The Defiant Ones | | Cast : | Tony Curtis, Sidney Poitier | | Director : | Stanley Kramer | | Studio : | Mgm/Ua Studios | | Format : | Black & White, Closed-captioned, Widescreen | | Released Date : | September 27, 1958 | | DVD Released Date : | December 11, 2001 | | Language : | Spanish (Dubbed), French (Subtitled), Spanish (Subtitled), English (Original Language), French (Original Language) | | Audience Rating : | NR (Not Rated) | | | BUY THIS DVD FROM AMAZON |
Customer Reviews
| Rating |  | | Date | June 03, 2005 | | Summary | Bonding Under Pressure | Content
 | The Defiant Ones
The opening scenes show a dark and stormy night, and a truck running down the highway. Inside are some prisoners. An accident occurs, and two prisoners escape. The Sheriff arrives at the scene, and some volunteers come to help. One has a modern portable transistor radio. They await the bloodhounds, and the prisoner's laundry for their scent. The dog handler has brought Dobermans to run with the bloodhounds. The Sheriff wants the dogs kept on a leash (SOP).
The two prisoners, white and black, have contending opinions and interests. Chained together, they must learn to cooperate. The actions of the Deputy Sheriff could serve as a tutorial for a manhunt in the wilderness. The pair cross the rapids; no dogs can follow their scent now. But this old, old trick will only delay good dogs as they search the banks. When they rest at night, hunting goes on by other animals. The next night they arrive at a company town, and break into a store. People hear the noise, and capture them. Since one of the villagers was hurt, the townsmen plan to lynch them. A conflict among the townsmen saves their lives; or was it the reward money? For some reason Big Sam lets them go (or the film would end too soon). Their interpersonal conflicts arise again; no stunt doubles were used. A young boy finds them, they find his home, and food from his single mother. A hammer and chisel breaks their bond, but Charlie falls ill. The Sheriff follows their trail to the turpentine camp, but the people there don't know nothing. Like some Big City? The film shows the characters of the rural poor, who can dream of a world they're never seen. The boy's Mom nurses Charlie, then chooses to leave with him. The Mom sends Color to the trackless swamp, but Charlie fights with her over this betrayal. [The son needed more target practice.] They try and fail to board an escape train, and listen to the baying of the hounds. The police trail them to the swamp. The Sheriff goes on ahead to capture them single-handedly (in time for his re-election). They are caught after a long run.
It was a novel film that set a precedent. Its production values are similar to TV dramas of that era. The scenes in the film suggest an origin in a stage play. This monochrome film was produced and directed by Stanley Kramer. Its moral is how different interests can bond together when facing a common foe; nothing radical here.
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| Rating | | | Date | May 29, 2005 | | Summary | it doesn't get much more inauthentic than this | Content
| tonight's primetime movie offering on the local public television station was The Defiant Ones (in the original black and white, thank G_dess ). imagine a bunch of former Ku Klux Klansmen and their bubba buddies from the backwoods of Georgia trying to pull off "Fiddler on the Roof" to get some kind of idea of how howlingly inauthentic this production is. (the bloodhounds did sound real, though.)
nonetheless, i give it 3 stars because this exercise in (supposed) 'social realism' is about something other than sex and violence.
well, at least it isn't about sex.
okay, not explicitly so.
besides, it's always fun to see character actors from that era, like Claude Akins and Lon Chaney, Jr, even with the volume muted to escape the jarringly false-sounding accents of their fellow performers.
of course, Sidney Poitier (with or without audio) makes the other leading players seem like students doing summer stock (not that they needed his help to do so). but then, that's why Sidney Poitier is Sidney Poitier.
and, hey, they all meant well, which is more than can be said for much of today's offerings from popular culture.
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| Rating | | | Date | May 12, 2005 | | Summary | Overcoming Boundaries | Content
| I watch this one and always think in my home country they should handcuff the so called opposite sides together and see what happens. Sidney Poitier whom my mother always talked about when I was a kid and insisted that I and my sibling watched his movies, is magnificent. He is such a charismatic, beautiful graceful man even when portraying a convict. I remember getting angry watching this because of the racism, hatred and ignorance it portrayed. Yet like all great Hollywood movies there is a real catharis at the end when the Curtis character will not betray his partner in chains, now his equal and friend. I am sure that when it was made in the late 50's/ this film was bold in its subject matter, yet today in most civilised societies thoughts of difference should never cross our minds, but I am sad to report it often does, so this great movie even though it is a (plot formulaic set piece) is still relevant today in it overall message. |
| Rating | | | Date | December 02, 2004 | | Summary | An American Classic | Content
| The basic story of the film is that 2 convicts, Poitier and Curtis, escape after a train wreck. They both hate eachother but since the two are handcuffed together, they must put their differences aside to survive. Sidney Poitier and Tony Curtis are great in this film. Since most of the movie takes place outdoors, the two are always dirty and in grueling pain. Although some of the supporting characters are not as talented (often humorous due to their lack of acting skills), the film is well rounded and well told. The two learn to respect eachother and work ogether where they form a inevetable friendship. I found myself really rooting for the charters in the climax and up to it. This racially charged masterpiece by Stanley Kramer should be given a chance, and maybe even a spot on your DVD rack. |
| Rating | | | Date | July 24, 2004 | | Summary | Magnificent and still keeps freshness! | Content
| This film was a challenging issue in its age . Nevertheless the racial prejuices and the involved circunstances around the ethical crossroads that surrounds the film are still present , fifty years ago.
Imagine what it means to get the freedom linked with a man you hate due his color . Curtis and Pottier make a glorious tour de force . Both of two are credible in this drama who join these two man initially divided for different conflicts but , (once more the mythical journey) convinces to each other one of them that they must to act as just one man if they want to survive , because they have a common enemy .
You know that Stanley Kramer was always a director that loved to make incisive and bitter films .
In this case he made a masterpiece around a simple story that it could happen again in any other region of the globe .
The remarkable point is this moral question somehow permeated the filmography of famous directors in the future , as Norman Jewison (In the heat of the night) , Mississippi burning (Alan Parker) or The green mile (Durabont) , to name three films of different decades . |
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