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Always Outnumbered

  • TV Movie
  • 1998
  • R
  • 1h 44m
IMDb RATING
7.1/10
2.3K
YOUR RATING
Always Outnumbered (1998)
Drama

A former prisoner tries to save a neighbor youth from following him down the wrong path.A former prisoner tries to save a neighbor youth from following him down the wrong path.A former prisoner tries to save a neighbor youth from following him down the wrong path.

  • Director
    • Michael Apted
  • Writer
    • Walter Mosley
  • Stars
    • Laurence Fishburne
    • Daniel Williams
    • Bill Cobbs
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    7.1/10
    2.3K
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • Michael Apted
    • Writer
      • Walter Mosley
    • Stars
      • Laurence Fishburne
      • Daniel Williams
      • Bill Cobbs
    • 30User reviews
    • 6Critic reviews
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • See production info at IMDbPro
    • Awards
      • 1 win & 6 nominations total

    Photos50

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    Top cast42

    Edit
    Laurence Fishburne
    Laurence Fishburne
    • Socrates Fortlow
    Daniel Williams
    • Darryl
    Bill Cobbs
    Bill Cobbs
    • Right Burke
    Natalie Cole
    Natalie Cole
    • Iula Brown
    Laurie Metcalf
    Laurie Metcalf
    • Halley Grimes
    Alan Wilder
    Alan Wilder
    • Anton Crier
    Cicely Tyson
    Cicely Tyson
    • Luvia
    Bridgid Coulter
    Bridgid Coulter
    • Corina M'Shalla
    Bill Nunn
    Bill Nunn
    • Howard M'Shalla
    Isaiah Washington
    Isaiah Washington
    • Wilfred
    Bill Duke
    Bill Duke
    • Blackbird Wills
    Kevin Carroll
    Kevin Carroll
    • Pegus
    Jamaal Carter
    • Phillip
    John Toles-Bey
    John Toles-Bey
    • Stoney Wiley
    Brooke Marie Bridges
    Brooke Marie Bridges
    • Winnie M'Shalla
    John Gavigan
    • Mr. Keene
    Perry Moore
    • Kiko
    Sammi Rotibi
    Sammi Rotibi
    • Marlow Bitta
    • Director
      • Michael Apted
    • Writer
      • Walter Mosley
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    User reviews30

    7.12.2K
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    Featured reviews

    habbfan

    Black on the outside...

    But human on the inside. A warm, thoughtful, touching examination of both men and women. The little indignities we visit on each other everyday whether we are aware of them or not. The strength to do the right thing. This film is possibly Larry Fishburne's finest performance, subtle, nuanced, deeply felt. He seems so natural that this could be a documentary. Black on the surface because Walter Mosley can only write what he knows,as I can only write about what I have experienced, but human inside because here is a thoughtful man reflecting on a world that is not black and white but multicultural and multi-ethnic with the focus on what he knows.

    This film should be shown in every school. It may not cure the troubles we see there but those it does reach will be changed.
    edfou5

    Simply Brilliant

    A beautiful piece of cinema - don't be put off by the fact that it's listed as a television production - it has more heart and soul and craftsmanship than any fifty contemporary Hollywood films. Fishburne's portrayal of this very intricate character is one of the great male screen performances of his generation. I'll confess that I had more than a few tears rolling down my cheeks at the end of the film. Once again ignoring exceptional small-scale work, the Academy Awards and movie media in general proved themselves to be so much debilitating, meaningless, commercial rubbish by ignoring it. Resist the dumbing down of America and support films like this and, for example, "The Station Agent."
    8david-376

    Brave and exceptional in many many ways

    Ground breaking moral film running counter to the exploitative mainstream. Deserves, and will probably receive, serious study by film students for many years to come.

    I can only imagine this would have been the kind of rare, special once-in-a-life-time project all who participated must feel pretty good about.
    9jtfsouth

    Very insightful and Rewarding

    This is what I considered one on the more underrated films in our time.It doesn't happen very often where you actually take some type of a lesson from a film. This one was able to do just that.



    This wasn't a movie about an angry black man who felt life owed him anything, it was just the opposite. It was about a man DOING something with his life after spending time in prison. Rather than being a drain on society, he worked for his money, and damn hard I must say. It didn't matter what he did to earn it, just as long as it was legal. He also was able to help a friend fill a void, another end his pain and help a child who needed guidance.



    I know this movie was only fiction, but I wish our society were filled with people like Socrates.
    MWRuger

    Positive comments about "Always Outnumbered"

    I came across this movie late one Sunday on HBO. I only got to see the last hour of it, but I was astounded by how moving it was. I tracked down the showtime and made time to watch it.

    This film is about Laurence Fishburne ‘s attempt to find a place in the society that he left when he committed a terrible crime. There is a slight tinge of Black angst, but that isn't the main point. He could be any man, trying to find a new home and dealing with his past. It takes a long time before people come to accept Mr. Fortlow for what he is, a man in the true sense of the word.

    He teaches us all a lesson in what it should be like to be a man. Be honest and true to yourself. Deal fairly with others. Do an honest day's work for an honest day's pay. Simple to say, hard to do when you are always outnumbered

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    Related interests

    Mahershala Ali and Alex R. Hibbert in Moonlight (2016)
    Drama

    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      The cap that Socrates wears throughout the movie reads "90291", the zip code corresponding to the Los Angeles suburb of Venice (roughly 15 miles west of where this movie takes place). The M'Shalla family moves to Venice at the end of the movie after Howard gets a job there.
    • Quotes

      Socrates Fortlow: You and your friends did wrong, Darryl. Now, I'm just talking to you, one black man to another, all right, 'cause, see, if you don't know when you've done wrong, life ain't worth a damn.

    • Connections
      Spin-off The Right Mistake
    • Soundtracks
      Chain of Fools
      Written by Don Covay (as Dan Covay)

      Published by Fourteenth Hour Music Inc., Promptu

      Performed by Aretha Franklin

      Courtesy of Atlantic Recording Corp.

      By Arrangement with Warner Special Products

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    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • March 21, 1998 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Always Outnumbered, Always Outgunned
    • Filming locations
      • Los Angeles, California, USA
    • Production companies
      • Home Box Office (HBO)
      • Palomar Pictures (II)
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Tech specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      • 1h 44m(104 min)
    • Color
      • Color
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.33 : 1

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