Remember the Titans

The true story of a newly appointed African-American coach and his high school team on their first season as a racially integrated unit.

• Director:Boaz Yakin
• Genre:Drama / Sport
• Runtime:113 minutes

Cast

Denzel Washington: Coach Herman Boone
Will Patton : Coach Bill Yoast
Wood Harris : Julius Campbell
Ryan Hurst : Gerry Bertier
Donald Faison : Petey Jones

In 1971, at the old desegregated T. C. Williams High School, Herman Boone (Denzel Washington), also derogatorily known as Coach “Coon,” is hired as head coach for the school’s football team. He takes the place promised to former head coach Bill Yoast (Will Patton). Yoast at first refuses Boone’s offer as the assistant head coach, but then changes his mind after his white players pledge to boycott if he doesn’t coach, Ken Smithson (Fintan Ryan) leads the rebellion.

The black and white members of the football team clash in racially-motivated conflicts on a few occasions while at football camp but, after forceful coaxing and team building efforts by Coach Boone and Ken, the team achieves as well as success. Boone makes the camp quite rigorous; when the bus is leaving for the camp all members are instructed to wear a shirt and tie; anyone not doing so will watch the season and not compete. At the camp, anybody who displays any misconduct at practice is instructed to run a mile. One time during camp, Coach Boone wakes up the players at 3:00 am to run through the woods to end up at the Civil War battleground of Gettysburg where he delivers a stirring speech on why that war was fought (“the same fight we are still fighting amongst ourselves”).

After returning from camp, Boone is told by Ken Smithson that if he loses even one game, he gets fired, putting more pressure on himself. The Titans go through the season undefeated while battling racial prejudice, before slowly gaining support from the community.

The main conflict becomes personal in the conflict between Gerry Bertier (Ryan Hurst) and Julius Campbell (Wood Harris), two outstanding players of different races. At first they can’t stand one another but eventually become sworn brothers. Read more

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