The Express
Encyclopedia
The Express is a 2008 American sports film produced by John Davis and directed by Gary Fleder
. The storyline was conceived from a screenplay written by Charles Leavitt
from a book titled Ernie Davis: The Elmira Express, authored by Robert C. Gallagher. The film is based on the life of Syracuse University
football
player Ernie Davis
, the first African American
to win the Heisman Trophy
, portrayed by actor Rob Brown
. The Express explores civil topics, such as racism, discrimination and athletics.
The motion picture was a co-production between the film studios of Relativity Media
and Davis Entertainment
. It was commercially distributed by Universal Pictures
theatrically, and by Universal Studios Home Entertainment
for home media. Following its cinematic release, it failed to garner any award nominations from mainstream motion picture organizations for its production merits or lead acting. In the film, veteran actors Dennis Quaid
and Charles S. Dutton
star in principal supporting roles. The original motion picture soundtrack with a musical score composed by Mark Isham
, was released by the Lakeshore Records
label on October 28, 2008.
The Express premiered in theaters nationwide in the United States on October 10, 2008 grossing $9,793,406 in domestic ticket receipts. It earned an additional $14,718 in business through international release to top out at a combined $9,808,124 in gross revenue. The film was technically considered a financial failure due to its $40 million budget costs. However, preceding its initial screening in cinemas, the film was generally met with positive critical reviews. The widscreen hi-definition Blu-ray Disc version of the film, featuring deleted scenes and the director's commentary was released on January 20, 2009.
) is a young African American growing up in Pennsylvania with his same-age uncle Will Davis Jr. (Nelsan Ellis
), in the late 1940s during a time of racism and discrimination. Davis lives with his extended family, including his grandfather, Willie 'Pops' Davis (Charles S. Dutton
), who guides and educates him. Davis' mother, Marie Davis (Aunjanue Ellis
), eventually returns to their residence to inform the family that she has remarried and can now afford to raise Ernie at her own home in Elmira, New York. Upon relocating to Elmira, Davis enrolls in a Small Fry Football League and excels on the field as a running back with help of critical blocks from Gil (Michael Mannix) .
Several years later, Syracuse University football head coach Ben Schwartzwalder
(Dennis Quaid
) searches for a running back to address the absence of Jim Brown
(Darrin Dewitt Henson), the graduating player completing his All-American senior season. Schwartzwalder is impressed with Davis after viewing footage of him playing for Elmira Free Academy. Schwartzwalder convinces Brown to accompany him on a recruiting visit to see Davis and his family in hopes of luring him to sign with Syracuse. After their visit, Davis decides to enroll at Syracuse and spurns the recruiting efforts of other colleges.
At the start of the 1959 college football season, Davis immediately excels playing for the varsity team, to lead Syracuse to victories over several college football teams. After Syracuse defeats UCLA to conclude the regular season undefeated, the team decides by choice to play the 2nd ranked Texas Longhorns in the Cotton Bowl Classic. During the game on January 1, 1960, Davis boldly attempts to lead his team to victory but is hampered by an injured leg and biased officiating. Towards the end of the game, Davis scores a crucial touchdown to preserve a Syracuse lead. The matchup concludes with a victory for Syracuse, and its first national championship.
In 1961, Davis goes on to win the Heisman Trophy following his senior season in college. He later becomes a professional athlete in the National Football League and signs a contract with the Cleveland Browns. Later however, following a series of health concerns, Davis is taken to a hospital to undergo medical testing. During a routine practice session, team owner Art Modell
(Saul Rubinek
) informs Davis he will be unable to play the upcoming season due to his condition. Subsequently, Davis holds a press conference and announces he has been diagnosed with leukemia. The Cleveland Browns honor Ernie by allowing him to suit up in uniform and join the team while running out before a televised game.
The film's epilogue displays a series of graphics stating that Davis died on May 18, 1963 at the age of 23; while in condolence, President Kennedy expresses sympathy for Davis' fine character as a citizen and an athlete.
, the charismatic athlete who became the first African American to win the Heisman Trophy
, college football's greatest achievement. Excelling in high school football, Davis was later recruited by dozens of predominantly white universities. A local sports columnist dubbed him the Elmira Express. Davis was told of his terminal illness, leukemia, during the summer of 1962. According to a saddened Art Modell, he said "They told him as gently as they could that it was an incurable case of leukemia. It was awful, but the way he took it, it seemed like much more of a blow to me and his teammates than it was to him."
Following the NFL draft which saw the Washington Redskins
trade their pick of Davis to Cleveland for Hall of Fame running back Bobby Mitchell, Davis signed a $100,000 contract with the Browns. On May 16, 1963, Davis visited Cleveland Browns
owner Art Modell. He promised to make a career comeback even though he looked terminally ill. Two days later on May 18, Davis died from the then-incurable disease. Fellow teammate and close friend John Brown, remembered him as a "genuine gentle man as well as a gentleman." President John F. Kennedy
called Davis "an outstanding young man of great character" and "an inspiration to the young people of this country." The book titled Ernie Davis: The Elmira Express, authored by writer Robert C. Gallagher, became the basis for the film.
area locations including Lane Technical High School, Amundsen High School
, J. Sterling Morton West High School
in Berwyn
, Northwestern University
in Evanston
(at Ryan Field, the Northwestern Football stadium), Aurora
, Mooseheart, the Illinois Railway Museum
in Union
, Hyde Park
(at the former Windemere Hotel) and on Olde Western Ave. in Blue Island
. It concluded its fifty-three day shoot at Syracuse University
. Meticulous research was undertaken over several months to recreate the period uniforms and locations depicted, including the creation on film of several stadiums such as Archbold Stadium
, that no longer exist.
label on October 28, 2008. It features songs composed with the considerable use of the violin, trombone and cello musical instruments. The score for the film was orchestrated by Mark Isham
. Michael Bauer edited the film's music. Original songs written by musical artists Vaughn Horton, Frankie Miller
, Ralph Bass
, Ray Charles
, and Lonnie Brooks
among others, were used in-between dialogue shots throughout the film.
, was fictitious and, as Film Journal International
critic Frank Lovece
noted, "veers remarkably toward outright slander." He said the game was "falsely shown as taking place at WVU's Mountaineer Field" in Morgantown, West Virginia
, "rather than at Syracuse's own Archbold Stadium," the Orangemen's home field in New York state.
Additionally, Lovece remarked that "Aside from the fact that the game didn't even take place there, Schwartzwalder had earlier led West Virginia high-school teams to state championships, and was a beloved and respected figure with devoted fans there who wouldn't have given his teams any lip — so much so that on his death in 1993, WVU even instituted the Ben Schwartzwalder Trophy
". Syracuse quarterback Dick Easterly, who played with Davis in Morgantown the following year, on October 22, 1960, after the events of the Cotton Bowl Classic against the University of Texas, recalled no such events and said, "I apologize to the people of West Virginia because that did not happen. I don't blame people in West Virginia for being disturbed. The scene is completely fictitious."
Syracuse center Patrick Whelan, a Davis teammate, said of the movie's inaccuracies, "[W]e’re sitting watching this thing, saying, 'Jeez, where did they get that from?' " Screenwriter Charles Leavitt expressed surprise at the scene in the finished film, whose original script did not involve West Virginia. However, Leavitt's explanation that "the scene was supposed to depict a 1958 game at Tar Heels Stadium in North Carolina
" is inaccurate on all counts; Davis was a freshman in the 1958 season and therefore did not play on the Orangemen's varsity team; Syracuse did not play North Carolina in football until 1995; and the name of UNC's home field has been Kenan Stadium
since its construction in 1927. In addition the story of the game, as far as sequence of plays and scores go, is considerably out of order.
Moreover, some claim that the racial tension depicted in the 1960 Cotton Bowl Classic versus the Texas Longhorns is inaccurate, though this is highly disputed. Bobby Lackey
, quarterback for the University of Texas states, "I told the Cotton Bowl people that those things didn't happen, and they were making up stories to try and sell more movie tickets, I wasn't going to watch any of that." Lackey continued, "Larry Stephens was my roommate, if anything, he was trying to get the guy into a fight so he could get him thrown out of the game because their athletes were so much better than ours. But I don't know a one of my teammates that said anything derogatory. How are you going to say the N-word in a football game and spit on somebody? Coach Royal would not have put up with that kind of behavior. It was a long time ago, but I know we shook hands and told him nice game and that his team deserved to win." Lackey said, "Then we all walked off the field."
However, Lou Maysel, in his University of Texas football history bio "Here Come the Texas Longhorns", wrote that Stephens, "possibly the most even-tempered player on the Texas team," told John Brown, a black offensive tackle for Syracuse, "Keep your black ass out of it," when Brown protested a penalty to an official. Brown stated that there were "guys who called us racist names on the field," including a Texas lineman who kept calling him "a big black dirty [expletive]." Brown says that the player has since apologized and that he has forgiven the player. Additionally, Al Baker, Syracuse's black fullback, said after the game, "Oh, they were bad. One of them spit in my face as I carried the ball through the line." Patrick Whelan and Dick Easterly, both white players for Syracuse, said that although the film may have fictionalized parts of the story, the 1960 Cotton Bowl Classic was the team's worst confrontation with racism.
The order of games played and the score of at least one game was fictionalized for the movie. Penn State, a longtime rival of Syracuse, provided Syracuse with their toughest test of the season, in which the Orangemen improved to a 7-0 record, defeating Penn State 20-18. The film places this game among the first three games of Syracuse's season, and cites the score of the game as 32-6. Ironically, the film premiered on October 3, 2008, in Syracuse's Landmark Theatre; the day before Penn State defeated Syracuse 55-13 in a game during which Davis was honored at halftime.
reported that 61% of 114 sampled critics gave the film a positive review, with an average score of 6.2 out of 10. At Metacritic
, which assigns a weighted average
out of 100 to critics' reviews, the film received a score of 58 based on 27 reviews.
Jim Lane, writing in the Sacramento News & Review, said of actor Brown, "the 16-year-old newcomer held his own with Sean Connery; here, he carries the film in partnership with Dennis Quaid". Impressed, he exlaimed, "The film is predictable but inspiring, without going overboard into Brian’s Song tear-jerking. Fleder (expertly assisted by cinematographer Kramer Morgenthau and editors Padraic McKinley and William Steinkamp) ices the cake with some first-rate game footage." Roger Ebert
in the Chicago Sun-Times
called it "special" while remarking, "There is a lot of football in the movie. It's well presented, but there is the usual oddity that it almost entirely shows mostly success." In the San Francisco Chronicle
, Peter Hartlaub wrote that the film "deserves plenty of credit for abandoning the "Remember the Titans"/"Glory Road" school of screenwriting as laid out above and exploring the racial issues in Davis' story in more realistic terms." He thought Quaid gave a "memorable performance" by portraying Schwartzwalder as "sort of an accidental civil rights hero." Mike Clark of USA Today
, said the film was "an entertaining race-laced contest of wills". He found the football scenes filled with "kinetic" energy, and the lead performances to be "appealing". The film however, was not without its detractors. Peter Rainer of The Christian Science Monitor
, believed the film was a "compendium of virtually every sports movie cliché ever contrived" and that the storyline was "milked for every drop of inspirational uplift." Left equally unimpressed was Anthony Quinn of The Independent
. Commenting on the segregational history, he said "we have to suffer apologetic non-dramas like this, the story of a fleet-footed black footballer (Rob Brown) who hits the big time just as his racial conscience starts to bother him". He thought the screenplay was "stewed in such pieties, served up as warm and homely as apple pie – only there's no taste to it." Graham Killeen of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
, added to the negativity by saying, "Producer John Davis ("The Firm," "Behind Enemy Lines"), no relation to Ernie, and director Gary Fleder ("Kiss the Girls," "Don't Say a Word") are masters of the predictable, the safe and the bland. And Davis' story doesn't play to their strengths." He ultimately called the film "an all-brawn, no-brain pigskin potboiler".
Writing for the Boston Herald
, Stephen Schaefer said the subject matter was "paean to a supremely talented if largely unfamiliar sports hero, one which scores both on and off the field." James Berardinelli
writing for ReelViews, called the film "an engaging and at times powerful tale of one individual's struggle against the system" and noted that "as a story of courage and inspiration, this works as well as any sports-related bio-pic." Berardinelli also thought that although Ernie's depiction of "on-field accomplishments were extraordinary, it was the environment in which he struggled to achieve them that makes him the worthy subject of a motion picture." Describing some pitfalls, Wesley Morris of The Boston Globe
said the film was "especially egregious since it bundles the civil rights era, garden-variety bigotry, and the achievements of Ernie Davis". He didn't believe Davis was "as bland as "The Express" makes him out to be. Aside from managing to get made at all, the movie doesn't do Davis's legacy any favors by giving us the store-brand version of his life." Morris however, was quick to admit "There is so much ripe material here for a socially or historically curious movie." But he frustratingly noted that the filmmakers were more interested in "making a safely commercial football drama that doesn't deviate from the genre's shorthand imagery and plot points."
Ann Hornaday of The Washington Post
, stated that The Express "finesses a cinematic hat trick: It's entertaining, deeply moving and genuinely important." She praised the individual cinematic elements saying the motion picture was "Filmed with pulverizing accuracy, they bristle not only with physical action but also historical and political symbolism." She also complimented the lead acting by mentioning, "As warm as Brown's portrayal of Davis is, it's Dennis Quaid as Syracuse coach Ben Schwartzwalder who provides the movie's most fascinating figure." Similarly, John Anderson wrote in Variety
that the film was "a muscular movie with social conscience that portrays Ernie Davis – the first African-American collegian to win college football's coveted Heisman Trophy – as the heir to Martin Luther King and Jackie Robinson." On its production merits, he commented how the film displayed "Terrific editing by William Steinkamp and Padraic McKinley" which "intermarries the onfield action, flashbacks to Davis' Southern boyhood, a smattering of period footage and a great deal of stylized visualization to a degree that distracts from the very basic sports-movie arc of the story". However, on a negative front in The Village Voice
, Robert Wilonsky was not moved by the lead acting of Quaid or Brown. He thought Brown portrayed Davis with "quiet subtlety (to the point where he almost disappears in some scenes)" and felt Quaid was "stuck with the thankless role of accidental civil-rights pioneer". He summed up his disappointment stating, "like all formulaic biopics, The Express sacrifices the details for the Big Picture—hagiography without the humanity (wait, is that his girlfriend? Wife? What?), populated by sorta-enlightened Yankees, rabidly racist Southerners, and a ghost who remains as elusive as the running back no defender could ever catch."
soundily beat its competition during that weekend opening in first place with $17,502,077. The film's revenue dropped by 52% in its second week of release, earning $2,191,810. For that particular weekend, the film fell to 12th place screening in 2,810 theaters but not challenging a top ten position. The film Max Payne
, unseated Beverly Hills Chihuahua to open in first place grossing $17,639,849 in box office revenue. During its final week in release, The Express opened in 31st place grossing $151,225 in business. The film went on to top out domestically at $9,793,406 in total ticket sales through a 4-week theatrical run. Internationally, the film took in an additional $14,718 in box office business for a combined worldwide total of $9,808,124. For 2008 as a whole, the film would cumulatively rank at a box office performance position of 146.
widescreen
edition of the film was released on DVD
in the United States on January 20, 2009. Special features for the DVD include; Deleted scenes with optional commentary by director Gary Fleder; Making of The Express; Making History: The Story of Ernie Davis; Inside the Playbook: Shooting football games; From Hollywood to Syracuse: The Legacy of Ernie Davis; and feature commentary with director Gary Fleder. During its release in the home media market, The Express ranked number eleven in its first week on the DVD charts, selling 97,511 units totalling $1,949,245 in business. Overall, The Express sold 370,534 units yielding $6,566,801 in revenue.
The widscreen hi-definition Blu-ray Disc
version of the film was also released on January 20, 2009. Special features include, making of The Express; making history: The Story of Ernie Davis; Inside the Playbook: Shooting the football games; From Hollywood to Syracuse: The Legacy of Ernie Davis; 50th Anniversary of the 1959 Syracuse National Championship; and deleted scenes with optional commentary by director Gary Fleder.
Gary Fleder
Gary Fleder is an American film director, screenwriter, and producer. His most recently completed film, The Express, is based on the true story of football player Ernie Davis, and was released by Universal Pictures in October 2008....
. The storyline was conceived from a screenplay written by Charles Leavitt
Charles Leavitt
Charles Leavitt is an American screenwriter best known for writing the 2006 film Blood Diamond.-Biography:After writing the 1996 film The Sunchaser, the 1998 film The Mighty and the 2002 film K-PAX, Leavitt was hired by Warner Bros. in February 2004 to rewrite an early draft of the film Blood...
from a book titled Ernie Davis: The Elmira Express, authored by Robert C. Gallagher. The film is based on the life of Syracuse University
Syracuse University
Syracuse University is a private research university located in Syracuse, New York, United States. Its roots can be traced back to Genesee Wesleyan Seminary, founded by the Methodist Episcopal Church in 1832, which also later founded Genesee College...
football
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
player Ernie Davis
Ernie Davis
Ernest "Ernie" Davis was an American football running back and the first African-American athlete to win the Heisman Trophy. Wearing number 44, Davis competed collegiately for Syracuse University before being drafted by the Washington Redskins, then almost immediately traded to the Cleveland...
, the first African American
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
to win the Heisman Trophy
Heisman Trophy
The Heisman Memorial Trophy Award , is awarded annually to the player deemed the most outstanding player in collegiate football. It was created in 1935 as the Downtown Athletic Club trophy and renamed in 1936 following the death of the Club's athletic director, John Heisman The Heisman Memorial...
, portrayed by actor Rob Brown
Rob Brown (actor)
Rob Brown is an American actor. He is known for his roles in the films Finding Forrester , Coach Carter , Take the Lead , The Express , and currently stars in the HBO series Treme.-Personal life:...
. The Express explores civil topics, such as racism, discrimination and athletics.
The motion picture was a co-production between the film studios of Relativity Media
Relativity Media
Relativity Media is an American independent motion picture production and investment company based in West Hollywood, California.- Company :...
and Davis Entertainment
Davis Entertainment
Davis Entertainment is an American independent film production company, founded by John Davis in 1985.-Selected filmography:* Brewster's Millions * "Crocodile" Dundee * Predator * Superman IV: The Quest for Peace...
. It was commercially distributed by Universal Pictures
Universal Pictures
-1920:* White Youth* The Flaming Disc* Am I Dreaming?* The Dragon's Net* The Adorable Savage* Putting It Over* The Line Runners-1921:* The Fire Eater* A Battle of Wits* Dream Girl* The Millionaire...
theatrically, and by Universal Studios Home Entertainment
Universal Studios Home Entertainment
Universal Studios Home Entertainment is the home video division of Universal Pictures...
for home media. Following its cinematic release, it failed to garner any award nominations from mainstream motion picture organizations for its production merits or lead acting. In the film, veteran actors Dennis Quaid
Dennis Quaid
Dennis William Quaid is an American actor known for his comedic and dramatic roles. First gaining widespread attention in the 1980s, his career rebounded in the 1990s after he overcame an addiction to drugs and an eating disorder...
and Charles S. Dutton
Charles S. Dutton
Charles Stanley Dutton is an American stage, film, and television actor and director. He is perhaps best known for his roles as "Fortune" in the film Rudy and "Dillon" in Alien 3...
star in principal supporting roles. The original motion picture soundtrack with a musical score composed by Mark Isham
Mark Isham
Mark Isham is an American trumpeter, synthesist, and film composer. He works in a variety of genres, including jazz, electronic, and film.-Life and career:...
, was released by the Lakeshore Records
Lakeshore Records
Lakeshore Records is the independent music division of Lakeshore Entertainment . They started out as WILL Records.Will Records were started by Skip Williamson in the early 90s...
label on October 28, 2008.
The Express premiered in theaters nationwide in the United States on October 10, 2008 grossing $9,793,406 in domestic ticket receipts. It earned an additional $14,718 in business through international release to top out at a combined $9,808,124 in gross revenue. The film was technically considered a financial failure due to its $40 million budget costs. However, preceding its initial screening in cinemas, the film was generally met with positive critical reviews. The widscreen hi-definition Blu-ray Disc version of the film, featuring deleted scenes and the director's commentary was released on January 20, 2009.
Plot
Ernie Davis (Rob BrownRob Brown (actor)
Rob Brown is an American actor. He is known for his roles in the films Finding Forrester , Coach Carter , Take the Lead , The Express , and currently stars in the HBO series Treme.-Personal life:...
) is a young African American growing up in Pennsylvania with his same-age uncle Will Davis Jr. (Nelsan Ellis
Nelsan Ellis
Nelsan Ellis is an award-winning American film and television actor and playwright. He is well known for his role as Lafayette Reynolds in the HBO series True Blood, which he has been playing since 2008.-Early and personal life:...
), in the late 1940s during a time of racism and discrimination. Davis lives with his extended family, including his grandfather, Willie 'Pops' Davis (Charles S. Dutton
Charles S. Dutton
Charles Stanley Dutton is an American stage, film, and television actor and director. He is perhaps best known for his roles as "Fortune" in the film Rudy and "Dillon" in Alien 3...
), who guides and educates him. Davis' mother, Marie Davis (Aunjanue Ellis
Aunjanue Ellis
Aunjanue L. Ellis is an American actress known for her roles in Ray, in Undercover Brother, and on The Mentalist....
), eventually returns to their residence to inform the family that she has remarried and can now afford to raise Ernie at her own home in Elmira, New York. Upon relocating to Elmira, Davis enrolls in a Small Fry Football League and excels on the field as a running back with help of critical blocks from Gil (Michael Mannix) .
Several years later, Syracuse University football head coach Ben Schwartzwalder
Ben Schwartzwalder
Floyd B. "Ben" Schwartzwalder was a Hall of Fame football coach at Syracuse University, where he trained such future National Football League stars as Jim Brown, as well as the first African American to win the Heisman Trophy, Ernie Davis.Schwartzwalder played center at West Virginia University,...
(Dennis Quaid
Dennis Quaid
Dennis William Quaid is an American actor known for his comedic and dramatic roles. First gaining widespread attention in the 1980s, his career rebounded in the 1990s after he overcame an addiction to drugs and an eating disorder...
) searches for a running back to address the absence of Jim Brown
Jim Brown
James Nathaniel "Jim" Brown is an American former professional football player who has also made his mark as an actor. He is best known for his exceptional and record-setting nine-year career as a running back for the NFL Cleveland Browns from 1957 to 1965. In 2002, he was named by Sporting News...
(Darrin Dewitt Henson), the graduating player completing his All-American senior season. Schwartzwalder is impressed with Davis after viewing footage of him playing for Elmira Free Academy. Schwartzwalder convinces Brown to accompany him on a recruiting visit to see Davis and his family in hopes of luring him to sign with Syracuse. After their visit, Davis decides to enroll at Syracuse and spurns the recruiting efforts of other colleges.
At the start of the 1959 college football season, Davis immediately excels playing for the varsity team, to lead Syracuse to victories over several college football teams. After Syracuse defeats UCLA to conclude the regular season undefeated, the team decides by choice to play the 2nd ranked Texas Longhorns in the Cotton Bowl Classic. During the game on January 1, 1960, Davis boldly attempts to lead his team to victory but is hampered by an injured leg and biased officiating. Towards the end of the game, Davis scores a crucial touchdown to preserve a Syracuse lead. The matchup concludes with a victory for Syracuse, and its first national championship.
In 1961, Davis goes on to win the Heisman Trophy following his senior season in college. He later becomes a professional athlete in the National Football League and signs a contract with the Cleveland Browns. Later however, following a series of health concerns, Davis is taken to a hospital to undergo medical testing. During a routine practice session, team owner Art Modell
Art Modell
Arthur B. Modell is an American businessman, entrepreneur and former National Football League team owner. He owned the Cleveland Browns franchise from 1961–1995 and the Baltimore Ravens franchise from 1996–2004. Modell is the grandson of the late Morris Modell who founded the northeast...
(Saul Rubinek
Saul Rubinek
Saul Rubinek is a Canadian actor, director, producer and playwright, known for his work in TV, film and the stage.-Early life:...
) informs Davis he will be unable to play the upcoming season due to his condition. Subsequently, Davis holds a press conference and announces he has been diagnosed with leukemia. The Cleveland Browns honor Ernie by allowing him to suit up in uniform and join the team while running out before a televised game.
The film's epilogue displays a series of graphics stating that Davis died on May 18, 1963 at the age of 23; while in condolence, President Kennedy expresses sympathy for Davis' fine character as a citizen and an athlete.
Development
The premise of The Express is based on the true story of Ernie DavisErnie Davis
Ernest "Ernie" Davis was an American football running back and the first African-American athlete to win the Heisman Trophy. Wearing number 44, Davis competed collegiately for Syracuse University before being drafted by the Washington Redskins, then almost immediately traded to the Cleveland...
, the charismatic athlete who became the first African American to win the Heisman Trophy
Heisman Trophy
The Heisman Memorial Trophy Award , is awarded annually to the player deemed the most outstanding player in collegiate football. It was created in 1935 as the Downtown Athletic Club trophy and renamed in 1936 following the death of the Club's athletic director, John Heisman The Heisman Memorial...
, college football's greatest achievement. Excelling in high school football, Davis was later recruited by dozens of predominantly white universities. A local sports columnist dubbed him the Elmira Express. Davis was told of his terminal illness, leukemia, during the summer of 1962. According to a saddened Art Modell, he said "They told him as gently as they could that it was an incurable case of leukemia. It was awful, but the way he took it, it seemed like much more of a blow to me and his teammates than it was to him."
Following the NFL draft which saw the Washington Redskins
Washington Redskins
The Washington Redskins are a professional American football team and members of the East Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team plays at FedExField in Landover, Maryland, while its headquarters and training facility are at Redskin Park in Ashburn,...
trade their pick of Davis to Cleveland for Hall of Fame running back Bobby Mitchell, Davis signed a $100,000 contract with the Browns. On May 16, 1963, Davis visited Cleveland Browns
Cleveland Browns
The Cleveland Browns are a professional football team based in Cleveland, Ohio. They are currently members of the North Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
owner Art Modell. He promised to make a career comeback even though he looked terminally ill. Two days later on May 18, Davis died from the then-incurable disease. Fellow teammate and close friend John Brown, remembered him as a "genuine gentle man as well as a gentleman." President John F. Kennedy
John F. Kennedy
John Fitzgerald "Jack" Kennedy , often referred to by his initials JFK, was the 35th President of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963....
called Davis "an outstanding young man of great character" and "an inspiration to the young people of this country." The book titled Ernie Davis: The Elmira Express, authored by writer Robert C. Gallagher, became the basis for the film.
Set design and filming
Filming began in April 2007 at ChicagoChicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
area locations including Lane Technical High School, Amundsen High School
Amundsen High School
Roald Amundsen High School, is a public high school located at the corner of Damen and Foster Avenue in Chicago, Illinois in the United States. It is a part of Chicago Public Schools and has approximately 1,600 students, though its building was designed to house 1,300. It is a neighborhood high...
, J. Sterling Morton West High School
J. Sterling Morton High School District 201
J. Sterling Morton High School District 201 is a school district headquartered in Cicero, Illinois, United States. The district serves the city of Berwyn, the town of Cicero, and the villages of Forest View, Lyons, McCook, and Stickney...
in Berwyn
Berwyn, Illinois
Berwyn is a city in Cook County, Illinois, co-existent with Berwyn Township, which was formed in 1908 after breaking off from Cicero Township. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 54,016.-Demographics:...
, Northwestern University
Northwestern University
Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston and Chicago, Illinois, USA. Northwestern has eleven undergraduate, graduate, and professional schools offering 124 undergraduate degrees and 145 graduate and professional degrees....
in Evanston
Evanston, Illinois
Evanston is a suburban municipality in Cook County, Illinois 12 miles north of downtown Chicago, bordering Chicago to the south, Skokie to the west, and Wilmette to the north, with an estimated population of 74,360 as of 2003. It is one of the North Shore communities that adjoin Lake Michigan...
(at Ryan Field, the Northwestern Football stadium), Aurora
Aurora, Illinois
Aurora is the second most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois, and the 112th largest city in the United States. A suburb of Chicago, located west of the Loop, its population in 2010 was 197,899. Originally founded within Kane County, Aurora's city limits have expanded greatly over the past...
, Mooseheart, the Illinois Railway Museum
Illinois Railway Museum
The Illinois Railway Museum is the largest railroad museum in the United States and is located in Union, Illinois, northwest of Chicago...
in Union
Union, Illinois
Union is a village in McHenry County, Illinois, United States. The population was 580 at the 2010 census, up from 576 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Union is located at ....
, Hyde Park
Hyde Park, Chicago
Hyde Park, located on the South Side of the City of Chicago, in Cook County, Illinois, United States and seven miles south of the Chicago Loop, is a Chicago neighborhood and one of 77 Chicago community areas. It is home to the University of Chicago, the Hyde Park Art Center, the Museum of Science...
(at the former Windemere Hotel) and on Olde Western Ave. in Blue Island
Blue Island, Illinois
Blue Island is a city in Cook County, Illinois. The population was 22,556 at the 2010 census. Blue Island was established in the 1830s as a way station for settlers traveling on the Vincennes Trace, and the settlement prospered because it was conveniently situated a day's journey outside of Chicago...
. It concluded its fifty-three day shoot at Syracuse University
Syracuse University
Syracuse University is a private research university located in Syracuse, New York, United States. Its roots can be traced back to Genesee Wesleyan Seminary, founded by the Methodist Episcopal Church in 1832, which also later founded Genesee College...
. Meticulous research was undertaken over several months to recreate the period uniforms and locations depicted, including the creation on film of several stadiums such as Archbold Stadium
Archbold Stadium
Archbold Stadium was a multi-purpose stadium in Syracuse, New York. It opened in 1907 and was home to the Syracuse University Orangemen football team prior to the Carrier Dome opening in 1980. It was the third concrete football stadium built in the country....
, that no longer exist.
Soundtrack
The original motion picture soundtrack for The Express, was released by the Lakeshore RecordsLakeshore Records
Lakeshore Records is the independent music division of Lakeshore Entertainment . They started out as WILL Records.Will Records were started by Skip Williamson in the early 90s...
label on October 28, 2008. It features songs composed with the considerable use of the violin, trombone and cello musical instruments. The score for the film was orchestrated by Mark Isham
Mark Isham
Mark Isham is an American trumpeter, synthesist, and film composer. He works in a variety of genres, including jazz, electronic, and film.-Life and career:...
. Michael Bauer edited the film's music. Original songs written by musical artists Vaughn Horton, Frankie Miller
Frankie Miller (country musician)
Frankie Miller is an American country musician.-Biography:Miller landed time singing on local station KNAL and recorded for 4 Star Records at the beginning of the 1950s, but served from 1951-53 in the United States Military during the Korean War. In 1954 he signed with Columbia Records, releasing...
, Ralph Bass
Ralph Bass
Ralph Bass , born in The Bronx, New York of an Italian-American-Catholic father, and a German-American-Jewish mother, was an influential rhythm and blues record producer and talent scout for several independent labels and was responsible for many hit records. He was a pioneer in bringing black...
, Ray Charles
Ray Charles
Ray Charles Robinson , known by his shortened stage name Ray Charles, was an American musician. He was a pioneer in the genre of soul music during the 1950s by fusing rhythm and blues, gospel, and blues styles into his early recordings with Atlantic Records...
, and Lonnie Brooks
Lonnie Brooks
Lonnie Brooks is an American blues singer and guitarist. He was born in Dubuisson, Louisiana, United States...
among others, were used in-between dialogue shots throughout the film.
Historical inaccuracies
Journalists and film critics noted that a scene of "racist vitriol" involving the October 24, 1959 game between Syracuse and West Virginia UniversityWest Virginia Mountaineers football
The West Virginia Mountaineers football team represents West Virginia University in the NCAA FBS division of college football. Dana Holgorsen is the team's 33rd head coach. He has held the position since he was promoted in June 2011 after the resignation of Bill Stewart. The Mountaineers play their...
, was fictitious and, as Film Journal International
Film Journal International
Film Journal International is a motion-picture industry trade magazine published by the American company Prometheus Global Media. It is a sister publication of Adweek, Billboard, The Hollywood Reporter, and other periodicals....
critic Frank Lovece
Frank Lovece
Frank Lovece is an American journalist, author, comedy performer and comic book writer. He was additionally one of the first professional Web journalists, becoming an editor of a Silicon Alley start-up in 1996....
noted, "veers remarkably toward outright slander." He said the game was "falsely shown as taking place at WVU's Mountaineer Field" in Morgantown, West Virginia
Morgantown, West Virginia
Morgantown is a city in Monongalia County, West Virginia. It is the county seat of Monongalia County. Placed along the banks of the Monongahela River, Morgantown is the largest city in North-Central West Virginia, and the base of the Morgantown metropolitan area...
, "rather than at Syracuse's own Archbold Stadium," the Orangemen's home field in New York state.
Additionally, Lovece remarked that "Aside from the fact that the game didn't even take place there, Schwartzwalder had earlier led West Virginia high-school teams to state championships, and was a beloved and respected figure with devoted fans there who wouldn't have given his teams any lip — so much so that on his death in 1993, WVU even instituted the Ben Schwartzwalder Trophy
Ben Schwartzwalder Trophy
The Ben Schwartzwalder Trophy is a college football trophy that annually goes to the winner of the West Virginia University and Syracuse University football game. The trophy was introduced in 1993 and is named after former WVU football player and Syracuse head coach Ben Schwartzwalder, who had died...
". Syracuse quarterback Dick Easterly, who played with Davis in Morgantown the following year, on October 22, 1960, after the events of the Cotton Bowl Classic against the University of Texas, recalled no such events and said, "I apologize to the people of West Virginia because that did not happen. I don't blame people in West Virginia for being disturbed. The scene is completely fictitious."
Syracuse center Patrick Whelan, a Davis teammate, said of the movie's inaccuracies, "[W]e’re sitting watching this thing, saying, 'Jeez, where did they get that from?' " Screenwriter Charles Leavitt expressed surprise at the scene in the finished film, whose original script did not involve West Virginia. However, Leavitt's explanation that "the scene was supposed to depict a 1958 game at Tar Heels Stadium in North Carolina
North Carolina
North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...
" is inaccurate on all counts; Davis was a freshman in the 1958 season and therefore did not play on the Orangemen's varsity team; Syracuse did not play North Carolina in football until 1995; and the name of UNC's home field has been Kenan Stadium
Kenan Stadium
Kenan Memorial Stadium is located in Chapel Hill, North Carolina and is the home field of the North Carolina Tar Heels. It is primarily used for football. Kenan Memorial Stadium opened in 1927 and holds 62,980 people. It is located in a cluster of pine trees near the center of campus at the...
since its construction in 1927. In addition the story of the game, as far as sequence of plays and scores go, is considerably out of order.
Moreover, some claim that the racial tension depicted in the 1960 Cotton Bowl Classic versus the Texas Longhorns is inaccurate, though this is highly disputed. Bobby Lackey
Bobby Lackey
Bobby Lackey is a former American football player. The Lackey played quarterback and punter for the Texas Longhorns from 1957-1959. The Weslaco, Texas native was UT's top scorer in 1958 and 1959. He helped Texas to win the 1959 Southwest Conference championship, the first of the Darrell Royal era...
, quarterback for the University of Texas states, "I told the Cotton Bowl people that those things didn't happen, and they were making up stories to try and sell more movie tickets, I wasn't going to watch any of that." Lackey continued, "Larry Stephens was my roommate, if anything, he was trying to get the guy into a fight so he could get him thrown out of the game because their athletes were so much better than ours. But I don't know a one of my teammates that said anything derogatory. How are you going to say the N-word in a football game and spit on somebody? Coach Royal would not have put up with that kind of behavior. It was a long time ago, but I know we shook hands and told him nice game and that his team deserved to win." Lackey said, "Then we all walked off the field."
However, Lou Maysel, in his University of Texas football history bio "Here Come the Texas Longhorns", wrote that Stephens, "possibly the most even-tempered player on the Texas team," told John Brown, a black offensive tackle for Syracuse, "Keep your black ass out of it," when Brown protested a penalty to an official. Brown stated that there were "guys who called us racist names on the field," including a Texas lineman who kept calling him "a big black dirty [expletive]." Brown says that the player has since apologized and that he has forgiven the player. Additionally, Al Baker, Syracuse's black fullback, said after the game, "Oh, they were bad. One of them spit in my face as I carried the ball through the line." Patrick Whelan and Dick Easterly, both white players for Syracuse, said that although the film may have fictionalized parts of the story, the 1960 Cotton Bowl Classic was the team's worst confrontation with racism.
The order of games played and the score of at least one game was fictionalized for the movie. Penn State, a longtime rival of Syracuse, provided Syracuse with their toughest test of the season, in which the Orangemen improved to a 7-0 record, defeating Penn State 20-18. The film places this game among the first three games of Syracuse's season, and cites the score of the game as 32-6. Ironically, the film premiered on October 3, 2008, in Syracuse's Landmark Theatre; the day before Penn State defeated Syracuse 55-13 in a game during which Davis was honored at halftime.
Critical response
Among mainstream critics in the U.S., the film received generally positive reviews. Rotten TomatoesRotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
reported that 61% of 114 sampled critics gave the film a positive review, with an average score of 6.2 out of 10. At Metacritic
Metacritic
Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
, which assigns a weighted average
Weighted mean
The weighted mean is similar to an arithmetic mean , where instead of each of the data points contributing equally to the final average, some data points contribute more than others...
out of 100 to critics' reviews, the film received a score of 58 based on 27 reviews.
| " 'The Express' is involving and inspiring in the way a good movie about sports almost always is. The formula is basic and durable, and when you hitch it to a good story, you can hardly fail. Gary Fleder does more than that in telling the story of Ernie Davis ("The Elmira Express"), the running back for Syracuse who became the first African-American to win the Heisman Trophy, in 1961." |
| —Roger Ebert, writing in the Chicago Sun-Times |
Jim Lane, writing in the Sacramento News & Review, said of actor Brown, "the 16-year-old newcomer held his own with Sean Connery; here, he carries the film in partnership with Dennis Quaid". Impressed, he exlaimed, "The film is predictable but inspiring, without going overboard into Brian’s Song tear-jerking. Fleder (expertly assisted by cinematographer Kramer Morgenthau and editors Padraic McKinley and William Steinkamp) ices the cake with some first-rate game footage." Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert
Roger Joseph Ebert is an American film critic and screenwriter. He is the first film critic to win a Pulitzer Prize for Criticism.Ebert is known for his film review column and for the television programs Sneak Previews, At the Movies with Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert, and Siskel and Ebert and The...
in the Chicago Sun-Times
Chicago Sun-Times
The Chicago Sun-Times is an American daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois. It is the flagship paper of the Sun-Times Media Group.-History:The Chicago Sun-Times is the oldest continuously published daily newspaper in the city...
called it "special" while remarking, "There is a lot of football in the movie. It's well presented, but there is the usual oddity that it almost entirely shows mostly success." In the San Francisco Chronicle
San Francisco Chronicle
thumb|right|upright|The Chronicle Building following the [[1906 San Francisco earthquake|1906 earthquake]] and fireThe San Francisco Chronicle is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California, but distributed throughout Northern and Central California,...
, Peter Hartlaub wrote that the film "deserves plenty of credit for abandoning the "Remember the Titans"/"Glory Road" school of screenwriting as laid out above and exploring the racial issues in Davis' story in more realistic terms." He thought Quaid gave a "memorable performance" by portraying Schwartzwalder as "sort of an accidental civil rights hero." Mike Clark of USA Today
USA Today
USA Today is a national American daily newspaper published by the Gannett Company. It was founded by Al Neuharth. The newspaper vies with The Wall Street Journal for the position of having the widest circulation of any newspaper in the United States, something it previously held since 2003...
, said the film was "an entertaining race-laced contest of wills". He found the football scenes filled with "kinetic" energy, and the lead performances to be "appealing". The film however, was not without its detractors. Peter Rainer of The Christian Science Monitor
The Christian Science Monitor
The Christian Science Monitor is an international newspaper published daily online, Monday to Friday, and weekly in print. It was started in 1908 by Mary Baker Eddy, the founder of the Church of Christ, Scientist. As of 2009, the print circulation was 67,703.The CSM is a newspaper that covers...
, believed the film was a "compendium of virtually every sports movie cliché ever contrived" and that the storyline was "milked for every drop of inspirational uplift." Left equally unimpressed was Anthony Quinn of The Independent
The Independent
The Independent is a British national morning newspaper published in London by Independent Print Limited, owned by Alexander Lebedev since 2010. It is nicknamed the Indy, while the Sunday edition, The Independent on Sunday, is the Sindy. Launched in 1986, it is one of the youngest UK national daily...
. Commenting on the segregational history, he said "we have to suffer apologetic non-dramas like this, the story of a fleet-footed black footballer (Rob Brown) who hits the big time just as his racial conscience starts to bother him". He thought the screenplay was "stewed in such pieties, served up as warm and homely as apple pie – only there's no taste to it." Graham Killeen of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel is a daily morning broadsheet printed in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA. It is the primary newspaper in Milwaukee, the largest newspaper in Wisconsin and is distributed widely throughout the state...
, added to the negativity by saying, "Producer John Davis ("The Firm," "Behind Enemy Lines"), no relation to Ernie, and director Gary Fleder ("Kiss the Girls," "Don't Say a Word") are masters of the predictable, the safe and the bland. And Davis' story doesn't play to their strengths." He ultimately called the film "an all-brawn, no-brain pigskin potboiler".
Writing for the Boston Herald
Boston Herald
The Boston Herald is a daily newspaper that serves Boston, Massachusetts, United States, and its surrounding area. It was started in 1846 and is one of the oldest daily newspapers in the United States...
, Stephen Schaefer said the subject matter was "paean to a supremely talented if largely unfamiliar sports hero, one which scores both on and off the field." James Berardinelli
James Berardinelli
James Berardinelli is an American online film critic.-Personal life:Berardinelli was born in New Brunswick, New Jersey and spent his early childhood in Morristown, New Jersey. At the age of nine years, he relocated to the township of Cherry Hill, New Jersey...
writing for ReelViews, called the film "an engaging and at times powerful tale of one individual's struggle against the system" and noted that "as a story of courage and inspiration, this works as well as any sports-related bio-pic." Berardinelli also thought that although Ernie's depiction of "on-field accomplishments were extraordinary, it was the environment in which he struggled to achieve them that makes him the worthy subject of a motion picture." Describing some pitfalls, Wesley Morris of The Boston Globe
The Boston Globe
The Boston Globe is an American daily newspaper based in Boston, Massachusetts. The Boston Globe has been owned by The New York Times Company since 1993...
said the film was "especially egregious since it bundles the civil rights era, garden-variety bigotry, and the achievements of Ernie Davis". He didn't believe Davis was "as bland as "The Express" makes him out to be. Aside from managing to get made at all, the movie doesn't do Davis's legacy any favors by giving us the store-brand version of his life." Morris however, was quick to admit "There is so much ripe material here for a socially or historically curious movie." But he frustratingly noted that the filmmakers were more interested in "making a safely commercial football drama that doesn't deviate from the genre's shorthand imagery and plot points."
| "The movie hints at the complexity of Brown's natural truculence and the chip racism left on his shoulder. But 'The Express' ultimately settles for making him a big glass of tall, dark, and handsome, a neutered personality deployed to spout platitudes." |
| —Wesley Morris, writing for The Boston Globe |
Ann Hornaday of The Washington Post
The Washington Post
The Washington Post is Washington, D.C.'s largest newspaper and its oldest still-existing paper, founded in 1877. Located in the capital of the United States, The Post has a particular emphasis on national politics. D.C., Maryland, and Virginia editions are printed for daily circulation...
, stated that The Express "finesses a cinematic hat trick: It's entertaining, deeply moving and genuinely important." She praised the individual cinematic elements saying the motion picture was "Filmed with pulverizing accuracy, they bristle not only with physical action but also historical and political symbolism." She also complimented the lead acting by mentioning, "As warm as Brown's portrayal of Davis is, it's Dennis Quaid as Syracuse coach Ben Schwartzwalder who provides the movie's most fascinating figure." Similarly, John Anderson wrote in Variety
Variety (magazine)
Variety is an American weekly entertainment-trade magazine founded in New York City, New York, in 1905 by Sime Silverman. With the rise of the importance of the motion-picture industry, Daily Variety, a daily edition based in Los Angeles, California, was founded by Silverman in 1933. In 1998, the...
that the film was "a muscular movie with social conscience that portrays Ernie Davis – the first African-American collegian to win college football's coveted Heisman Trophy – as the heir to Martin Luther King and Jackie Robinson." On its production merits, he commented how the film displayed "Terrific editing by William Steinkamp and Padraic McKinley" which "intermarries the onfield action, flashbacks to Davis' Southern boyhood, a smattering of period footage and a great deal of stylized visualization to a degree that distracts from the very basic sports-movie arc of the story". However, on a negative front in The Village Voice
The Village Voice
The Village Voice is a free weekly newspaper and news and features website in New York City that features investigative articles, analysis of current affairs and culture, arts and music coverage, and events listings for New York City...
, Robert Wilonsky was not moved by the lead acting of Quaid or Brown. He thought Brown portrayed Davis with "quiet subtlety (to the point where he almost disappears in some scenes)" and felt Quaid was "stuck with the thankless role of accidental civil-rights pioneer". He summed up his disappointment stating, "like all formulaic biopics, The Express sacrifices the details for the Big Picture—hagiography without the humanity (wait, is that his girlfriend? Wife? What?), populated by sorta-enlightened Yankees, rabidly racist Southerners, and a ghost who remains as elusive as the running back no defender could ever catch."
Box office
The film premiered in cinemas on October 10, 2008 in wide release throughout the U.S.. During its opening weekend, the film opened in a distant 6th place grossing $4,562,675 in business showing at 2,808 locations. The film Beverly Hills ChihuahuaBeverly Hills Chihuahua
Beverly Hills Chihuahua is a 2008 family comedy film produced by Walt Disney Pictures. It is directed by Raja Gosnell and released on October 3, 2008...
soundily beat its competition during that weekend opening in first place with $17,502,077. The film's revenue dropped by 52% in its second week of release, earning $2,191,810. For that particular weekend, the film fell to 12th place screening in 2,810 theaters but not challenging a top ten position. The film Max Payne
Max Payne (film)
Max Payne is a 2008 noir action film based on the 2001 video game of the same name by Remedy Entertainment. It was written by Beau Thorne and was directed by John Moore. The film stars Mark Wahlberg in the title role as Max Payne, Mila Kunis as Mona Sax, Chris "Ludacris" Bridges as Jim Bravura and...
, unseated Beverly Hills Chihuahua to open in first place grossing $17,639,849 in box office revenue. During its final week in release, The Express opened in 31st place grossing $151,225 in business. The film went on to top out domestically at $9,793,406 in total ticket sales through a 4-week theatrical run. Internationally, the film took in an additional $14,718 in box office business for a combined worldwide total of $9,808,124. For 2008 as a whole, the film would cumulatively rank at a box office performance position of 146.
Home media
Following its cinematic release in theaters, the Region 1 CodeDVD region code
DVD region codes are a digital-rights management technique designed to allow film distributors to control aspects of a release, including content, release date, and price, according to the region...
widescreen
Widescreen
Widescreen images are a variety of aspect ratios used in film, television and computer screens. In film, a widescreen film is any film image with a width-to-height aspect ratio greater than the standard 1.37:1 Academy aspect ratio provided by 35mm film....
edition of the film was released on DVD
DVD-Video
DVD-Video is a consumer video format used to store digital video on DVD discs, and is currently the dominant consumer video format in Asia, North America, Europe, and Australia. Discs using the DVD-Video specification require a DVD drive and a MPEG-2 decoder...
in the United States on January 20, 2009. Special features for the DVD include; Deleted scenes with optional commentary by director Gary Fleder; Making of The Express; Making History: The Story of Ernie Davis; Inside the Playbook: Shooting football games; From Hollywood to Syracuse: The Legacy of Ernie Davis; and feature commentary with director Gary Fleder. During its release in the home media market, The Express ranked number eleven in its first week on the DVD charts, selling 97,511 units totalling $1,949,245 in business. Overall, The Express sold 370,534 units yielding $6,566,801 in revenue.
The widscreen hi-definition Blu-ray Disc
Blu-ray Disc
Blu-ray Disc is an optical disc storage medium designed to supersede the DVD format. The plastic disc is 120 mm in diameter and 1.2 mm thick, the same size as DVDs and CDs. Blu-ray Discs contain 25 GB per layer, with dual layer discs being the norm for feature-length video discs...
version of the film was also released on January 20, 2009. Special features include, making of The Express; making history: The Story of Ernie Davis; Inside the Playbook: Shooting the football games; From Hollywood to Syracuse: The Legacy of Ernie Davis; 50th Anniversary of the 1959 Syracuse National Championship; and deleted scenes with optional commentary by director Gary Fleder.