Coach Carter

"It begins on the streets. It ends here."

2005 2h 16m EN

🙌

7.6

BANGER

🍅

63%

FRESH

😬

METACRITIC

⭐

7.4

IMDB

★7.6TMDB · 3,411🍅63%Rotten Tomatoes●57Metacritic★7.4IMDB · 190,878

DramaHistory

Synopsis

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Based on a true story, in which Richmond High School head basketball coach Ken Carter made headlines in 1999 for benching his undefeated team due to poor academic results.

“It begins on the streets. It ends here.”

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Cast

Samuel L. Jackson
Ken Carter
Rob Brown
Kenyon Stone
Robert Ri'chard
Damien Carter
Rick Gonzalez
Timo Cruz
Nana Gbewonyo
Junior Battle
Antwon Tanner
Worm
Channing Tatum
Jason Lyle
Ashanti
Kyra

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Thomas Carter
Writers: Mark Schwahn, John Gatins
Languages: English
Countries: Germany, United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Released 21 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

International production across 2 countries: Germany, United States of America.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Thomas Carter, shot by Sharone Meir. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Trevor Rabin. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Peter E. Berger shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Samuel L. Jackson and Rob Brown and Robert Ri'chard carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "It begins on the streets. It ends here.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0393162 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Thomas Carter directs. Sharone Meir behind the camera. Trevor Rabin scores. Peter E. Berger cuts. Profitable at the box office. Produced in Germany, United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Released 21 years ago.
2International production across 2 countries: Germany, United States of America.
3Directed by Thomas Carter, shot by Sharone Meir. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
4Original score by Trevor Rabin. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
5Editor Peter E. Berger shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
6Samuel L. Jackson and Rob Brown and Robert Ri'chard carry the top of the cast.
7Marketing tagline: "It begins on the streets. It ends here.".
8IMDB entry: tt0393162 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
9Classified under 9 themes, including "high school", "scholarship", "sports", "violence in schools".

The technical file

Cinematography: Sharone Meir
Original score: Trevor Rabin
Editing: Peter E. Berger
Production design: Carlos Barbosa
Costume design: Debrae Little
Makeup / hair: Camille Friend
Stunt coordinator: Tierre Turner
Runtime: 136 min · 2h 16m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $30,000,000
Box office: $76,669,554
Return: 256% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): PG-13
IMDB: Coach Carter (2005)
Rotten Tomatoes: 63% 🍅 Fresh
Metacritic: 57/100
IMDB rating: 7.4/10 · 190,878 votes
MPAA: PG-13

Awards

3 wins & 15 nominations total

Black Reel Award for Best Director
NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actor in a Motion Picture

Individual records documented via Wikidata; the summary above may count more.

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Thomas Carter

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Community reviews

What people are saying

The Movie Mob2022-11-26
★ 7/10
Coach Carter allows its powerful true story to shine through Samuel Jackson’s performance and the focus on the lives of the young men Coach Carter coached. Coach Carter is the inspiring true story of a coach that cared much more about the lives and future of his players than winning a game. Samuel Jackson was the perfect choice to play no-nonsense but compassionate Coach Ken Carter that believed in his players while holding them to standards that changed their lives. While the movie is about basketball, the focus is much more on the relationships and development of its characters. The actual basketball scenes of the movie are decent but less compelling than the rest of the story. Coach Carter is an excellent film for those that want to see how their choices and willingness to fight compromise can change the lives of others.
CinemaSerf2024-11-17
★ 7/10
When the eponymous coach (Samuel L. Jackson) arrives at Richmond High School, he inherits a disparate group of guys who play basketball as they take life - casually with little responsibility. Their grades are low and so their futures unlikely to break the cycle of poverty and lack off opportunity. He decides to try and break that by insisting that they sign contracts before they can play. These require perfect attendance, no late-coming and grade averages that will ensure they graduate. There's resistance from the team and from their parents, but thanks to a bit of help from the principal (Denise Dowse) he sticks to his guns and they have to accept his ultimatum. The remainder of the film follows his attempts to mould something cohesive from these young men as they, themselves, deal with issues that impact on their own lives. Carter's dream is not a forgone conclusion here. Though there is an element of predictability to the development of the story, his charges do not routinely conform to his grand design and as he gradually builds a functioning (and winning) team, he also realises that their academic focus is what's lacking. That's his biggest challenge. They can't make a living playing ball, but it can be a conduit to an education that can stand them in good stead in the future - and that's the real message here. As with so many people growing up in an environment devoid of opportunity, sport can prove to galvanise people. It can offer hope, introduce the benefits of team building and inter-reliance and ultimately help to prioritise for what's to come. Jackson puts in a strong effort here, and the writing also helps succinctly tell a story that Rick Gonzalez, Rob Brown and Anton Tanner also contribute well to as they represent the men who just initially want to play with little appreciation of the profound chance being offered them. It is too long, and towards the end the story does rather run out of steam, but as a real-life coming of age story it still works well.