Customer Reviews

The Express

5 star:		(28)
4 star:		(16)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

There has been well-documented commentary about the producers of The Express having taken liberties with some of the facts. While this is true, none of those liberties really obscure or confuse the Ernie Davis story. If you want to see a more factual presentation of the Ernie Davis story, check out the 30-minute documentary about Davis in ESPN's SportCentury series. It is very well done, too. You'll find that in this feature film, there is not much significant straying from fact.

This was an excellent film. In the theater where I saw the film, the audience was so into the movie, particularly the football action, that some folks actually cheered when Davis would make a good run or score a touchdown. The director and actors did a great job of hooking the viewer into the intensity of the games. Great story without getting too hung up on the national politics of the time. Highly recommended.

Being a football fan I am ashamed to say I didn't know this story before seeing the film. I did have some knowledge of this tragedy, but I didn't know the full story. This is a gripping biography about a young man who never got the chance to reap the rewards for his hard work and perseverance through a time when this county didn't see blacks as people. It's hard to believe this was only 60 years ago! It's really appalling how we treated certain people in those days and it's only been in the last 20 years when we have even begun to put this practice in the garbage where it belongs.

The film follows the life of football running back Ernie Davis who has such an inspiring, but ultimately sad story of how he overcame many hard ships to become an incredible running back and model sportsman. The film has a great balance of football heroics and compelling drama and should keep any movie fan interested during its two hour running time.

Excellent performances and realistic action make this a winner from start to finish! I would love to see a film about Barry Sanders that was handled this well. Although Sander's story isn't nearly this sad, it's really one that should be told, you don't have to win the Superbowl to be a winner!.....Hollywood are you listening?

The Express is the story of Syracuse running back Ernie Davis. Davis followed the great Jim Brown and played for Syracuse in the late 1950s. Davis might have been even better that Jim Brown. Davis led his team to a national championship and became the first African American to win the Heisman Trophy.

This is a another feel-good racism sports movie along the lines of Meet the Titans or Glory Road. I say "feel-good" because the harsh realities of American racism in the late 1950s are explored and covered, but racism's true graphic and intense nature is never displayed.

Ernie Davis was always an optimistic man. He was one of a few minorities on campus and on the team, yet he was always kind to everyone. This movie made even better because most people haven't heard of Davis. He died tragically at the age of 23 from lukemia. He is truly a man that deserves to be honored in a movie like this.

The football scenes are top notch. Dennis Quaid is great as the Orangemen coach. The period settings really capture the feel of the time this movie was based in. On a downside, after watching the film, I still don't feel I know who Ernie Davis was, other than a man who battled racism. I wish the movie could have explored his personal life more.

I'm only 36 and thankful I've grown up in a time and location where racism has not been a part of my life. This movie pays homage to a man who broke the color barrier when it wasn't easy and made it possible for a man who is also African American to become president of the United States.

The Express is a film with numerable historical inaccuracies, fictionalized recitations, composite characterizations and tangential embellishments not unlike Rudy, Remember the Titans, Hoosiers, Glory Road, Brian's Song, and in all probability any other sports oriented film based on true events and people. Yet, not one of the aforementioned presumptive deficiencies serve to mitigate my personal contention it remains a worthwhile movie for any real fan of college sports and manages to effectively convey the spirit of socio-cultural dictates of the represented era . It is an absolutely enjoyable drama based on the life Ernie Davis, not a documentary of the life of Ernie Davis.

Davis was not a trailblazer nor was he alone in absorbing the ignorant, racist invectives and missiles launched in the direction of blacks from nearly every nook and cranny of an America gradually but at glacial-like pace being moved in the direction of a more pluralistic society. From most accounts and most assuredly based on the depiction in this movie, he was an impressive individual and athlete who by virtue of his athleticism ascended to the status of role model and hero for legions of people but tragically was afflicted with leukemia and died at the much too tender age of 23.

Portrayed with subtle intensity by Rob Brown and continually juxtaposed with his college coach Ben Schwartzwalder (Dennis Quaid, in a role where significantly more complexity was exhibited than he is typically given credit), it matters little if his spectacular 87 yard touchdown catch/run occurred in the 1st quarter or was transposed to the 4th quarter in the movie for dramatic impact. In either case, the value of his performance in the 1959 Cotton Bowl was incalculable as it related to the uplift of a marginalized, suppressed black populous in Dallas, Texas specifically and the nation, in general. Unfortunately, unlike a near to contemporaneous role model from another sport, Roy Campenella, whose career was also derailed by a debilitating disease, Davis never had the opportunity to demonstrate his athletic brilliance in the brighter lights of professional sports and stills remains an unknown quantity for far too many.

Flawed or not, this film is a genuine and timely attempt to address that obscurity.

As a sports nut I should be ashamed there were so many facts about Ernie Davis I knew nothing about. Yes, I knew he was the first African-American to win the Heisman--and he won it when the civil rights issue was at its zenith. And yes, I knew he died tragically young, but had no idea leukemia claimed him at age 23, before he even got to play a down in the NFL. And I did not know the Cleveland Browns, who drafted him to play alongside fellow Syracuse legend Jim Brown, retired his jersey number. But I know all of this now, thanks to watching THE EXPRESS, a tribute to Ernie Davis and his collegiate career. Sure, it's a little sappy and reeks of melodramatic cliches at times, but overall this is a very moving story about a young man of strong moral fiber fighting not only tacklers on the field, but a society determined to keep him at second class status.

THE EXPRESS features a superb cast, including Rob Brown in the lead role. Brown plays the young Syracuse superstar with calm demeanor and resolute determination; other actors, given the racial tensions of the setting, might have been tempted to go over the top, but Brown keeps the lid on. I thoroughly enjoyed Dennis Quaid as gruff head coach Ben Schwartzwalder--a man who must go on a personal journey of his own, as he discovers he's not as open and tolerant as he originally believes. And I really liked Darrin Dewitt Henson playing the proud, yet always defiant, Jim Brown. The football scenes--particularly the 1960 Cotton Bowl against an angry Texas team--are gritty and realistic; sports fans will enjoy the action, while everyone else will enjoy the humanity THE EXPRESS so aptly depicts.
--D. Mikels, Author, Walk-On

The young, stuttering Ernie Davis posts a picture of Jackie Robinson on his wall - "this man is doing alot without sayin' nothin." Then Ernie goes on to run his highschool football team to victories & Syracuse University to a National Championship title game in Texas, a bastion of prejudice in the deep south.

I bought this movie as my Papa's Fathers Day gift (Football theme- a sure bet!) but the whole family enjoyed the movie (which we've seen twice already - it's that good!) Acting is superb - the young actor who plays Ernie actually looks like the real Ernie - the football sequences are excellent, & the terrible prejudices all too real. Dennis Quaid plays the Syracuse coach extremely well...all about football, but gradually realizing (through Ernie) that so much more is at stake.

Outstanding movie of overcoming...overcoming hate, prejudice, and even indifference..through being the best God made Ernie Davis to be..a football player who leads his team to victory & wins the Heisman Trophy - making history. Sad to see the ending (will not give away..) but even in that, a good point for family discussion (life can't be all about just one thing - football..)

Highly recommend -- plus enjoyed the DVD special feature interviews with the real Jim Brown, Ernie Davis family, actors et all..

Good story, lots of action, reminds me of the narrative at the beginning of Brian's Song. All true stories end in death, this is a true story. Find his letter to the Saturday Evening Post online. This young man makes today's athletes pale in comparison. CHARACTER, INTEGRITY, SELFLESSNESS. Glad his story was told.

Note to Amazon.com: where'd the first review I wrote about this disc (and film) go?

Let me get the technical details covered first for those that worry more about that stuff than about the quality of the story in a movie. The Express, at least on Blu-ray disc, features absolutely stunningly impressive video quality. Even the most picky of viewers would likely call the picture quality here 'reference' level. It really is that good and rises to almost match the quality of the story that is in the film. The same can be said of the audio quality which is equally impressive.

Note that I said that the picture and audio quality almost rises to the quality of the story, and yet I also called them reference quality. If you've picked up on that description then hopefully you'll have figured out my opinion of the story and can probably guess that I can't recommend this film highly enough.

Sadly, the film didn't do that well while it was out in theatrical release, earning back less than 1/4 of what was reportedly spent on it. I think that all says more about how people perceive sports oriented movies than anything else, as it seems people instead want thrillers, slashers and films in other genres to spend their entertainment money on.

I don't want to spoil the film for anyone that hasn't seen it, but will say it's based on actual events and a real person. If you haven't heard of Ernie Davis, don't feel bad as many people probably have no idea of his significance in history. Do watch the film, learn about Ernie Davis, and perhaps spend more time later learning more about him. You'll be glad you did.

Great flick!
This real-life story will bring tears to your eyes... a great retelling of the "Express" life of this great football icon...

Based on a true story, The Express follows the bittersweet yet extraordinary life of Ernie Davis (played by Rob Brown), the first African American to win the prestigious Heisman Trophy in the Civil rights era. His fight for equality and respect forever changed the face of American sports and his story continues to inspire new generations.

This docudrama begins with Davis as a stuttering youth, growing up in a small coal town outside of Pittsburgh with his grandfather, affectionally known as Pops whom he is very close to. Ernie later moves to Elmira with his mother, where he joins a small football league. With Ernie's extraordinary skills, he is eventually sought after by 50 colleges which was a huge feat for a black person during the civil rights era. An era when Black players were unwelcome in the South. Ernie is soon called by coach Ben Schwartzwalder (Dennis Quaid) and football legend Jim Brown (Darrin Dewitt Henson) who make Ernie part of their team, the Syracuse Orangemen. Ernie Davis leads the team to an undefeated season. Despite all the racism he faces at nearly every point of his life, determined Ernie becomes the first African American to win the Heisman trophy and goes on to play for the Cleveland Browns.

The Express isn't just about football; it shows black pride and determination despite the racism. An important scene in the movie that portrays this determination, is when the team travels to West Virginia University to play the mountaineers. The coach removes Ernie from the game because he fears that if he scored a touchdown, the audience would react violently. However, Ernie refuses to be removed from the game and scores a touch down. Afterwards the coach and Ernie have an angry confrontation where the coach states " If I let you carry that goal all the way across the board, we might not get on the bus in one piece, thats how it works around here." Ernie, angered by this statement tells the coach to respect him as an equal part of the team and not give in to racism. As the growing civil rights movement divided the country in the 60's, Davis became a symbol for achievement that transcended race. Davis refused to flinch from others' prejudices and achieved all his goals. He was referred to by John F. Kennedy as an " Outstanding young man of great character who served as an inspiration to young people of this country."

Having received many positive remarks, critics have also pointed out some flaws. In a USA Today article by Mike Clark, The Express is said to have "mostly conventional storytelling." The movie fails to recognize the rest of Davis' life. It doesn't bring up the fact that after being drafted by pro football in 1961, Davis developed leukemia and died in 1963 never having played a pro game. This shows that The Express attempted to only present the happy sides of Davis' life and disregard the rest.
Also, according to journalists and film critics there are some historical inaccuracies. The locations shown in the movie are fictitious. The Express changed the location of where the games actually took place. Frank Lovece, a Film Journal International critic stated "That game is falsely shown as taking place at WVU's Mountaineer Field" in Morgantown, West Virginia, rather than at Syracuse's own Archbold Stadium." As a result, the film has drawn the ire of many West Virginians, including the state's governor, Joe Manchin, and university officials. A similar mistake was also made at the scene in the finished film, whose original script didn't involve West Virginia. This scene was supposed to depict a 1958 game at the Tar Heels Stadium in North Carolina. This is completely inaccurate. In the season of 1958 Davis was still a freshman and therefore didn't play on the Orangemen's varsity team. Syracuse didn't even play North Carolina until 1995. As far as the sequence of plays and scores go, The Express shows them completely out of order. But these are just minor inaccuracies which don't effect the movie or its reputation much.
Referencing the inaccuracy of the location of the game, Frank Lovece, a Journal International critic stated that, "The Express plays fast and loose with the historical record, and while dramatization is a given in biopics, these scenes here veer remarkably toward outright slander."
All together, The Express is an extremely inspirational movie. This docudrama can strengthen anyones determination to achieve their goals. It can also teach people to stand up for their beliefs despite what others think. Despite the historical inaccuracies, The Express is a solid touchdown.