The Hurricane (1999) on Netflix
R19992h 26mBiographyDramaSport
Rubin Carter, a top-ranked middleweight, is convicted of a triple murder on the testimony of a fellow suspect. In prison he writes his autobiography, which reaches a Brooklyn teenager in Toronto.
- Netflix3.8/5
- IMDb7.6/10109,117 votes
- Rotten Tomatoes82%
Trailer
Plot summary
Rubin Carter, called Hurricane, rises to the top of the middleweight division, with fans in Paterson, New Jersey, expecting him to win the world title. In 1966 a bartender and two customers are shot dead in a Paterson bar. Police stop Carter and John Artis, his friend, as they head home from a different Paterson club, question them, then release them. Alfred Bello, himself a suspect in the killings, then says the two were at the scene and fired the shots. On that testimony Carter is convicted of the three murders and sentenced to three consecutive life terms. He insists he is innocent and writes his autobiography. Lesra Martin, a Brooklyn teenager raised in Toronto by Canadian activists who tutor him, reads the book, is convinced of his innocence, and with his foster family joins Carter's legal team.
Cast
Did you know?!Facts and trivia about The Hurricane (1999)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
- Former middleweight world champion Joey Giardello sued the film's producers for libel over its depiction of his fight with Carter as a "racist fix", stating: "Virtually every boxing expert then and now will tell you I won the fight."
- Referee Robert Polis, who actually scored the real Carter-Giardello fight 72-66 for Giardello, called the film's portrayal of Giardello as an incompetent fighter "ludicrous."
- Asked about being portrayed by Denzel Washington, the real Rubin Carter replied that "I didn't know I was that good-looking." H. Lee Sarokin, the federal judge who freed Carter, objected that, unlike his portrayal by Rod Steiger, "I'm a lower-key guy."
- To prepare for playing boxer Rubin "Hurricane" Carter, Denzel Washington trained extensively and worked closely with the real Carter, who Washington said got through "pots and pots of coffee and packs of cigarettes" during their sessions.
- Critic Alex von Tunzelmann noted that the film took liberties with history, including its depictions of Carter's military service, his prior criminal record, and the Giardello fight, while still defending the film's core claim that Carter was wrongfully convicted.
