Jasper, Texas Movie Review 2003

Dramatization of the 1998 hate crime that shook the small Texas town. When black James Byrd Jr. dies after being chained to the back of a pickup truck and dragged for three miles, the town's citizens find themselves at the center of a nationwide political and media frenzy. It's up to Sheriff Billy Rowles (Voight) and Jasper's first black mayor, R.C. Horn (Gossett Jr.) to portray the murder as an isolated incident, but the subsequent trial force the townsfolk to take a hard look at their community. Some Hollywood platitudes remain but the story is neither white-washed nor sensationalized.

Distribution

Showtime Networks, Inc., 5120 E. La Palma, No. 103, Anaheim Hills, CA 92807, Email: customerservice@sho.com, URL: http://www.SHO.com

Available on DVD
Running time 120 minutes.

Cast and Crew

Genres

True Crime, African America, Order in the Court, Justice Prevails...?, Mass Media

Screenplay

Jonathan Estrin

Cast

Jon Voight, Louis Gossett, Joe Morton, Emily Yancy, Bokeem Woodbine, Blu Mankuma, Karen Robinson, Ron White, Eugene C. Clark

Cinematography

Ousama Rawi

Director

Jeff Byrd