The extraordinary tale of Harriet Tubman's escape from slavery and transformation into one of America's greatest heroes, whose courage, ingenuity, and tenacity freed hundreds of slaves and c... Read allThe extraordinary tale of Harriet Tubman's escape from slavery and transformation into one of America's greatest heroes, whose courage, ingenuity, and tenacity freed hundreds of slaves and changed the course of history.The extraordinary tale of Harriet Tubman's escape from slavery and transformation into one of America's greatest heroes, whose courage, ingenuity, and tenacity freed hundreds of slaves and changed the course of history.
- Nominated for 2 Oscars
- 21 wins & 55 nominations total
- Henry Ross
- (as Antonio J. Bell)
- Miz Lucy
- (as Daphne Maxwell Reid)
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaHarriet Tubman really did experience visions as is depicted in the film. Many historians claim that this is likely due to a head injury she received in her youth.
- GoofsAfter the passage of the Fugitive Slave Act, William Still gives a speech saying that it allows slave catchers to seek slaves in any state in the Union. Slave catchers were already able to retrieve slaves from the North, due to a law passed decades earlier. The Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 expanded the powers available to slave catchers, including forcing Northern law enforcement to aid them, and weakened the protections available to those accused of being escaped slaves, such as previous requirements that a suspect's status as a slave had to be verified in a jury trial.
- Quotes
Harriet: [to Gideon, at gunpoint] You'll die right here. On a frozen, blood-soaked battlefield, the moans of a generation of young men in your ears, dying in agony around you, for a lost cause. For a vile and wicked idea! For the sin of slavery! Can you hear them? God don't mean people to own people, Gideon! Our time is near!
- Crazy credits1800's type photographs of the cast with their names in the credits.
- ConnectionsFeatured in CTV News at Six Toronto: Episode dated 10 September 2019 (2019)
However, the film's narrowness results in a too simple and too short of a rendering of Tubman's life. Her work on Women's suffrage was a mere footnote. Arguments around what sort of actions the abolitionist movement should take were greatly reduced. John Brown was omitted entirely. Fredrick Douglas was given a cameo. The film jumps years at a time and it results in narrative that is merely a skeleton of Tubman's most well known experiences.
The film is weirdly hesitant around Tubman committing justified violence. At times the film contorts itself to avoid showing Tubman hurting people, especially white people. It seemed to be too saintly of a characterization especially as the film leans heavily on Tubman's faith. (In general the faith stuff lands with emotional resonance). This is a far less visceral portrayal of slavery than 12 Years a Slave.
Overall I think this is pretty good biopic.
- CubsandCulture
- Jan 31, 2020
Details
Box office
- Budget
- $17,000,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $43,082,155
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $11,676,720
- Nov 3, 2019
- Gross worldwide
- $43,347,017
- Runtime2 hours 5 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 2.39 : 1