In 1966, Rubin “Hurricane” Carter was working towards a middleweight boxing title when he was arrested for three murders and sentenced to three life sentences. Twenty years later, Carter was released from prison after a Brooklyn teenager and three Canadian activists proved his innocence. Carter’s story initially inspired Bob Dylan to pen “Hurricane” back in 1975. Today, director Norman Jewison (In the Heat of the Night, A Soldier’s Story) has cast Denzel Washington as Hurricane on the big screen. The soundtrack is as schizophrenic as they come, featuring Dylan’s tune plus a modern interpretation by Black Thought, Common, Mos Def, the Roots and others that is virtually unrecognisable. Ray Charles, Ruth Brown and Etta James represent the old guard with classic soul. Gil Scott-Heron’s classic “The Revolution Will Not Be Televised” is a tenet of urban protest. The one bum note is provided by writer-for-hire Dianne Warren, who contributes “One More Mountain (Free Again)” for K-Ci & JoJo, complete with lite-FM piano and the kind of inspirational junk you’d hope “Hurricane” Carter would bypass. –Rob O’Connor
