Product Description

Based on true events, PRIDE is the inspiring story of Jim Ellis, a charismatic schoolteacher in the 1970s who changed lives forever when he founded an African-American swim team in one of Philadelphia’s roughest neighborhoods.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #37393 in DVD
• Brand: LIONS GATE HOME ENT.
• Released on: 2007-06-26
• Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
• Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
• Formats: AC-3, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DVD, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Subtitled in: English, Spanish
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: .25 pounds
• Running time: 109 minutes

Amazon.com
A feel-good film set in 1970s Philadelphia, Pride offers hope and inspiration via athletic competition. But it's not football or basketball that gives these urban youths self-esteem and pride: rather, it's swimming. Never mind that (as Bernie Mac points out in the movie), "Brothers don't swim." In this film--which is based on Jim Ellis' real-life experiences coaching the swimmers at the Philadelphia Department of Recreation--Terrence Howard (Hustle & Flow) portrays Ellis as a quiet, earnest, and honest man who wants to give children the opportunities that were denied to him. One of the few black competitive swimmers during that era, Ellis' career ended in college thanks in part to racism. His greatest desire is to show that fortitude, strength, and character aren't indicative of any color other than gold. Some of the characters are painted in strokes so broad they almost become caricatures. Tom Arnold, as the coach for a well-to-do white team, is a taunting buffoon. Mac plays the rec center's soap opera-loving custodian, who is doubtful that a team of scraggly boys--some of whom could barely swim--can beat a team of kids who've been swimming since they could walk. At one point, Ellis says the world isn't black and white, which is ironic since the film makes a point of distinguishing between the two races. There are few surprises in this film that sets up a classic case of David vs. Goliath, but what makes the film stand out--besides a training sequence where basketballs are used to help train the young swimmers--is Howard's charismatic portrayal of Ellis. He makes you believe that this soft-spoken coach could achieve the unthinkable of beating Goliath. Whether or not he actually does is just icing on the cake. --Jae-Ha Kim

Customer Reviews

Teaching Pride through Swimming
Jim Ellis (Terrence Howard) loves to swim. During the 60's, he joined his schools swim team, which created problems. Jim is African American, and the white competitors in North Carolina weren't happy to be competing against him.

10 years later, Jim has landed in Philadelphia. Despite his credential to teach math, the only job he can get is cleaning out the recreation center in the poor part of town. It's scheduled to be torn down soon. The only person inside the building is maintenance man Elston (Bernie Mac). The closest anyone else comes to it is playing basketball outside.

That changes one day when the basketball hoops are taken down in the march toward tearing down the center. As five of the guys stand there fuming about the loss of the hoops, Jim invites them in to use the pool.

Slowly, Jim gains their trust and begins to teach them the fundamentals of swimming. They gain enough skill to ask to go to a meet, hoping to meet women. But do five men and one woman really have the skills to compete against all male teams who have been training for years?

Okay, let's get the obvious out of the way first. This is an underdog sports movie featuring kids from a bad neighborhood. Picturing every cliche that normally brings to mind? Yep, they're here.

But, is this movie worth seeing? Absolutely.

As is always needed for a film like this to succeed, you need to become attached to the characters. Jim is a sympathetic character from the start, and the youth he's working with grow on you quickly as well. The result is a movie that truly does inspire.

To top is off, the acting is great. Terrence Howard is absolutely believable as Jim. His drive to reach the kids comes through in every scene. I'm not usually a Bernie Mac fan, but he did a great job as well with a part that is mostly series with a few comic bits thrown in. And the kids were all great.

I do have a couple complaints. The minor one is the needless slowing down of the climax. The two swimmers in the final race are slowed way down to build suspense. And I do mean way down. It was beyond laughable.

My bigger complaint was the language. Considering the PG rating, I was surprised by the handful of "s" words that littered the film. Not as surprising were the few racial epithets used. Unfortunately, they fit the time period and setting of the film.

This film isn't highly original, but it is inspiring. And if that's what you want to watch, you could do much worse then this great film.

WORTH SEEING BUT, HAS BEEN DONE BETTER BEFORE!
This is a pretty good movie but, it has a "been there done that" feel to it. The actors do a good job with what they have to work with and the movie captures the time period without making it look too ridiulous. Swimming as a sport to watch, is like watching paint dry so, that doesn't help the film either. It's worth a look if you see it on cable, as the based on a true story film does inspire you...a little.

Exceptional Movie
My mother was so stubborn about me seeing this movie. From the looks of it, all I saw was another sports movie where the coach teaches some young, troubled kids how to find something productive to do with their time. But when I sat down to watch it, I understood why she wanted me to see this movie so much. What an excellent movie! Not only did it deal with sports and troubled kids, it dealt with male guidance, race issues, segregation, and the strength of young men trying to fight against seeking into dangerous backgrounds to be productive parts of society. Every single person in this movie deserved the part that he or she played. Terrence Howard was outstanding as usual. Bernie Mac was about as charismatic as always. I loved all of the young swimmers' parts, especially the stubborn and quickest one and Diana Ross' son too. The dialogue, the pace, and the plot kept me interested throughout the entire movie. I talked to the screen on more than a few occasions.