Main Cast: Jon Voight, Louis Gossett, Jr., Joe Morton, Emily Yancy, Bokeem Woodbine
Release Year: 2003
Country: US
Run Time: 114 minutes
MPAA Rating: R
Plot
The time: June 1998. The place: The sleepy town of Jasper, TX. Three young, self-styled white supremists overpower a 49-year-old black man named James Byrd Jr., chain him to the back of their pickup, and literally drag him to death. What follows is a media firestorm, exacerbated by scores of network and cable-TV news services, the grim pronouncements of so-called pundits, and the intrusion upon Jasper of several extremist activists, ranging from members of the Ku Klux Klan to the newly formed Black Panthers. As the frenzy continues, the heretofore peaceful, if somewhat tenuous, relationship between the white and black residents of Jasper is severely strained, with echoes of past racism resounding throughout the area. In the center of the controversy are two decent, hard-working public servants: R.C. Horn, the first black mayor of Jasper, and Billy Rowles, the town's white sheriff. Also profoundly affected by the appalling murder of Byrd are the respective parents of the victim and the killers. Happily, when the dust clears, justice is done (two of the murderers are condemned to death, the third sentenced to life imprisonment), and, instead of being wrenched apart, the black and white communities of Jasper draw closer together than they have ever been. Made for cable TV, this feature-length reenactment stars Louis Gossett Jr. as Horn and Jon Voight as Rowles. Although certain liberties are taken (the actor playing Byrd is clearly much younger than his real-life counterpart and the Black Panthers and KKK are incorrectly shown descending upon Jasper the same day), the film is, by and large, accurate. Better still, there is a minimum of preaching and proselytizing. Previewed at the Philadelphia Film Festival, Jasper, Texas was given its official Showtime network cable premiere on June 8, 2003 -- almost five years to the day after Byrd's death. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Blu Mankuma - James Byrd Sr.; Roy T. Anderson - James Byrd Jr.; Karen Robinson - Mary Horn; Michelle Moffatt - Mamie Horn; Demore Barnes - Ricky Horn; Ron White - Guy James Gray; Eugene Clark - Don Clark; Dvora Kedar - Rev. Bobby Gaines; Jim Millington - Ron Foshage; Cherion Drakes - Claire Byrd; Kevin Hanchard - Thurman Byrd; J.D. Nicholsen - Mike Lout; William Taylor - Rev. Lyons; Victoria Snow - Nancy Nicholson; Toby Proctor - Shawn Berry; Michael McLachlan - Bill King; Jeff Topping - Russell Brewer; Aaryn Doyle - Small Black Girl; Andre Mayers - Sgt. Carter; Marium Carvell - Gloria Mays; Wayne "Crescendo" Ward - Charlie; Philip Shepherd - Frank; Travis Davis - Black Young Man; Deborah O'Dell - Woman Reporter; David Eisner - Mike Bradford; Samantha Bee - Kathy; Dave Nichols - Reporter; Rahnuma Panthaky - Reporter; Kate Trotter - Jamie Rowles; Michael Millar - Charlie Nicholson; Ray Kahnert - State Police Captain; Gary Hudson - Sonny Cribbs; Kate Henning - White Mother; Bill Lake - Council Member #1; Michael Copeman - Council Member #2; Neil Crone - Bo; Martin Doyle - Mr. Powell; Dean McKenzie - Mr. Nelson; Eric Peterson - Old Mr. King; Richard Mills - Jury Foreman; Charles W. Gray - Black Citizen; Holly Lewis - Michelle Chapman; Michael Ferguson - William Hoover; Leah Cudmore - Brandi Eggleson; Conrad Bergschneider - Moe Johnson; Chris Marren - Klan Leger; Ron Payne - Old Sour Man; Jim Bearden - Old Sour Man; John Bayliss - City Manager; Addison Bell - Judge; J.J. Hewitt - Young Black Man; Sandra Caldwell - Nora; Craig Eldridge - Dr. Brown
Credit
Humberto Garcia - Art Director, Jeff Byrd - Director, Jeff Cooper - Editor, Jonathan Estrin - Executive Producer, W. Michael Greene - Executive Producer, Asche & Spencer - Composer (Music Score), Ousama Rawi - Cinematographer, Lena Cordina - Producer, Roy T. Anderson - Stunts Coordinator, Jonathan Estrin - Teleplay By
Jasper, Texas is a 2003Americantelevision movie directed by Jeffery W. Byrd. The teleplay by Jonathan Estrin is based on a true story and focuses on the aftermath of a crime in which three white men from the small town of Jasper, Texas killed African AmericanJames Byrd, Jr. by dragging him behind their pickup truck.
The film was shown at the Philadelphia International Film Festival before being broadcast by Showtime on June 8, 2003.
In Jasper, Texas in June 1998, three self-proclaimed white supremacists chain James Byrd, Jr. to the back of their pickup and drag him to his death over three miles of country road. When the town is forced to deal with an onslaught of media coverage that thrusts it into the collective conscience of the entire country and the arrival of contentious members of the Ku Klux Klan and the Black Panthers, the once peaceful relationship between its white and black citizens is subjected to tension. Trying to maintain peace in the community as the trial of the three perpetrators commences are black mayor R.C. Horn and white sheriff Billy Rowles, neither of whom is prepared to handle all the negative publicity. Justice is served when two of the men are condemned to death and the third is sentenced to life in prison.
David Wiegand of the San Francisco Chronicle said, "There's nothing fatally wrong with the film, but the muddled, overstuffed script and sometimes cheesy direction short-circuit the emotional potential of the treatment of James Byrd Jr.'s brutal dragging death five years ago in a small Texas town . . . The better TV films offer commentary and perspective subtly, through careful characterization and plot development. Jasper, Texas doesn't quite do that. Despite great performances from Voight and Gossett, the film trips over its own simplistic analysis of what 'getting along' between the races really means." [1]
Laura Fries of Variety called the film "an introspective but somewhat Hollywoodized treatment" and continued, "The director's focus is very personal. Although he doesn't linger on details of the court case, the murder is presented in full-color detail. It is handled almost clinically, but not without sensitivity. To dance around the facts would be too great a disservice. To exploit the sensational nature of the crime also would be wrong. Instead, Byrd puts his trust into his very capable cast." [2]
Sam Adams of Philadelphia City Paper thought the film was a "a standard-issue docudrama whose pat resolution doesn't dredge up anything like the national horror of Byrd's murder." [3]
