in the
Post Gazette. This article was written on Monday March 27, 2000 by Milan Simonich describing
how one reporter, Cal Deal, who in the beginning believed that Carter was innocent. Then after a few
interviews changed his opinion and then believed he was guilty of the triple homicide.
Hurricane Carter The Other Side of The Story
Actual confidential articles from the Prosecutor to Carter's attorney are found in this
website along with the lie detector test done on Hurricane Carter. This is the website that was
created by Cal Deal who first believed he was innocent then changed his opinion on Carter and
stuck with his decision of him being guilty.
This website was created by a student from Stanford University who has been following the case of
Rubin "Hurricane" Carter. Zachary Dillion started his website the Fall of 1997 and in here he has
several links to other web pages about Carter.
The Saga of Rubin 'Hurricane' Carter Revisited
On Wednesday, January 12, 2000, this article was written by James Ahearn. Here you will find a very
descriptive article of what happened the night of June 16, 1966.
BIBLIOGRAPHY:
Lazarus and the Hurricane: The Freeing of Rubin 'Hurricane' Carter by Sam Chaiton-
The relationship with Lesra and Rubin Carter is desrcibed in this biography. Lesra is a 16 year
African American male that becomes interested in the innocent boxer after reading his autobiography
The Sixteeth Round: From Number 1 Contender To #45472. Lesra and three of his Canadian friends
not only devoted their time to prove that Rubin Carter was an innocent man but also became four of
the closest friends that Carter had as described in this book.
The Sixteenth Round: From Number 1 Contender To #45472 by Rubin Carter- The Sixteenth Round
is an autobiography written by Rubin "Hurricane" Carter himself describing his life. This book goes
into detail about how Carter suffered as an African American male living 22 years of his life in
a prison and at the same time trying to fight the justice system. Only the person who goes through
a drama like this can be the one to describe in such great detail.
Rubin 'Hurricane' Carter and The American Justice System by Paul B. Wice-
This is a new book that was to be released in September 2000.
The Green Mile (1999)
Hurricane: The Miraculous Journey of Rubin Carter by James Hirsch-
This biography explains the life of Rubin "Hurricane" Carter and the 22 years that he spent in prison
as an innocent man. He describes the troubles he had in his trial and how this trial was based
on the color of his skin. In one of his reviews it states that any question that you have can
be answered in with this book.
