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Click above to purchase "Remember The Titans (Widescreen)"
at amazon.com
Remember The Titans
(Widescreen)
review by Zach B.
Rated PG
Studio: Disney
Running Time: 114 minutes
Starring Denzel Washington, Will Patton, Donald
Faison, Nicole Ari Parker
Written by Gregory Allen Howard
Directed by Boaz Yakin
Retail Price: $29.99
Features: Commentary with Director Boaz Yakin, Writer
Gregory Allen Howard and Producer Jerry Bruckheimer,
Commentary with Coaches Herman Boone and Bill Yoast, Six
Deleted Scenes, "Denzel Becomes Boone" featurette, "Beating
The Odds" featurette, "Remember The Titans: An Inspirational
Journey Behind The Scenes" ABC Special, Theatrical
Trailer
Specs: 2.35:1 Anamorphic Widescreen, English Dolby
Digital 5.1, English DTS 5.1, French Dolby Digital 5.1,
English Subtitles, Chapter Search (32 Chapters)
Based on a true story, "Remember The Titans" takes place
in Alexandria, Virginia in 1971 (while the opening and the
closing of the movie takes place ten years later). A white
school and African-American school are joined together into
one school, that being T.C. Williams High School. Of course,
the school has a football team (named the Titans of course)
where coach Herman Boone (an intense Denzel Washington) is
named head coach, replacing Bill Yoast (a great Will
Patton). Most of the town is up and arms about this and
integration, but the mixed football players go off to a
training camp not liking each other, and end up having great
friendships at the end. When they get back, the town is even
more insane, and there is a lot of racism and prejuidices
they must face. To make matters worse, the school board
makes it clear to Boone that if he loses a single game,
he'll be fired.
The film opened during September 2000 and was another
Bruckheimer smash hit. The movie is a bit different for
Bruckheimer, considering his giant summer smashes with tons
of action, non-sense violence and far out plotlines. Still,
I have to say that this was a good change for him. Yes it
made money for him like usual, but it's a family oriented
film with a good message about race.
There's a lot to like about "Remember The Titans". What I
enjoyed most were the performances. I'm surprised Washington
didn't get nominated for any major awards, because he really
takes on the larger than life role of Boone. Boone
intimidates and humiliates his players, but deep inside,
he's soft and wants to bring his players together as one.
Will Patton, a Bruckheimer alumni, also gives a great
performance as a man who is torn between the people and
himself. The rest of the cast, basically the players, are
pretty good in their respective roles.
The film also has a lot of scenes showing racism between
people, basically whites not accepting African-Americans.
I'm pretty sure it was a lot worse in real life, but this
being a PG movie, it is pretty tame. There's a bit of rough
housing going on, but it doesn't get too wild, but it
clearly shows how things were then. This is particulary good
for younger kids, so that they can see what went on without
things getting too intense for them.
If there's anything wrong with "Remember The Titans",
it's just that I felt there could have been more depth to
it. I felt like there was something missing from the film to
give it a more complete feel. Some may disagree, but when it
all comes down to it, you may feel there should have been
more tension and more situations. Also, how characters
change from hating African-Americans to accepting them...
it's that it's never really explained. The characters who
change are really small parts and there's little to them in
the first place. I'm guessing they just realize through the
football team or something. It's just to wrap things up and
make it all goody. The film is pretty predictible too, but
even if it wasn't based on a true story you know what is
going to happen. And when a certain character says "I don't
know where I'm going.", you know something bad is bound to
happen.
Rest aside what I thought were flaws, this movie is a
crowd pleaser. There's no doubt that this movie will be a
big seller, and audiences love movies like these. Movies
where people get together despite the odds and challanges
and succeed. Luckily, Disney has put together a fine package
for "Remember The Titans".
"Remember The Titans" is THX-Certified and in the
widescreen edition, is presented in it's original theatrical
exhibition of the aspect ratio of 2.35:1. It's anamorphic,
and Disney has really improved during the past year with
their transfers. Colors and black levels are solid, and
detail is very good. Still, the transfer is flawed. I doubt
anyone will really catch the scratch or bit of grain here
and there, some shimmering now and then plus the image is a
bit soft at times in the foreground or background but sharp
in the background or foreground (one or the other in some
scenes). Though flawed, it's an excellent transfer. A full
frame version is avaiable seperatley, just in case that's
the viewing method you prefer.
Disney continues their trend of releasing dual Dolby
Digital and DTS tracks on their DVDs. "Remember The Titans"
has both, and they were somewhat disappointing. They're
pretty much the same as is, but I felt in the end, the DTS
was a bit more active in certain scenes of movie. Don't get
me wrong the tracks are quite good, but considering this
movies has loud football games and some lively noises, I was
expecting more of a punch, more active sounds. Still, what's
here is quite good and no one should have a problem with it.
A French 5.1 Dolby Digital track is also included, as well
as English subtitles.
Due to the movie's success, it's no surprise that Disney
has thrown together a bevy of special features to enjoy.
Leading the way are two audio commentaries. The first is a
Commentary With Boaz Yakin, Jerry Bruckheimer and Gregory
Allen Howard. The men are very soft spoken, and the
track has some nice clarity. I found the comments pretty
insightful and what choices were made. Howard does a lot of
talking and gives even more backstory to what actually
happened. Bruckheimer, well, he's Bruckheimer. That's a good
thing, as he does give some good production info and is very
interesting. If you really enjoyed the movie and want to
know about desicions and how things were achieved, check
this track out.
The second track is a real treat. In case you're
wondering about the men behind the movie, the real coaches,
then listen to the Commentary With Herman Boone and Bill
Yoast. This was a very interesting and pretty insightful
track. They talk about what really happened, liberties that
were taken the script itself and how the movie got made.
They do seem to be very happy about the movie. Like Howard
on the first track, they talk about things not directly
mentioned in the movie, they give detailed back stories so
you know more. However, their comments are not always
screen-specific, but if you listen to the track, you won't
mind at all. If you liked the movie and/or interested in the
history of what really happened, definently listen to this,
it won't disappoint, it's very nice to listen to.
Six Deleted Scenes are on the disc, all in
anamorphic widescreen and 5.1 Dolby Digital sound (a big
plus for me). The scenes are pretty short mostly. While no
commentary or intros are with the scene, it's pretty clear
why they were cut. A nice addition and a very nice
presentation. You have the option to watch seperatley or
view them all in a row.
The first of three featurettes is Remember The Titans:
An Inspirational Journey Behind The Scenes. It's in full
frame and lasts twenty one minutes. It has clips from the
movie, interviews from the cast and crew and is hosted by
Lynn Swann. It's pretty promotional and I believe this was
shown on TV, still, it has some interesting insights and
behind the scenes clips. It also has some raw footage of the
real Alexandria back in 1971. It's promotional, but it's
above average and is a nice diversion.
The second featurette is Denzel Becomes Boone. It
has clips from the movie, behind the scenes clips and
interviews with Washington, the real Herman Boone, writer
Howard, Yakin and Bruckheimer. It's quite interesting how
the two men (Washington and Boone) talk about each other,
and they do seem to have a mutual respect and admiration for
each other. It's a very nice six minute watch.
Finally, the third featurette is Beating The Odds.
Running six minutes in length as well, this featurette shows
clips from the movies, behind the scenes footage, actual
footage of the real Titans playing and a host of interviews.
This featurette focuses on Howard more and how studios past
on the movie (multiple times even, I bet they're sorry
now!). I enjoyed this featurette the most, as it shows a
good amount of the movie and its history in a brief time
period. Watch this. You can play all the featurettes in a
row or seperatley.
Finally, the great Theatrical Trailer is in
non-anamorphic widescreen and 5.1 Dolby Digital sound, plus
there's sneak previews for the upcoming Disney animated
spectacle "Atlantis", and their video releases for "102
Dalmatians", "The Emperor's New Groove" and
Disney's
The Kid.
Inspirational and a crowd please, "Remember The Titans"
is a good movie about integration, but I felt there could
have been a bit more to it. It's a good way to introduce
young kids about segregation events that occured in the
United States in the past few decades, and Disney has
delivered a stellar disc for the movie. This should be a big
seller, so if you liked it, pick it up for your collection.
 (3.5/5 - NOT included in
final score)
 (4.5/5)
 (4/5)
 (3/5)
(4/5,
NOT an average)
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