The Express (2008)

Actors: Pamela B. Green (miscellaneous crew), Ross L. Kulma (miscellaneous crew), Saul Rubinek (actor), Chelcie Ross (actor), Mark Isham (composer), Beau Holden (miscellaneous crew), Charles S. Dutton (actor), Don Kress (actor), Dennis Quaid (actor), Clancy Brown (actor), John Davis (producer), Don Kress (actor), Allan Graf (actor), Jarik Van Sluijs (miscellaneous crew), Allan Graf (miscellaneous crew),

Plot: This biopic focuses on the relationship of Ernie Davis (1939-1963), a gifted African-American athlete, and his coach from 1958 to 1962 at Syracuse University, Ben Schwartzwalder (1909-1993). Schwartzwalder recruits Davis with the help of All-American running back, Jim Brown. The civil rights movement is gaining steam; Davis experiences prejudice on campus, in town, and on the field, sometimes from teammates. How he handles it and how he challenges Schwartzwalder to stand up for his players provide a counterpoint to several great seasons that lead first to a national championship and then to the Heismann Trophy.

Keywords: 1940s, 1950s, 1960s, african-american, american-football, coach, football-movie, nonlinear-timeline, student-athlete, syracuse-university
Genres: Biography, Drama, Sport,

Quotes:

Ben Schwartzwalder: I won't tell him he'll be the next Ernie Davis, because there'll never be another Ernie Davis.

Texas Longhorn player: I'm gonna kick your black ass back to Africa boy!::Jack Buckley: Oh yeah? Too bad I'm from Philly.

[watching Ernie practice against high school players]::Jim Brown: He's too fast for these kids.::Ben Schwartzwalder: He's too fast for anybody.

[First Line]::Ernie Davis: 21 straight lines five yards apart. That is a football field. But there are other lines you don'T see that run deeper and wider. All the way through the country, and aren't part of any game.

[Last Line]::Ernie Davis: Thing is, I don't know how much more is in front of me, and as you see from the number of pages if you've read this far, I did have a few things to say and I'm not sure hopw to end this, or even if I want to. It's funny. Most people think my life has been all about football. I've even thought that myself. But football is just a game. What matters is what you play for. Sometimes when the game is close and eveything is on the line, that's when you forget the croud and the noise. That's when it's just you against somebody else to see who is the better man. That's what I like about the game. Because at that moment, you are friends and you are enemies and you are brothers.