Release Date: 1/20/2009 Original Release: 2008 Format: DVD Length: 130 minutes Rating:PG (MPAA) Rating Reason: for thematic content, violence and language involving racism, and for brief sensuality UPC: 025195024525 Studio: Universal Studios Home Video
As the first African American to receive college football's prestigious Heisman trophy, Ernie Davis (Rob Brown) is one of the most inspiring--and tragic--figures in the game (he died of leukemia at 23, before his first NFL game) His rise to athletic stardom coincides with the birth of the civil rights movement, and despite setbacks like a speech impediment, biased referees, and fear of white mob reprisals, Davis grabs the glory for a better America. Dennis Quaid plays Davis's coach and mentor, Ben Schwartzwalder, who lays on the discipline and training, first yielding to racist pressures, then supporting and spurring Davis to his peerless heights for Syracuse University's Orangemen. THE EXPRESS would need to work hard to fumble this ball, and it doesn't, making a smooth cinematic touchdown with heart, intelligence, guts, rapid-fire editing, and a minimum of cliché. The gridiron action is vividly and excitingly rendered as is a superb supporting cast, most notably Omar Benson Miller as Davis's wisecracking teammate. Plus, one can't go wrong with having seasoned sports movie go-to guy Quaid as Schwartzwalder; he's got this stuff so down, he could get an audience to stand up and cheer just by reading a grocery list. What sticks in the mind later though is the joy in watching these characters grow, as athletes and as people. And as they mature, they take all of America with them.
DVD Features
Snap Case Anamorphic Widescreen - 1.85 Full Frame - 1.33 Audio: Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround - Spanish English Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Subtitles - English, (SDH), French, Spanish Additional Release Material: Deleted Scenes: Commentary by Director Gary Fleder Audio Commentary: Director, Gary Fleder Featurette: 1. Making of The Express 2. Making History: The Story of Ernie Davis 3. Inside the Playbook: Shooting the Football Games 4. From Hollywood to Syracuse: The Legacy of Ernie Davis
"The Express" this movie was great in the acting and story line. Finally, I could give a BIG ***** five star for this movie. A movie that tells it like it is at the time of racial unrest. Ernie Davis... Read the whole review at MatchFlick
