Product Description

Sometimes life throws a curve ball, a fork in the road, or a wall between you and what you want. For Socrates Fortlow, life keeps getting in the way, but nothing stays in the way of a man with his mission. Socrates is going to make it - his way on his terms - and if you aren't part of the solution, then you know where you stand. If you're a killer terrorizing the neighborhood, you'll have to deal with him first. If you're a beautiful woman who deserves more attention, attention will be paid. If you're a witness to murder and you need protection, you're staying alive in his hands. Life's questions can be hard, but the answers are east. When it comes to trouble, you look for the man who's still standing. Because the way he's fighting for his life is the way you want him fighting for yours.

DVD Features:
Biographies
Other:Chapter Selections

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #6692 in DVD
• Brand: FISHBURNE,LAURENCE
• Released on: 2002-01-08
• Rating: R (Restricted)
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Formats: Closed-captioned, Color, DVD, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: .20 pounds
• Running time: 104 minutes

Customer Reviews

This movie just strikes a chord for me
I can certainly see how people could overlook this underpublicized gem. I can even see how some people just wouldn't identify with this film. I can't imagine, however, how anyone that has had any kind of serious struggle in their lives wouldn't be moved by this film and it incredible writing, acting, production, and HUMAN values. Socrates Fortlow is a brilliant symbol for something very special. Socrates Fortlow is a man, a human being, unwilling to abandon decency, compassion, and integrity in face of a life of overwhelming hardship.

There is no doubt that much of Fortlow's tragic life is a byproduct of some of his own rash actions. There is also no doubt that the deck was and still is stacked against him. If anything, this movie reinforces my own personal belief that some people pay for their mistakes more than others. What really moves me about this movie and this characters, however, is Fortlow's unyielding quest to acknowledge his shortcomings, be his own man, and share his tremendous inner strength with others who may be a little short on what they need to make the right decisions themselves.

Through his outreach, Fortlow places himself on a path to redemption, even though he scarely seems aware of this himself. Fortlow doesn't reach out as pennance, he does it because he genuinely seems to feel and care about those around him. He is driven by the kind of empathy and compassion that only someone that has suffered deeply can have. His kind actions are instinctive, not planned, and it underscores, in giant terms, the profound decency of the man: the kind of decency I only wish we could find among the "blameless."

This is definitely one of my personal "top 10" movies and I can't see it being displaced anytime soon.

Show this One to Prisoners
Anyone who thinks this is a "slow" movie hasn't shown it to prisoners, the way I have. They love it. They identify with Socrates, understand his nobility. They see that Socrates can tell them something positive about themselves. Socrates knows his anger and how it has caused him to damage others in the past. The flashbacks to his crime are common among violent criminals and his warning never to harm again. Socrates has figured out how to take who he is as he is and make it work for himself and for all the people around him. He's a true hero and a role model for these "tough guys," the prisoners--a protector, never again a destroyer. The message I hope the prisoners pick up is about renunciation, retribution, and restitution. We correctional educators don't give up on these men but always have to believe they will find their way as Socrates eventually does.
This movie could only have been made by people who have been there and lived it. It is a gem.

disjointed and needed
i have lots of white friends and none of them know what it is like to be me. and to make things worse, i don't know what it is like to be Socrates Fortlow. And that's how the circle goes. Socrates doesn't know what it is like to be me either. Life continues...

Socrates Fortlow was told in book form years ago. Now, it is brought to us via the tube starring many black actors and actresess in top form. There are lots of weird script troubles, but if you can get past them, this is a very good flick. Socrates is a good guy who has a problem fighting his past. All he wants is to get a job and help his friends. His friends problems stem from marital trouble, murder, physical illness and just plain emotional stress. But, Socrates is there to help even if it means his freedom. Good man, good film.

The book is a bunch of stories just thrown in at us and we readers are supposed to put the good parts together and make it make sense. I enjoyed the book, but I am not stupid to its problems. The movie does away with everything but the essense of the story and puts it all together completely out of order. But that doesn't matter because it doesn't matter how you read the story. It's perfect bathroom reading. Go through a chapter on the john, bookmark the page and move on. If you don't bookmark the page, so what? You missed nothing.

Socrates was named by his mom, hoping that having a smart man's name would make him smart. he messed that up early with a prison sentence when he was young. Socco, as his friends call him (his story inappropriately told in voice-over) has been in jail for rape and murder. he is finally out and trying to live his life. he is a naturally violent man who sees life the way we should all see it but deals with it in ways that we should all refrain from.

Most of the essense from the book is in this film with a few embelishes. A good deal of the other stuff was thrown out completely. For the most part, I am astounded at how easily screenwriter/author Mosely puts this thing together while erasing a lot of his artist's integrity. Not many author's would dissect their books in such a way unless they were made believers.

I imagined a worked out Danny Glover as the lead instead of Larry Fishburne. Fishburne is way too young for the part and Glover has the notoriously big hands so celebrated in the novel. But since Fishburne EP'd the project it probably never would have been make without him. All in all, good job.

I think I will put together a LIST about movies and books that tell the black story. That way, it would be easier for white society to see the difference as shown to us in this flick.