A Soldier’s Story

(Norman Jewison, US 1984, 101 min., 35mm)

Courtroom Dramas. Denzel Washington’s first great role came in this legal drama surrounding a murder on a US Army base in World War II. The victim is Sergeant Waters (Academy Award nominee Adolph Caesar), part of a black unit in Louisiana awaiting deployment. Fearing reprisals from the black soldiers on the white townsfolk surrounding the base, the army sends Captain Davenport (Howard E. Rollins Jr.) to investigate, leading to some surprising revelations about life on the base. The film utilized several of the original cast members from the play’s Off-Broadway run and earned Academy Award nominations for Best Screenplay and Best Picture.