Why so much hype?

Highly Overrated But Still Good

A different way of telling a story

As somebody who had not heard any of this before, it became a curious phenomenon to sit and watch a film and slowly have the realities begin to click into place.

This must have seemed like a bold movie at the time, but one that probably did its part in helping educate people and challenge their thinking.Poitier is excellent here, although his singing kind of needed work! Curtis is great too, together they make a great on screen duo. There's some great action sequences filmed in beautiful black and white, and plenty of character conflict. We have all seen variations of this story, the Fishburne/Baldwin movie, Fled, being the most obvious. But sometimes the original is best, maybe because the stakes were even greater for a black convict on the run in the south in 1958. The tension was real.And, if that doesn't make you want to watch it, it also costars Alfalfa from The Little Rascals and The Wolf Man himself, Lon Chaney Jr.

This is a perfect film. Deep with poetic subtlety. It won best screenplay and best cinematography at the 1958 Oscars. The story is effortlessly vital. Sidney Poitier's performance is incredible. There are no words to describe it. He expresses himself meaningfully through small gestures. I also like this side of Tony Curtis. He keeps an echo of his trademark charm while showing the ruggedness and skepticism of a convict. There's even a small vignette which relates the life of a 50s housewife to that of a prisoner. The cinematography is exceptional. The shots blend noir and American naturalism. Look out for the close up of Sydney and Tony's hands in the last scene. I must have rewound and watched it four times... Possibly the greatest ending to an American film. Highly recommended.

When the truck that is transporting convicts has an accident on the road, the inmates John "Joker" Jackson (Tony Curtis) and Noah Cullen (Sidney Poitier) that are chained to each other escape. They hate each other but they need to help each other to succeed in their intent of going north to jump in a train and reach freedom. Meanwhile the humane Sheriff Max Muller (Theodore Bikel) organizes a posse to track them down in a civilized manner and respecting justice. Joker and Cullen reach a small farm where a lonely woman helps them to get rid of their chains. She offers to driver her car with Joker and her son Billy while Cullen would escape through the swamp to the railroad. But when Joker learns that she sent Cullen to a trap, he leaves her and is shot in the shoulder by Billy. Joker seeks out Cullen to save him and when they meet each other, their former hatred has changed to friendship and respect. "The Defiant Ones" is an unforgettable anti-racism classic when the United States were openly racist. Stanley Kramer is responsible for two of the best anti-racism movies, "The Defiant Ones" and "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner", both with Sidney Poitier. Tony Curtis and Sidney Poitier have memorable performances. I would like to know how the reception of this movie from the audiences in 1958 was. My vote is eight.Title (Brazil): "Acorrentados" ("Chained")

Stanley Kramer directed this racial drama that stars Tony Curtis as John 'Joker' Jackson and Sidney Poiter as Noah Cullen, two convicts on a chain gang chained together who escape after the truck carrying them has an accident. They flee into the woods, where at first their mutual hatred makes it difficult to get along(and evade recapture). However, over time, as they must cooperate, they develop a mutual(if grudging) respect for each other, even as they are intercepted by vigilantes(led by Claude Akins) who want to hang them, especially Noah, but with the help of a friendly local(played by Lon Chaney Jr.), they are freed, but when Joker meets an attractive single mother, he is tempted to part with Noah, especially when their chain is literally broken... Good drama with fine acting and direction, though loses some credibility toward the end, which is also quite abrupt!