A true epic that is for real and is a must see for everyone.

Rating: 9/10 (24 July 2000)

The beginning of Norman Jewison's latest film, "The Hurricane" doesn't start out the normal way that most true stories that involve a crime take. The flashbacks between the past and present of an ex-prize fighter Rubin "The Hurricane" Carter (Denzel Washington) is nice touch. This movie was based on Carter's novel "The Sixteeninth Round" and another novel (the name I forget). Carter is serving a life sentence in a New Jersey prison for the murders that he never committed. Della Pesca (Dan Hedaya - Shaft) is the bitterly crooked cop that framed and has an obbsession of Carter since the man was a young child. Despite many appeals for a new trial have failed, Carter's last chance for freedom comes in the form of a young black boy (V. Reon Shannon) and his three Canadian friends (Deborah Kara Unger, John Hannah, and Liev Schrieber). The trio and Carter search through the information of the murders for key clues. The events leading up to the hearing are very emotional and powerful. Christopher Young's musical score adds a key part to that and so does the film's story. Washington is sensational in his role that earned him a Golden Globe for Best Actor and an Oscar nomination. Hedaya gives a solid performance as does Clancy Brown, who is one of the few people that Carter befriends in prison. "The Hurriance" is a true epic that is for real and is a must see for everyone.