Debate Movies

A drama based on the true story of Melvin B. Tolson, a professor at Wiley College Texas. In 1935, he inspired students to form the school's first debate team, which went on to challenge Harvard in the national championship.

Looking for answers to life's big questions, a stuttering boy joins his high school debate team.

The fascinating complexity of high school debate gives way to a portrait of the equally complex racial and class bias of American education in Greg Whiteley's riveting documentary. Initially a portrait of top-flight debaters from well-funded, mostly white schools-like nationally ranked Sam Iola and Matt Andrews of Highland Park, Texas-the film deepens when it changes focus to Richard Funches and Louis Blackwell from Long Beach's Jordan squad. While gifted traditional debaters in their own right, the two decide to challenge the usefulness of the jargon-filled, 400-word-per-minute style of modern debate (known as "the spread") by steering their debates toward issues of personal experience and dialogue. What is the use of refining an argument, they stress, when it does not affect the reality of a person's locale and particular life? Why must individual perspective and bias be masked? For many, these questions present such a radical interpretive shift that competitors and judges crumble in front of them. Contrasting Fuches and Blackwell's attempt to challenge the system with Andrews' relentless pursuit to excel in it and win the prestigious Tournament of Champions, Whiteley deftly explores the disparities between the debaters, their styles, and their resources. Alternately inspiring and polarizing, Resolved reveals a constantly shifting sport that is as much philosophy as competition. - Travis Miles (Los Angeles Film Festival)

Justin throws himself and everyone around him into chaos when he attempts to break free from his addiction to his thumb.

The jury in a New York City murder trial is frustrated by a single member whose skeptical caution forces them to more carefully consider the evidence before jumping to a hasty verdict.

A widowed lawyer in Depression-era Alabama defends a black man against a false rape charge while teaching his young children about the sad reality of prejudice.

An underdog lawyer takes on a fraudulent insurance company.

When a man with HIV is fired by his law firm because of his condition, he hires a homophobic small-time lawyer as the only willing advocate for a wrongful dismissal suit.

Defence lawyer Mick Haller lands a case defending a wealthy realtor's son who is accused of raping a prostitute. Believing his client to be innocent, Haller soon finds evidence that proves otherwise.

A group of ambitious law students and their brilliant criminal defense professor become involved in a twisted murder plot that promises to change the course of their lives.

An impromptu goodbye party for Professor John Oldman becomes a mysterious interrogation after the retiring scholar reveals to his colleagues he has a longer and stranger past than they can imagine.

Satirical comedy follows the machinations of Big Tobacco's chief spokesman, Nick Naylor, who spins on behalf of cigarettes while trying to remain a role model for his 12-year-old son.

Through a chance encounter, two men of opposing ideologies deliberate spiritual, philosophical, and profound matters in a New York City apartment.