Training Day

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Wednesday 27 September, Eye is closed. We apologise for any inconvenience caused.

still from In the Heat of the Night (Norman Jewison, US 1967)

still In the Heat of the Night (Norman Jewison, US 1967)

poster Training Day (Antoine Fuqua, US 2001)

still from Training Day (Antoine Fuqua, US 2001)

still Training Day (Antoine Fuqua, US 2001)

Eye Filmmuseum seen across the river IJ © Marcus Koppen

Eye Filmmuseum, © Marcus Koppen

still from Cry Freedom (Richard Attenborough, GB/ZW 1987)

still Cry Freedom (Richard Attenborough, GB/ZW 1987)

still from The Equalizer (Antoine Fuqua, US 2014)

still The Equalizer (Antoine Fuqua, US 2014)

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Norman Jewison’s indictment of racism in America’s deep south won five Oscars. Sidney Poitier plays a black cop suspected of murder; the colour of his skin says he’s guilty. Cooperation with the local authorities to unravel the murder is terrible and the majority of the population prove racist.

A man is murdered in a sleepy town in the deep south. Soon a black stranger Virgil Tibbs (Poitier) who is waiting at the station for a train becomes the prime suspect. After his arrest things don’t prove as clear cut: Tibbs is a policeman and a very good detective – he offers to help investigate to prove his innocence. However, sheriff Bill Gillespie (Rod Steiger) has already decided who the guilty party is. In the Heat of the Night won five Oscars, including best film and best actor (Steiger). Jewison’s righteous critique of racism unfortunately still proves current today, all the more reason to create a 4K restoration of this classic that features music by Quincy Jones. Screening of the 4K restoration

In the Heat of the Night

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Narcotics detective Alonzo Harris (Denzel Washington) criss-crosses the troubled neighbourhoods of Los Angeles. He knows everyone, from street hustlers to the top dealers, and everyone knows him. Trainee cop Jake Hoyt (Ethan Hawke) learns that the boundary between correct and corrupt is extremely thin. Washington became only the second ever Black actor to win a Best Actor Oscar.

Training Day focuses on a story that has been doing the rounds in American media for a long time. In addition to being racist, the LAPD is accused of serious corruption. Veteran Black narcotics detective Alonzo Harris seems to be living proof of the second part of these allegations; in his dealings with white ‘rookie’ Jake, the roles seem subtly reversed.

Sidney Poitier was a pioneer. In 1963, he was the first African American male to win the Oscar for Best Actor for Lilies of the Field. Poitier was lauded for his style, intelligence and classical technique. He was graceful, self-aware and had immense presence on screen.

Sidney Poitier & Denzel Washington

In this true story, Denzel Washington plays anti-Apartheid activist Steve Biko in this powerful drama about the friendship between Biko and Donald Woods, a South African journalist (Kevin Kline). Biko died in his cell due to police brutality.

Donald Woods was the editor in chief of the liberal Daily Dispatch during in Apartheid-era South Africa. He wrote various critical articles about the – in his eyes – radical opinions of Steve Biko, the Black Consciousness Movement’s most prominent member. When he met Biko for the first time, the journalist had to modify his opinion considerably. Woods became an active anti-Apartheid activist after Biko was imprisoned in 1977 and died from police brutality. When Woods subsequently wrote a biography of Biko he gained the interest of the security services and fled to Lesotho disguised as a priest.
Richard Attenborough reconstructs the unusual friendship between two men with very different backgrounds and philosophies. Cry Freedom’s strong political message is underlined by Washington and Kline’s excellent acting; both excel in acute, tender and ironic dialogues. Washington received an Oscar nomination for Best Actor for his role. Five years down the line, he would play another black civil rights activist: Malcolm X in Spike Lee's eponymous film.

Cry Freedom

In this full-blooded action thriller Robert McCall (Denzel Washington) has burnt his bridges behind him. He has even staged his own death to be able to say goodbye to his life as an undercover cop. A violent incident involving a prostitute forces him to take up his old trade as an Equalizer again.

Ex-undercover cop Robert McCall leads a modest life working at a DIY store in Boston. McCall’s quiet life is crudely disturbed when he witnesses young prostitute Teri being threatened by an ultra-violent Russian mobster. McCall can’t take it and decides to take up his former profession once more. As The Equalizer it was his task to help society’s helpless, lonely people combatting injustice and violence.

Training Day

Antoine Fuqua / US, 2001 / 120 min.

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Special screenings

The Equalizer

In the Heat of the Night

Cry Freedom

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Sidney Poitier & Denzel Washington