The Hurricane (1999)
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A promising middleweight boxer is wrongly convicted of a triple murder and spends years in prison before a teenager's compassion helps secure his freedom.
The story
In 1966, Rubin "Hurricane" Carter, a top-ranked middleweight boxer from Paterson, New Jersey, is stopped by police moments after a triple murder in a bar. Despite initial claims of innocence, a suspect's testimony leads to Carter being convicted of the homicides and sentenced to three consecutive life terms. While in prison, Carter maintains his innocence and publishes his autobiography, asserting that his race was the primary reason for his conviction. The narrative follows his long incarceration and the eventual efforts of a Brooklyn youth and his Canadian foster family to join his legal team and push for a reexamination of his case.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
In 1966, Rubin "Hurricane" Carter, a promising middleweight boxer, is arrested following a triple murder in a Paterson, New Jersey bar. Although police initially let him go, a suspect named Alfred Bello claims Carter committed the crimes, leading to Carter's conviction and three consecutive life sentences. Carter maintains his innocence in prison, publishing an autobiography and claiming racial prejudice led to his conviction. Eight years later, Bello and another suspect recant their testimony, but Carter is convicted again. In the 1980s, Lesra Martin, an underprivileged youth from Brooklyn, moves to Toronto and discovers Carter's autobiography. Convinced of Carter's innocence, Martin and his Canadian foster family join his legal team. In 1985, Judge H. Lee Sarokin rules that the prosecution in Carter's second trial committed "grave constitutional violations" based on racism. Carter is finally freed, summarizing his journey with the words, "Hate got me into prison, love got me out."
- First release year
- 1999
- Runtime (minutes)
- 146
- Production countries
- United States
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Norman Jewison
- Writers
- Armyan Bernstein · screenplay; Dan Gordon · screenplay
- Cast and characters
- Denzel Washington · Rubin "The Hurricane" Carter; John Hannah; Deborah Kara Unger; Liev Schreiber; Vicellous Reon Shannon; David Paymer; Dan Hedaya; Harris Yulin; Rod Steiger
- Genres
- biographical; sports; crime; drama
- Themes
- Injustice; Racism; Redemption; Persistence
- Tone and mood
- Inspirational; Moving; Dramatic
- Premise and plot tags
- Biographical; Based on true events; Prison film; Sports drama
- Source material / true-story basis
- Carter's 1974 autobiography The Sixteenth Round: From Number 1 Contender To 45472 and the 1991 non-fiction work Lazarus and the Hurricane: The Freeing of Rubin "The Hurricane" Carter by Sam Chaiton and Terry Swinton
- Reception
- The film received generally favorable reviews, praised for Denzel Washington's powerful performance. It was described as a moving and inspirational drama, though some critics noted it took few risks or had issues with historical accuracy.
- Reported review scores
- Rotten Tomatoes · score: 82% · review count: 114; Metacritic · score: 74 · scale: 100 · review count: 30; CinemaScore · score: A · scale: A+ to F
- Awards and nominations
- Silver Berlin Bear · Best Actor · 2000 · Win; Black Reel · Theatrical, Best Actor · 2000 · Win; Golden Globe · Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture, Drama · 2000 · Win; Image Award · Outstanding Actor in a Motion Picture · 2000 · Win; Oscar · Best Actor in a Leading Role · 2000 · Nomination; Screen Actors Guild Award · Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role · 2000 · Nomination; Golden Globe · Best Director, Motion Picture · 2000 · Nomination; Golden Globe · Best Motion Picture – Drama · 2000 · Nomination
- Production trivia
- Norman Jewison initially felt the story was so extensive it would fit better as a television miniseries.; Denzel Washington underwent long boxing training and worked closely with Rubin Carter for the role.; The film was praised by Lesra Martin, who described it as "a stupendous depiction of accurate events".
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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