Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #7453 in DVD
• Released on: 2002-01-08
• Rating: R (Restricted)
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Format: NTSC
• Original language: English
• Dimensions: .20 pounds
• Running time: 104 minutes

On the DVD
ccChapter selections
Languages
Subtitles
Cast & crew bios

Synopsis
Michael Apted (Gorillas in the Mist) directed this Walter Mosley script adaptation of Mosley's short story collection, Always Outnumbered, Always Outgunned. Ex-con Socrates Fortlow (Laurence Fishburne) returns to L.A., looks for work, becomes friends with Right Burke (Bill Cobbs), is told he's too old for a construction job, helps youngster Darryl (Daniel Williams), and romances cafe-owner Iula Brown (Natalie Cole). Socrates provides a moral uplift to the neighborhood, while Burke's voiceover narration has a Sunset Boulevard twist. The TV movie premiered March 21, 1998 on HBO. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide

DVD Menu

• Side #1 --
  • Play Movie
  • Chapters
  • Cast/Crew
    • Laurence Fishburne
    • Bill Cobbs
    • Natalie Cole
    • Laurie Metcalf
    • Bill Nunn
    • Cicely Tyson
    • Michael Apted
    • Walter Mosley
  • Languages
    • English Dolby Surround
    • French Stereo
    • Spanish Mono
  • Subtitles
    • English
    • Fran�ais
    • Espa�ol
    • None

Customer Reviews

POWERFUL
Laurence Fishburne delivers one of his best performances. This is a powerful and emotional movie with heartfelt characters. Bill Cobbs also has one of his best performances. The movie shows poverty, human struggle and life on the streets. L. Fishburne plays an ex-con who trys to only do good in life and survive in the ghetto. He has a major effect on everyone around him and wont let the streets bring him down. This is a great movie and one of my favorite films. I recomend it to any one who likes real-life dramas.

Always Outnumbered
Always outnumbered always outgunned is a moving story about the life of an ex-con from Indiana called Socrates (played by L.Fisburne) who had been doing time in Indiana Department of Correction for a double homicide he committed 27 years prior to being released. And, he presently lives out his days in California, in a small one bedroom apartment. He persistently seeks out a daliy living collecting cans. Hardly being able to afford basic amenities, he [told untruths] to get a job. Yet, he had many friends, and tried very hard to be a good citizen. His dreams and memories haunted him, but they never caused him to loose his sanity or to return to a life of crime. His philosophy of life is astounding: In the movie (He)fought against poverty, age descrimination, domestic violence, prostitution, [ending life], juvenile delinquency, and social resentment....
This movie is a winner.

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.