Men of Honor (Blu-ray) (2000)

"Inspirational biographical movie that really works.  Michael Wilmington, Chicago Tribune
"Riveting! A must see movie.  New York Post
"A film that will knock your socks off!  USA Today

Editor's Note An heroic life gets a suitably dramatic retelling in George Tillman, Jr.'s docudrama MEN OF HONOR, based on the true story of Carl Brashear, the first African American to become a United States Navy master diver. The film employs the conventional yet pleasurable against-all-odds narrative. Carl Brashear (played with noble grace by Cuba Gooding Jr.) is the son of a degraded Southern sharecropper. Determined to succeed in the vocation he believes he was born for, Brashear enlists in the navy. Once there, however, the determined young man finds his dream inaccessible--thwarted by the forces of institutional and personal racism. When, after a long and difficult struggle, he is finally allowed into diving school, he finds himself under the authority of Billy Sunday (Robert De Niro), a former master diver whose injured lung has left him permanently above water. Sunday becomes simultaneously Brashear's most vicious adversary and most loyal supporter, motivating him to succeed. The story that follows is a highly emotional wave of ups and downs: Brashear overcomes one barrier only to be met by the next, even larger one. MEN OF HONOR is at times heartbreaking and painful to watch, but the triumphant ending makes for a deeply satisfying payoff.

	Aunjanue Ellis
	Carl Lumbly
	Charlize Theron
	Cuba Gooding, Jr.
	Hal Holbrook
	Michael Rapaport
	Powers Boothe
	Robert De Niro
	Anthony B. Richmond - Cinematographer
	Bill Cosby - Executive Producer
	Dirk Westervelt - Editor
	George Tillman, Jr. - Director
	John Carter - Editor
	Mark Isham - Original Music By
	Robert Teitel - Producer
	Scott Marshall Smith - Screenplay

"If [the navy divers]'s lucky, he dies young two hundred feet beneath the waves. Because that's the closest he will ever get to becoming a hero."----Billy Sunday (Robert De Niro) to diving trainees

"Some things just don't mix, do they?"----Mister Pappy (Hal Holbrook) to Billy Sunday

"Why do you want this so badly?"----Jo (Aunjanue Ellis)|"Because they said I couldn't have it."----Carl Brashear (Cuba Gooding Jr.)

"Since when does deserving mean anything?"----Billy Sunday to Carl Brashear

USA Today
"...Cuba Gooding Jr. [gets to] flex both physical and acting muscles for once....De Niro cagily crafts Sunday, a composite character, into a memorable and complex creation..." 11/10/2000 p.8E

Movieline's Hollywood Life
"...Gooding conveys fierce dignity and simmering power..." 12/01/2000 p.39

Box Office
"...Gooding's solid performance is one of the most powerful aspects of MEN OF HONOR....[He] creates a credible depiction of Brashear's phenomenal strength of character..." 11/01/2000 p.161

Total Film
"...Gooding Jr. is effortlessly appealing as Brashear and you'll root for him to succeed....Very noble..." 04/01/2001 p.95

Los Angeles Times
"...Gooding and De Niro have the talent to pull it off, and the film emerges as a dynamic entertainment with the punch of an especially spectacular sports event..." 11/10/2000 p.C2

Chicago Sun-Times
"...[Cuba Gooding Jr.] delivers a strong, convincing performance....The movie sells itself..." 11/10/2000 p.33

ReelViews 8 of 10
Men Of Honor tackles military racism during the '50s and '60s in a straightforward manner. Some scenes are probably overplayed, but the technique is effective at underlining the kind of opposition encountered... the acting by Gooding Jr. and DeNiro is of a high enough caliber... - James Berardinelli

Chicago Sun-Times 8 of 10
Carl Brashear was quite a guy. A black sharecropper's son without a high school education, he signed up for the Navy right after World War II. Harry Truman had integrated the services, but the Navy was slow to change, and blacks were guided toward two job choices: They could become cooks or officers' valets. Brashear (Cuba Gooding Jr.) wanted to be a diver. "Men of Honor" tells the story of how he became one despite everything, and then how he insisted on returning to active duty after losing a part of a lower leg in an onboard accident...Cuba Gooding Jr. is the kind of actor who bubbles even when he's idling. That kind of energy wouldn't be appropriate here, and he dials down and delivers a strong, convincing performance. - Roger Ebert