Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #7113 in DVD
• Released on: 2002-01-21
• Rating: Suitable for 15 years and over
• Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Formats: Anamorphic, PAL, Widescreen
• Original language: English
• Subtitled in: Czech, Danish, English, Finnish, Hebrew, Hungarian, Icelandic, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Swedish
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 123 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Review
Originally, Men of Honour was simply called Navy Diver and no doubt all involved held high hopes that it would be an award-winning biopic. Unfortunately, Carl Brashear's life as the first African-American Master Diver went through that vaguely distasteful contemporary Hollywood Marketing makeover and the result is not quite so worthy of its subject and intentions. The film's hopelessly clichéd tagline reads, "History is made by those who break the rules"; the direction is shot through with sunsets 'n' slow-mo; and the script is peppered with foreshadowing dialogue ("don't end up like me son").

The plot devices follow a predictable arc: family poverty, a swiftly sweet romance, a shock accident, court hearing and, naturally, a grisly antagonist. It's with the last of these that the movie comes to life. We may have seen DeNiro spit nails countless times before, but his saltily intractable Master Chief is a terrific screen creation. Next to him, Cuba Gooding Jr really does shine as the endlessly persecuted Brashear. All-too brief cameos from Charlise Theron and Michael Rapaport lend sparkle too. But the film's message about how social attitudes toward race have changed is lost in a murky haze of Hollywoodisation. As one character declares, "some things just don't mix".

On the DVD: Men of Honour on disc underlines the Hollywood marketing message by including the Music Video ("Win" by Brian McKnight) used to promote the film among the extras. A commentary from director George Tillmann Jr, Cuba Gooding Jr ("this is my Rocky"), writer Scott Marshall Smith and Producer Robert Teitel is crammed with anecdote and explanation. Twelve deleted scenes include an alternative ending dropped thanks to that Tinsel-Town makeover, and the commentary continues for this plus three minutes of storyboards and animatics. There's also a 13-minute HBO featurette on the film's making, a half-hearted five-minute mini-documentary in tribute of Brashear, a trailer and two TV spots. This transfer itself is pristine in 5.1 surround and 2:35.1 ratio. --Paul Tonks

Special Features
2.35 Wide Screen
16:9 Anamorphic Wide Screen
DVD 9
English
English
Region 2
Dolby Digital 5.1 English
Dolby Digital 5.1
Directors Commentary With Cuba Gooding Jr George Tilman Jr Scott Marshall Smith And Robert Teitel
12 Deleted Scenes Including An Alternate Ending All With Directors Commentary
Featurette The Making Of Men Of Honour
Mini Documentary A Tribute To Carl Brasher
Music Video
Animatics
Theatrical Trailer
TV Spots
Czech\Danish\English\Finnish\Hebrew\Hungarian\Icelandic\Norwegian\Polish\Portuguese\Swedish

Synopsis
A 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 follows 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 antagonistic 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 simultaneously becomes 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 unbelievably 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.

Customer Reviews

Motivational and Truely fantastic
Cuba Gooding Jr. Makes an absolutely sensastinal performance in this film, acting as Carl Brashear a break through military master diver, bieng the first african american diver to ever achieve such a position. Based in a period of time where the coloured population were commonly discriminated against because of thier race.

This film has deep meaning and shows how the determination of one man can make such a difference in a society that seems unchangable... Throughout the film you are grasped into the life of Carl Brashear and his natural talent and love for the water.

With this love he decides to join the Navy with a promise to his dad "to be the best, and never give up, EVER" through the pain of breaking the barrier of racism it shows how he managed to survive the tourment.

This DVD has special features describing the making of the film, and shows scenes with Carl Brashear himself, and once you have finished watching this I assure you you will feel a new life within yourself to achieve the goals you are heading for, absolutely amazing!

A TRUE AMERICAN HERO...
This is a wonderful, heartwarming film, as well as an indictment of the US Navy at a certain time in history. The story is a cinematic, biographical sketch of Carl Brashear, the first African-American to become a diver for the US Navy. Cuba Gooding, Jr. and Robert De Niro both give Oscar calibre performances in this gripping film.

The movie tells the story of Carl Brashear, whose parents instilled in him a determination that would cause him never to give up his dream of becoming a diver in the US Navy. He stuck to his guns, despite the overt racism that he encountered when he joined the Navy. The racism that he encountered would make it harder for him to achieve his life long dream.

Once he became a diver, Mr. Brashear upped the ante and strove to become a master diver. He struggled to do this against all odds, and just when he was on the cusp of achieving his goal, a tragic accident befell him, derailing him temporarily from the path to his ultimate goal. What he then does to fulfill his dream is radical, yet inpirational.

Cuba Gooding, Jr., as Carl Brashear, gives a perfomance so moving and heroic that the viewer feels like giving him a twenty one gun salute at the end of the film. Robert De Niro plays a racist master diver who is ultimately converted to the side of the angels, when he realizes that Carl Brashear is truly the best of the best. His performance is stellar.

The only problem with the movie is that most of the supporting roles pale in comparison to the two central ones played by Gooding and De Niro. Charlize Theron's role, that of De Niro's wife, is really superfluous to the story. Aunjanue Ellis, who affectingly plays Brashear's wife, has a more crucial, pivotal role than Ms. Theron, but remains a shadowy figure in the backround. Hal Holbrook's portrayal of a loony, racist Navy commander is rather one dimensional, more of a caricature than a character. Notwithstanding these small shortcomings, this is a riveting film that should not be missed.

Men Of Honour
I'm always a little wary of film that are "based on a true story" as it's usually the case the film makers are more than happy to take more than a few liberties to make the film more exciting, more adventurous or more captivating. "Men of Honour" tells the "true" story of Carl Brashear who was the first black American to become a qualified US Navy diver and more than that, to rise to the top of his rank structure after a career threatening injury that ended with the amputation of half of his leg.

The story begins in the late 1940's and although the US Navy is now supposedly unsegregated, in reality and black recruits are destined for a career as a cook or officer's valets. Carl Brashear is cut from different cloth however and after watching the on-board heroics of a master diver called Billy Sunday he vows to enroll for the next diving course. Although he is given his chance the ingrained racial prejudices of both the officers and men look set to give Brashear a very rough ride. By a wicked turn of fate Brashear's instructor for the course is Billy Sunday and this tough grizzled old sea dog is as opposed as anyone in letting a black man pass the course.

I don't want to reveal any more of the plot as it should be discovered by the viewer but suffice it to say that the institutionalized racism that blights the Navy at this point in time throws every obstacle imaginable at Brashers and some more besides.

Cuba Gooding Jr can always be relied on for an energetic and wholehearted performance and although he tones the high octane acting down here his charm and decency puts the viewer firmly on Brashers side for the whole of the film. Robert de Niro plays the caustic and unforgiving Chief Sunday as only he can. The character is a real nasty piece of work and although he works out his own redemption by the end of the film de Niro keeps the viewer totally engaged throughout the character's good and bad times.

The film does have to be criticised for the wholly unnecessary "Hollywood" ending which even the most gullible watcher must question for its authenticity. Quite way the filmmaker felt it necessary to belittle everything that had gone before it with this scene of overacted smaltz is beyond me but I guess somewhere there's a market for it.

The rest of the film though is an engaging and sometimes bewildering look at navy service life and probably acts as a suitable social commentary on the attitudes and prejudices of the day.