Sergeant Waters - A Soldier's Story

Movie
German title	Sergeant Waters - A Soldier's Story
Original title	A Soldier's Story
Country of production	United States
original language	English
Publishing year	1984
length	101 minutes
Age rating	FSK 12
Rod
Director	Norman Jewison
script	Charles Fuller
production	Norman Jewison ; Patrick J. Palmer ; Ronald L. Schwary
music	Herbie Hancock
camera	Russell Boyd
cut	Caroline Biggerstaff ; Mark Warner
occupation
	Howard E. Rollins Jr .: Captain Davenport; Adolph Caesar : Sergeant Vernon Waters; Art Evans : Private Wilkie; David Alan Grier : Corporal Cobb; David Harris : Private Smalls; Dennis Lipscomb : Captain Taylor; Larry Riley : CJ Memphis; Robert Townsend : Corporal Ellis; Denzel Washington : Private First Class Peterson; William Allen Young : Private Louis Henson; Patti LaBelle : Big Mary; Wings Hauser : Lieutenant Byrd; Scott Paulin : Captain Wilcox; John Hancock : Sergeant Washington; Trey Wilson : Colonel Nivens; Patricia Brandkamp : Ida Nivens; Vaughn Reeves : Captain Estes; Robert Tyler : Private Seymour; Warren Clements : Sergeant Hooks; James W. Bryant : Chaplain; John Valentine : baseball umpire;

Sergeant Waters is an American crime film from 1984 . The film adaptation is based on the play A Soldier's Play by Charles Fuller .

action

Louisiana 1944: Black Sergeant Waters serves at Fort Neal Infantry Camp. One evening he, who was seen drunk the night before, is found dead the next morning. He was on his way from a bar back to the base. He was beaten up and shot on the way. The United States Army quickly suspects that it could be a racist attack by the Ku Klux Klan . A curfew is imposed and the colored Howard University- trained attorney, Captain Davenport of Washington, DC, is sent to the site to take over the investigation. As soon as he arrived, he was confronted with racist prejudice. Colonel Nivens is aware of the tight political situation and demands that he complete the investigation within three days. One could not afford to pay any more attention, after all, the white townspeople do not like the black soldiers and they fear that some blacks will be carried away to acts of revenge. Davenport protests and is immediately advised of his role model function. Many just haven't seen a black officer yet. He should behave accordingly.

After Davenport met Captain Taylor, previously charged with the investigation, he began interrogating Private Wilkie. This tells of Waters love for his family. Almost every day he spoke of his wife and the future of his son. However, he was also tough on everyone else and particularly strict on African-Americans. Wilkie was reprimanded and demoted for being drunk on duty by Waters. Wilkie doubts the Klan had anything to do with the raid, because when the rednecks attack the blacks, they steal their badges. At Waters it was found complete. Davenport's next interview with Private Peterson also tells him how tough he was on blacks. After the unit defeated a white team in baseball and wanted to celebrate this properly, Waters ordered them to repaint the officers' club. After all, the country is at war and one has to be disciplined. Captain Taylor, on the other hand, releases the team and thus disregards the Waters protest. Peterson himself previously rebelled against Waters orders and was challenged to a secret duel. Peterson fights fair and almost wins. But Waters doesn't. With a couple of nasty attacks, he gives Peterson a good beating.

At night, Davenport receives a visit from Taylor with the request that the investigation be stopped. Nivens has already applied for it and he now recommends that he give up. Although the Klan was not involved, Lieutenant Byrd and the medic Captain Wilcox were apparently the last to see him alive. And Nivens wouldn't allow his white officers to be questioned by a black one. They would have an alibi through Nivens, because they met him at 11:10 p.m., would have been back at the barracks at 11:30 p.m. and played poker with Nivens and a few other officers until 3:30 a.m. There was actually a fight between Waters and Byrd that evening. Waters berated the whites and blamed himself for a death. He appeared so disrespectful in the eyes of Byrd that he had to beat him, with Wilcocks still holding him back.

After Davenport protested at Nivens the next morning, he interviewed Private Henson at church. He tells him about an incident after the baseball season. There was a shooting at the Williams Golden Palace , in which three soldiers were killed. That night, Waters had the black barracks searched for the murder weapon and finally found it on Private CJ Memphis' bed. Memphis was a highly talented athlete who made the military baseball team almost unbeatable. He was also a gifted musician who entertained the troops with his singing and guitar playing. Now he has been accused of shooting. The often naive, but always good-natured Memphis doesn't like this at all, so he attacks Sergeant Waters. For this he must be placed under arrest. In interrogation with Corporal Cobb, Davenport subsequently learns that Waters visited CJ at night, expressing his own hatred of him. In the eyes of Waters, CJ is a shame for the black race. He embodies all the prejudices whites have about them and would humiliate himself in the process. Memphis has so badly affected that he shortly afterwards suicide committed.

A short time later, Davenport interviewed Lieutenant Byrd and Captain Wilcox in the presence of Taylor. Both are somewhat annoyed about being questioned by a black man, with Byrd becoming particularly disrespectful at first and aggressive later. They tell of their meeting and how much Waters deserves a rub. After all, he insulted the white race. They could also prove that there was only a brawl and no shooting. Their weapons were never fired and .45 ammunition was only available to a few, including some special forces and the military police. Davenport releases the two and is at a loss. He just doesn't know who killed Waters. Someone must have lied before. So he has his first two respondents called again for interrogation.

He learns from Wilkie that Waters intended to teach CJ a lesson from the start. He blackmailed Wilkie. He could have his original rank again, as long as he placed the gun under the bed with CJ. But the situation escalated when CJ hit Waters. Instead of a lesson, he was arrested. CJ was chosen as a victim because Waters hated him profoundly. He despised everything Memphis stood for. Sometimes he found it hard to hide and you could feel the pure evil in him. He once told of a black man with whom he served in France during the First World War. He encountered the racist prejudice of the whites and had to watch in horror as the other black ingratiated himself with the whites by humiliating himself to conform to the prejudices in order to entertain the whites. After making a fool of himself, Waters had to kill him. And CJ corresponds exactly to this dead man. During the night the soldiers learned that they were to be shipped to Great Britain because the invasion had taken place. So Davenport doesn't have much time left to solve the case. Davenport has Wilkie put under arrest and private Smalls, who fled the barracks, and then brought for interrogation. At this he almost collapses and tells tearfully how Peterson killed Waters. That night both were on patrol and found the beaten up Waters. Another argument broke out between Peterson and Waters, so Peterson drew his gun and shot him. When Davenport confronts him, Peterson only defends himself by judging someone who deserves it. But who gives him the right to judge other people, asks Davenport. Peterson is silent and is taken away without an answer. Since the killer has been found, Davenport then leaves, meeting Taylor on the way and shaking hands at the end. The troops leave the site to fight against the German Reich in France.

criticism

Lawrence van Gelder of the New York Times praised the director Jewison on the one hand, who demonstrates "his robust craft" in the authenticity of the work, and on the other hand the main actor Howard E. Rollins junior, who delivers "an impressive performance under unpredictable dramatic circumstances".

The renowned film critic Roger Ebert could n't find a good word for the film, which was less “a crime film than a docudrama”. He found the flashbacks used as a stylistic device "painful". He was also disappointed with Rollins' performance, which couldn't keep up with the role of his Oscar nomination for Ragtime . The film would also have little informative value, except that "ironically" Sergeant Waters, the "most interesting character in the film" was murdered.

The lexicon of international films said: "An excellently told and convincingly played psychodrama about the connection between social guilt and personal atonement, designed as a lesson in solidarity, emancipation and tolerance."

background

The film had its world premiere on September 13, 1984 at the Toronto International Film Festival . A day later it appeared in US cinemas. In total, it brought in almost $ 22 million at the US box office. It was released in cinemas in the Federal Republic of Germany on April 12, 1985. It has been available as a German DVD since September 6, 2001 .

The play had its world premiere on November 20, 1981 at the Lucille Lortel Theater on Off-Broadway in New York City . The Negro Ensemble Company produced and played it until January 2, 1983. The play itself won a 1982 Pulitzer Prize in the theater category. Adolph Caesar , Denzel Washington and Larry Riley have already played in the theater production. The role of Private Louis Henson, played by Samuel L. Jackson in the theater, was portrayed in the film by William Allen Young .

The film was shot entirely in Arkansas . The exterior shots were made in Clarendon . Fort Chaffee served as a military base . The baseball scenes were filmed at Lamar Porter Athletic Field in Little Rock . During this time, Bill Clinton , then governor of the state, attended the filming. He wasn't just excited about the story. He later also helped out when Jewison ran into budget problems and couldn't find enough extras to embody the military. Clinton deployed the Arkansas Army National Guard for this .