Remember the Titans: On-This-Day Thursday
Every Thursday, an older film released on this opening weekend years ago will be reviewed. They can be classics, or simply popular films that happened to be released to the world on the same date.
For September 29th, we are going to have a look at Remember the Titans.
It isn’t a secret that Disney distributed pictures in the late ‘90s and early 2000’s were a little questionable. Outside of the rare gem like The Straight Story (which was frankly barely a Disney film at all), the majority of the live action films the studio made or distributed were mediocre at best, and atrocious at worst. So, people, well, remember Remember the Titans fondly, mostly because it frankly is one of the better live action Disney films of its time period, but that isn’t saying a hell of a lot. A name that has changed with time is Jerry Bruckheimer, whose knack for pushing out by-the-numbers films for the masses to eat up like candy has become blatantly apparent the older the internet age gets. A name once attached to promise — likely because of the push of television shows like Entertainment Tonight — can be researched, remembered, and reflected upon for the multitudes of “just okay” films he has produced.
Nonetheless, Remember the Titans is a safe film of all fronts: a safe look at race relations, a safe look at a sports film, and a safe film about those that are coming of age. If anything, this is Denzel Washington’s hour to keep his never ending fantastic career alive, albeit in a new setting. Coming off of a decade (plus) of fantastic work, Washington is the life and soul of Titans as Herman Boone: a real coach that lived the very story that the film depicts (with a handful of embellishments, however). Boone famously brought the T.C. Williams High School football team of the 1971 season to an undefeated season and state championship, all while working with a racially integrated team; a concept that was only just over five years old at the time.
Denzel Washington as Herman Boone.
This is Boone’s story, and Washington’s magnetism, booming projection, and ability to captivate an entire frame. The sports story is played more like an underdogs-to-champions tale than anything else, and for sports film obsessives, that’s okay. It’s easy to be attached to a sports film if you’re into that stuff, because you can feel the rush of games you’ve watched live (in person, on tv, or on devices) in the stadiums put on screen. Remember the Titans is that way, and it might be even easier getting hooked on these characters, played by actors we know very well now (including a young Ryan Gosling). If you’re looking for substance in a true story that frankly can deliver it, Remember the Titans won’t really give you that. If you just want a sports film that delivers sports film goods, then have at it. You won’t lose.
Andreas Babiolakis has a Masters degree in Film and Photography Preservation and Collections Management from Ryerson University, as well as a Bachelors degree in Cinema Studies from York University. His favourite times of year are the Criterion Collection flash sales and the annual Toronto International Film Festival.