Freedom Writers [HD DVD] | ![Freedom Writers [HD DVD]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51fQkfOH3QL._SL160_.jpg)
 enlarge | Director: Richard Lagravenese
Actors: Hilary Swank, Patrick Dempsey, Scott Glenn, Imelda Staunton, April L. Hernandez
Studio: Paramount Home Video
Category: DVD
List Price: $39.99
Buy New: $11.02
You Save: $28.97 (72%)
New (14) Used (15) from $10.68
Rating:  110 reviews
Sales Rank: 43562
Format: Ac-3, Color, Dolby, Dubbed, Subtitled, Widescreen
Languages: English (Original Language), English (Subtitled), Spanish (Subtitled), French (Subtitled), French (Dubbed), Spanish (Dubbed)
Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Media: HD DVD
Number Of Items: 1
Running Time: 122
Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1
Dimensions (in): 7.1 x 5.4 x 0.6
MPN: 124380
UPC: 097361243801
EAN: 0097361243801
ASIN: B000OONQAS
Theatrical Release Date: January 5, 2007
Release Date: May 22, 2007
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Editorial Reviews:
Amazon.com
Though the "inspirational teacher" theme may feel done to death, Freedom Writers succeeds because it emphasizes the students as much as the teacher. Erin Gruwell (Hilary Swank, Million Dollar Baby, Boys Don't Cry) comes to a southern California high school bubbling over with naive optimism, but quickly discovers that her unruly classroom isn't easily won over by her good intentions. After a few floundering attempts to connect with her students, Gruwell gives them the assignment of keeping journals about their own lives--an assignment that the class bites into with relish, which eventually bonds them together and pushes racial rivalries aside. This plotline has been made before, sometimes well, sometimes poorly; Freedom Writers, by drawing heavily from the published journals of the students--and thanks to a (mostly) unheroic script, direction that emphasizes individual characters over stereotypes, and rigorous performances from the whole cast--makes the story seem fresh and genuine. Swank does solid work, but the standouts are April L. Hernandez as a girl whose gang wants her to lie and send an innocent boy to jail and Imelda Staunton (Vera Drake) as a teacher who resents Gruwell's offbeat success. Also featuring Patrick Dempsey (Grey's Anatomy), Scott Glenn (The Right Stuff), and a plethora of strong young actors. --Bret Fetzer Beyond Freedom Writers 
More Inspirational Teacher Films on DVD | 
The Freedom Writers Diary
by Erin Gruwell | 
More DVDs Starring Hilary Swank | Stills from Freedom Writers (click for larger image)
Product Description
"Freedom Writers" is inspired by a true story and the diaries of real Long Beach teenagers after the LA riots during the worst outbreak of interracial gang warfare.Hilary Swank stars as Erin Gruwell whose passion to become a teacher is soon challenged by a group of Black Latino and Asian gangbangers who hate her even more than each other. When Erin begins to listen to them in a way no adult has ever done she begins to understand that for these kids getting through the day alive is enough -- they are not delinquents but teenagers fighting "a war of the streets" that began long before they were born.Erin gives them something they never had from a teacher before -- respect. For the first time these teens experience a hope that maybe they might show the world that their lives matter and they have something to say.Run Time: 122 minutesFormat: DVD HD Genre: DRAMA UPC: 097361243801 Manufacturer No: 124380
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| Customer Reviews: Read 105 more reviews...
 Patrick Dempsey was the sole flaw September 27, 2008
I am not a fan of Patrick Dempsey in the least. Therefore, he bothered me in this movie. That is the solitary flaw.
Now that I have that said, this is one of the best movies for all of us saps who love something inspirational. Being a teacher, albeit of grade school, this tribute to the book and its authors especially touched me.
The acting is beside the point. Good performances, there you go. It's the story that makes this movie, a story that takes in gang-related kids to tell what is truly going on in their lives and how they feel.
MTV did a great job putting it altogether. The film is poetic, moving, and even cool.
 Ummm...a bit more than just another teacher saving the sweat hogs story August 23, 2008
I read a few reviews of this movie, and I realized something that I thought was pretty well presented in this film: not everyone's reality is the same as mine...you might not see the same movie I saw. First, this is based on a true story. A teacher inspires a class to believe in themselves and change the attitude of a hopeless community. I don't think there is a situation in the film where people feel sorry for each other, they learn to understand and accept each other. Which is probably the worst thing that could happen to the human race as a whole (that's sarcasm). Ummm...this wasn't merely another film from a specific genre, it's based on a true story and dedicated to one of the students from the actual class who was killed in a gang-related crime. Ultimately, the movie is about doing the right thing, and how the people in charge often hide behind a system to prevent change. Now go read all the redneck 1-star reviews, and count how many admit they didn't watch the whole film.
 It's a Movie about Writing, Badly Written July 24, 2008
Leaving no cliche unturned, Freedom Writers is another in a long line of "uplifting" movies about inner city school kids moved to greatness by a struggling, selfless rookie teacher. I'm sure the true story upon which this disaster was based was indeed inspiring, but this movie was realized in such a leaden, ham-fisted and amateurish fashion, it took all of the self-discipline I could muster to keep watching through to the end. Barely literate high-school students, suddenly handed empty journal books, magically transform into brilliant writers. Character development, especially that of the school's faculty and administrators is limited to minimal cardboard stereotypes. Baffling subplots serve to make the film seem even more intolerably lengthy. Hillary Swank looks great, though.
If you want to see a story about inner city education brilliantly and honestly portrayed, check out season 4 of HBO's "The Wire".
where's patrick demsey? July 22, 2008
a good classroom movie all in all and inspirational, of course. But why have Patrick Dempsey (one of my fav actors)in the movie if he's not going to do anything? The movie carts him off after a separation scene at the breakfast table. We are given no explanation whatsoever why swank and dempsey need a separation from their marriage. Instead of involving Dempsey in her project somehow, he's erased from the plot....waste of a good actor in my opinion.
Stellar Movie In This Type of Drama Genre July 21, 2008
There are a lot of movies out there on the market that deal with the same or similar type of theme/genre as presented in "Freedom Writers" (i.e. "Dangerous Minds", "The Ron Clark Story", "Music of the Heart", etc.)....
However, "Freedom Writers" is one of the best I have seen so far in this type of genre. The acting by all cast members is fabulous, the storyline & the way in which the material is presented is extremely well done by the screenwriter(s), director, cinematography and so on.
"Freedom Writers" is a very inspiring story based on the real life teacher Erin Gruwell, whom rises to the challenge in making a difference in the lives of her students. When Erin Gruewell comes along as a rookie teacher fresh out of college, she ends up making a real connection with her students and gets them interested in learning. Hence, the students are now interested in learning because they can see they do have a future and so, they end up achieving better grades and overall test scores.
Education is a wonderful thing and it is wonderful to know there are many outstanding teachers in this world willing to go beyond the extra mile to teach future generations of young people.
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