“The EXPRESS” An exceptional story of America’s first black recipient of the nation’s highest college football honor–The Hesiman Trophy. The movie is a period film and not a documentary–such that its facts are altered to provide the viewer with a sense of the times—with discrimination the issue of the day. The EXPRESS will become a classic over time…much as did Brian’s Song, Rudi, and the Rockne Story staring Ron Reagan. This is a captivating story of its time–the late 50’s. Syracuse University was a leader in American sports integration as was their Hall of Fame and legendary Coach, Ben Schwartwalder–recrutiing Jim Brown, Ernie Davis, Floyd Little, and many other athletes of diverse backgrounds. The EXPRESS is a winner.
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Great Movie!  This movie is great and I highly recommend it. This true story about the first black Heisman trophy winner and the tradgedy of his death is both heartwarming and inspiring…. The Express Thoughtfully done, and very accruate. Sometimes hard to believe the depth of prejudice that existed during Ernie Davis’ time on planet earth!… The Express to Dissappointment The film kicks off depicting Ernie Davis as a child in the 40’s, played by Justin Martin, who discovers his talent in running when he outruns a group of typical racist schoolyard bullies. From there, racism becomes the only recurring theme of the movie. Fast forwarding many years later, the next scene depicts Davis, now played by Rob Brown, in his teenage years as he rises to the status of football sensation at his local high school in Elmira, N.Y. Sought after by many colleges due to his status, Davis is eventually recruited by tough-but-reasonable coach Ben Schwartwelder (played by Dennis Quaid) into Syracuse College, who uses Davis’s childhood inspiration Jim Brown (Darrin Dewitt Henson) to bait him in. From then on, despite facing racism everywhere, Davis helps the Syracuse Orangemen win the cotton bowl and ultimately become the #1 ranked team in the 1959 season. Directed by Gary Fleder and adapted by Charles Leavitt, the film is packed to the brim with sport drama clich¨¦s. Too-tough-but-kind-inside coach, check. Fierce, racist, opposing teams who are violent, full of themselves and lack a sense of morality, check. In fact, the film goes so far to fulfill these clich¨¦s that the directors have even fabricated material- Leavitt admits that the supposed 1958 game at Tar Heels Stadium in North Carolina, in which angry racist crowds chucked glass bottles and verbal abuse at the team, was inaccurate on all accounts. Moreover, the supposed racial tension verses the Longhorns in the 1960 cotton bowl match was also pure fabrication. Bobby Lackey, quarterback for the University of Texas in the game depicted recalls: “How are you going to say the N-word in a football game and spit on somebody? Coach Royal would not have put up with that kind of behavior. It was a long time ago, but I know we shook hands and told him nice game and that his team deserved to win.” Clearly, without any angry racist teams that actually played against the Orangemen, Gary Fleder had to resort to fabrication to get his point across, which certainly hurts the historical accuracy of the film. It is worth noting that director Gary Fleder should be credited for the excellent chase sequences professionally shot with the hand camera- the shaky angles give the film one of its few realistic tinges. The only downside to that is that the angles aren’t exactly groundbreaking or original- they only serve to remind the audience of better sport epics such as “Remember the Titans” or “Glory Road.” Rob Brown’s performance as the near-saintly Ernie Davis is forgettable at best, but it’s understandable as the weak storyline and script undermine his performance. The problem is, the movie won’t let him be a real person, and thus nobody can relate to him. As one other critic put it, “It’s the complaint many people have had about Superman over the years. If he never does anything wrong, and if nothing can stop him, then what’s interesting about him?” In stark contrast, Quaid’s performance as Coach Ben Schwartzwalder is quite the opposite: although Quaid still suffers from a lame script and overdone clich¨¦s, he still manages to shine as his character’s underlying prejudices are brought forth and challenged by his relationship with Davis. In a memorable scene where he butts head with Davis, he manages to deliver this epic line: “I must like winning a little more than I dislike black people.” For a movie that has “Remember the Titans” written all over, you would definitely expect more from The Express. Luckily, the solid performance given by Quaid and the intense action sequences are the film’s saving grace. But for those who already have ESPN Classic or “Remember the Titans” on DVD, don’t even bother. |
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3 Comments until now
Wonderful Story and Great Action Scenes
The Express is the story of Ernie Davis, a running back for Syracuse University that won the 1960 Cotton Bowl MVP on the way to helping his team with the National Championship, and then followed that up with the 1961 Heisman Trophy. He was drafted by the Cleveland Browns who wanted to team him with the legendary Jim Brown, also from Syracuse University, in the same backfield.
As others have noted, the filmmakers did take some license with the story of Ernie Davis. Although having seen a documentary about Davis, the departures from the truth aren’t really very big. For example, the filmmakers portray Davis as having been drafted by the Cleveland Browns. In fact this is not true. He was drafted by the Washington Redskins, but because the Redskins at that time were owned by noted racist George Preston Marshall, Davis was immediately traded to the Cleveland Browns, owned by Art Modell.
The action scenes are among the best football scenes I’ve ever seen in a movie. I could almost feel the hits Rob Brown, portraying Davis, took during some of the games portrayed in the film. It was also saddening to me to see the on field racism that Davis had to endure at Syrcause. Jackie Robinson was subjected to taunts and sometimes an occasional dirty play at second base, but as a football player it seems Davis was routinely subjected to dirty hits after the whistle. What Davis went through perhaps was even worse in some ways than what Jackie Robinson endured.
I also think that the movie does a good job of portraying Davis as someone who initially only wanted to be a running back and didn’t much think about national politics, turning into a responsible thoughtful adult who wanted the chance to do anything his skills could enable him to do, and not be limited by the “unwritten rules” of the time.
The only gripe I really have with the film is that in my opinion it is too short. After Syracuse wins the National Championship the next season is not portrayed. That said, the last few scenes are very poignant and well done.
I’d recommend this DVD to any football fan, especially college football fan.
Excellent Service
I pre-ordered the movie, “The Express” and I received it the next day it was out for sale. Great movie, I would recommended. I have purchased many movies, dvds, and cds from Amazon and I have always received excellent products in excellent condition. I highly recommend purchasing merchandise from Amazon and it’s sellers.
Still good
Saw it at the movies & almost cried so I had to buy it. I put it in just to see how the blueray would look on my TV. I ended up watching the whole movie again. And yes, it’s STILL GOOD!!!
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