Denzel Washington is one of my favorites. It is extremely hard to find a movie that he is ever bad in. I love that he tends to gravitate to roles that will push and challenge him in some way.

In 1971 an African American football coach, Coach Boone (Denzel Washington), is made the head coach of the T.C. Williams High School football team. The school has just been forced to desegregate, which has caused the town quite a bit of tension and political infighting. Coach Yoast (Will Patton) was on his way to be nominated in the hall of fame when Boone comes in and takes his job as head coach. Despite this setback in his career, Yoast can't leave his team and accepts a position as assistant/defensive coach. The entire team and coaches head off to a summer training camp, where they hit the boys hard with getting along despite their differences. The coaches have a difficult time learning to adjust as well, but they know it will eventually lead to a stronger team, especially if they can provide a good example. As the boys begin to form friendships and understand each other, they learn it shouldn't be about color at all. When they make their way back to the real world...school...family...and a world that doesn't accept minorities, their new friendships are put to the ultimate test. As they become a stronger team, the Titans, they start to show their community what it means to depend upon and trust each other.

Based on a true story "Remember The Titans" is not a perfect film. I was very impressed (especially after watching the commentary), to see how accurate it was to "real-life." They characters were real, the stories were real, and it definitely showed. That said, "Remember the Titans" really makes me dislike the 70's. The hate and tension against African Americans during this period of time is sickening to watch. On the other hand, it is amazing to see how much people will do to create effective changes. Segregation is a tough issue, and it gets hit on the head here in "Remember the Titans."

Denzel Washington and Will Patton do a wonderful job bringing their real-life counterparts to life in the best way possible. After listening to the commentary you can really tell how humbled the real Yoast and Boone were to have a film created about what they did...just because they believed in a team and helped create change in their community...not to get any extra attention.

"Remember the Titans" is a fun, heartfelt film that hits on real-life issues and shows the emotion of one brave team coming together in a time of great change. The acting is fantastic, the story is wonderful, and there are plenty of tear jerking moments for your loved one to allow you to watch a "sports" movie with them.

The DVD

Video:

Here we get a mixed bag of a video transfer. We get good deep blacks with great flesh tones, the color is wonderful, the contrast is good, and there isn't much grain present. This may sound like it is wonderful transfer, but unfortunately it really is just barely above average. In the first several minutes of the film there are many defects that are very much present. There are actual white specs that will pop up...although very small, it is still annoying and definitely visible. What bothered me most were the focus issues that went on throughout. Although the detail was very nice overall, there were several times when the focus was very soft and extremely distracting. Most of the time with "Remember the Titans" the video transfer was good, enjoyable and above average...but unfortunately these things remained throughout the film and were very distracting to me.

Sound:

Here we get a 5.1 Uncompressed and a 5.1 Dolby Digital track. It is an extremely well-rounded audio track, with crisp and clear surrounds that are used effectively throughout. Each and every tackle rumbles through all the speakers, and even the soundtrack uses the surrounds very well. There are times when the soundtrack is actually a little overpowering, but overall this track is fantastic. "Remember the Titans" has some fantastic loud scenes but is mainly dialogue. The dialogue is very nice, even, and is easy to hear in almost every scene. I really enjoyed this track!

Extras:

Commentary with Director Boaz Yakin, Producer Jerry Bruckheimer, and Writer Gregory Allen Howard: This is a good, detailed commentary but it unfortunately feels pieced together and not all three of them in a room. The detail is great, they talk about all the technical aspects and the history, but I wish I could have had more interaction between the three of them to move the commentary along.

Commentary with Real-Life coaches Herman Boone & Bill Yoast: I think this could rank up as one of my favorite commentaries. I love that Yoast and Boone are still alive and are still good friends. It really comes off in this commentary as we listen to them talk about the history, the accuracy of the film, and re-living the moments that "Remember the Titans" brings back!

Deleted Scenes: There are a good amount of deleted scenes on this disc. There are a couple that didn't do anything for me, but others could have been helpful in story development. I do wish however that there was an optional commentary to go along with these.

Remember the Titans: An Inspirational Journey Behind the Scenes: Hosted by Lynn Swann, we get an almost documentary style behind the scenes look at "Rmemeber the Titans." Running us through cast and crew intereviews and real-life coaches Yoast and Boone make an appearance and chat about everything "Remember the Titans."

Denzel Becomes Boone: This is a nice look at the real Boone and Denzel bringing his character to the screen.

Beating the Odds: A fairly short look at creating a film from a script that nobody wanted at first.

Final Thoughts:

"Remember the Titans" is one of my favorite "motivational" sports movies. There is something about it that makes me want to watch it again after each viewing. I love the real-life struggle that these students and the town itself goes through as they deal with segregation. The video quality is above average, and the audio is great! I can easily Recommend this one to anyone looking for a great family movie!