Customer Reviews
Golden classic 
2008-10-02
If you have ever wanted to see a true struggle between the "white" and "black" man..
this move has it!
Great classic! 2008-08-30
I saw this movie when I was a teenager long ago. It's great. It addresses the awful truth of racism, and shows how that shallow viewpoint can be turned around. Great performances by Sidney Poiter and Tony Curtis, how can you possibly go wrong with either one of those two, right?! Great song, too, that will get stuck in your head forever. Loooong gone....ain't he lucky....:o)
CLASSIC FILM STILL HOLDS UP WELL! 4 1/2 STARS! 2008-08-29
'The Defiant Ones' is a classic film that deals with racism, survival and loyalty. Two prisoners, one black and one white are forced to work together to survive when a prison transport vehicle crashes. The two convicts who are chained together have to put their differences aside to stay ahead of the lawmen who want to put them back behind bars. Poitier and Curtis are in top form in this engrossing drama. Although a bit dated, the film holds up well and the DVD transfer in clean and crisp!
The Defiant Ones--no wonder it was nominated for all those Oscars. 
2008-01-28
Although minimal by today's Hollywood standards, this drama stimulates discussion on many levels. Some of it is obviously dated, but it is worthwhile seeing from the standpoint of cinematic storytelling, basic cinematic technique, and basic dramatic performances without excessive explosions, graphic sex or verbal profanity. Highly recommended for the movie enthusiasist.
The Defiant Ones 2007-12-24
ESSENTIAL MOVIE!!! Here's another great "prison" movie from Hollywood. This one stars Tony Curtis & Sidney Poitier. They are chained together when they make their escape. It's not as simple as it sounds; the movie takes place at an unspecified location in the southern U.S. in the late fifties. This was a very unususl situation, the chaining of white & black together in that period. Of course, the Tony Curtis character is a bigot which makes the escape & survival of the two convicts a very complicated thing.
Sidney Poitier is excellent, he should be recognized as one of America's greatest actors. Mr. Poitier must be given credit for breaking down some of the walls that hindered black actors in those days. Tony Curtis, though not the greatest of actors, does a very credible job in his role, Bronx accent not withstanding. In fact, the characters are so well constructed that the audience feels empathy toward them. Director Stanley Kramer has done one of his best jobs ever. This was a very risky movie to be making in 1958; but the control of the huge movie studios were slipping, and in fact, this was an independent production, which is why this movie got made in that day.
Enjoy a movie that was ahead of its time in 1958. It's not only a good movie, it's also an historically important movie.
The Defiant Ones 2007-11-12
Nominated* for nine Academy AwardsÂ(r), including Best Picture, The Defiant Ones broke new ground by delivering its message of racial tolerance through a fast-moving blend of action and suspense. It remains "a raw, powerful film that is as exciting as it is moving, real and literate"(Variety). Joker Jackson (Tony Curtis) and Noah Cullen (Sidney Poitier) are two convicts on the run. Escaping from a Southern work gang, the two men are bound together by an unbreakable iron chain and separated by an unbridled hatred towards each other. Relentlessly pursued by a posse and bloodhounds, they put aside their differences to survive. But when a lonely woman (Cara Williams) breaks their chain and deliberately sends Cullen to certain death, Jackson must decide what's more important: saving Cullen...or saving himself. *1958: Best Picture, Actor (Tony Curtis and Sidney Poitier), Supporting Actor (Theodore Bikel), Supporting Actress (Cara Williams), Director,Story and Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen (won), Cinematography (won), Film Editing
Great film, for its time, and present/future days... 2007-09-19
I first saw this film as a child, a few times later as a teen and as an adult (whatever "an adult" is), and always remembered it as one of the best movies I'd ever seen. Having recently caught it yet again, uncut, unedited on cable, here in my early 50's, I have to say this remains one of my all time favorite films. And its message of racial tolerance, understanding, and cooperation, remains as true today as it was when it was first released, back in the "Jim Crow LAW" days. Years before the civil rights movement and altered "laws," and decades after when the black/white racial divides still existing today were marked by the tragedies and incomprehensibility of what happened following Hurricane Katrina. While so much of the racial hatreds and insanities from the period in American history from which this story and movie is taken may seem dated to some, I seriously doubt such a frank and honest portrayal of same could be even made, let alone financed, produced, and released/distributed today. Yet, it remains a potent indictment of racial prejudice and especially hatred, all based upon the silly and meaningless pigment of someone's skin.
Nominated for nine Academy awards, including best picture, this film tells a quite raw, but satisfyingly linear and always satisfying story of a black man and a white man, chained together, escaped "criminals," who lead "law" enforcement (while still chained together throughout most of the picture) on a chase, not unlike that which was later reworked in the popular Harrison Ford vehicle "The Fugitive." While I really liked the movie version of the Fugitive TV show, this particular film seems a very reputable updating, with the only differences being the twosome (black/white man fugitives), instead of the singular white man. An updating, decades before, however.
Tony Curtis ("Johnny" and "Joker") and Sidney Poitier (Noah Cullen) give perhaps the best performances of both of their lives, not only cinematically, character driven-wise, but in their real lives. While both actors went on to even greater achievements, I'm sure both would've ranked their performances in this, amongst their greatest, and most rewarding. Cara Williams is also notable as the lonely female interest for Curtis, and for her importance as the driving force towards the film's conclusion. Throughout the film, the direction by Stanley Kramer is without flaw, and the writing is first rate, especially in both the film's beyond excellent pacing and editing. Still, in the end, and from beginning to end, this is the simply the best and most believable, moving work of both Tony Curtis and Sidney Poitier, in any film either has/had ever done before or since.
Even though the DVD of this fantastic motion picture basically only contains the film itself, in this instance, that is quite enough because the film itself is just so good. Though once one has seen this through to the end, and one knows the final outcome, it is still a film to be watched time and again, which makes the purchase of this, to true fans of the movie and its message, a must-buy if at least not a must-rent or at the very least glimpse on cable or TV. It has various scenes and memorable lines from the two main protagonists, to keep one coming back to it now and then at the very least. It is also consistently entertaining and involving, and really makes one think about the broader and deeper meanings and truths hidden just below the surface. When the "N" word had some true meaning, and when post WWII later-day Eisenhower was struggling with the real problems of racial inequality.
This was, and remains, a film way, way, way ahead of its time in its socio-political views and consequences, and remains even more so after its 1985, rather tepid by comparison, TV-Movie remake. While that version featured competent acting and direction, this is the original, and in stark, black and white (how fitting) cinematography, was back when it was originally released, and continues to be, a true winner on all fronts.
A lot of people, of all races and ethnic differences, can learn a lot from viewing this film, if their heart and basic consciousness/soul is in the right moral place. While parts of the film (particularly the Curtis/Poitier sections) are more powerful and compelling than other parts of those who are chasing them down, overall, this movie to this day, is still perhaps the best black/white relations work "Hollywood" has ever produced. The fact that it was done so in the late 50's, is truly amazing.
"Bowlin' Green, Sewin' Machine" Sidney's "Cullen" character sings, at the beginning and at the end. It's all a matter of experience, life experience, and learned views and traits from such, and environmental upbringings. At the very end, which some find too jarring and abrupt, but which I find perfect, this simple song/hymn finds new meaning and importance. For it brings the film and the viewer's experience of the film, full circle. Because in the end, the "chains" that bind our blind hatreds, are all in our heads, and that which makes us the same, and allies against injustices "under the law" and any other unjust socio-political forces beyond our individual control, is so much more important and meaningful.
One of the best films I've ever seen, and though I know every heartbeat of it, my heart remains unhardened to its underlying message of hope and racial brotherly love and understanding/cooperation. We shall overcome, someday...
The Defiant Ones 2007-06-26
Another of maverick producer/director Stanley Kramer's consciousness-raising social films, this tale proved a potent metaphor for race relations in 1958. Virtually simultaneous with the rise of the civil-rights movement, this progressive adventure eloquently presented the case for racial harmony in the story of a gutsy prison-break film. Poitier--who at age 30 was set to go where no black actor had gone before--more than holds his own with Curtis, then a big star, who plays the despicable "Joker" to perfection.
Black and white fight and run 2006-03-28
A black-and-white movie about a hateful pair of black and white convicts struggling for their lives and against each other. During the era of the film in the South, it is amazing that a black man would touch a white -- let alone be chained to him with a defiant attitude. What is more remarkable than the intense hatred and out-and-out fist fight is the bond that forms between this unlikely pair as they flee for their lives after a prison break. Pushing personal differences aside, they must learn to rely upon one another or die trying.
Movie quote: "I ain't gettin' mad, Joker. I been mad all my natural life."
"That's a hell of a way to live- you keep quiet all your life and the only time you open your mouth is when you're dying." 2005-09-08
The Defiant Ones is one of the great American films. Released in 1958, this starkly filmed story of two convicts on the run for their freedom evokes powerful emotions for the viewer. Tony Curtis and Sidney Poitier are wonderful in their roles and display a level of screen chemistry that has been sadly lacking in contemporary films. It is hard to say which one is better due to their very different but equally powerful performance. As one might expect, the two cons start out hating each other, but slowly develop a grudging respect for one another as they learn about the others life and eventually a kind of friendship is formed. The secondary story concerns the posse on their trail and the friction that develops amongst them as the chase goes on. Cara Williams is memorable as the woman that Curtis cares for while on the run and is the character that causes a change in his attitude that leads directly to the bittersweet ending. Theodore Bikel is also very accomplished as the beleagered Sheriff and Lon Chaney Jr. is very good as a townsman who has a special reason for aiding the 2 cons in their escape. The Defiant Ones is a great film that almost 50 years later still prods us with the reminder that YES, WE CAN learn to overcome our differences over race and live with and care for each other. Both Curtis and Poitier are at the top of their game here and each received an Academy Award nomination deservedly. A final note: watch the last scene and decide for yourself- was it an accident or did one friend make a sacrifice for another?
