Is it simply synergy, art imitating life, or very creative marketing? Today, the first African-American President of the United States was inaugurated into office. This was an historic days for civil rights in America. Universal Studios Home Entertainment has also chosen today to release The Express, a film which tells the story of the first African-American Heisman Trophy winner. This was a very important moment in the history of sports, but, as we learn from the film, it also had an effect on America as well.

The Express tells the true story of Ernie Davis (Rob Brown), a college football player who faced racism while helping Syracuse University win a National Championship. The movie opens in Uniontown, Pennsylvania, where young Ernie lives with his Grandfather (Charles S. Dutton) and his uncles (whom he thinks of as brothers). Ernie then moves to Elmira, New York with his mother (Aunjanue Ellis), and there he develops an interest in football. He becomes the star of his high-school team, and he's soon being scouted by multiple colleges. Meanwhile, Ben Schwartzwalder (Dennis Quaid), the football coach at Syracuse, is on the lookout for someone to take the place of his All-American halfback Jim Brown (Darrin Dewitt Henson), who has moved on to the NFL. Schwartzwalder utilizes Brown for recruiting, and together they convince Ernie to attend Syracuse. He arrives on campus to find that he's one of only three African-American players on the team, and that there's a tremendous amount of pressure for him to be "the next Jim Brown". Ernie is able to overcome this by impressing everyone with his running talent, and learning that his fellow players see themselves as a team, not individuals of different color. As Ernie receives one accolade after another, he begins to dream of a future with his girlfriend, Sarah (Nicole Beharie), but fate can't be cruel, even to the great ones.

But, this doesn’t stop The Express from being a very likable and moving film. For starters, Ernie is a likable and engaging character (and by all accounts, this is what he was like in real life). We want him to succeed; not just because he’s the underdog, but because he works hard and earn our respect. However, the facet of The Express which makes it work is how it approaches the material which takes place off of the football field. Again, Ernie dealt with a great deal of racism and at the games at West Virginia and the Cotton Bowl, he and his fellow African-American players felt that their lives were at risk. Ernie is first able to convince his teammates and then many sports fans, that race has nothing to do with sports. We also see how Schwartzwalder struggles with this. In his mind, he is simply a football coach, but he is forced to face what is going on around him and decide on which side he wants to stand.

As noted above, Director Gary Fleder piles on some cliches, such as the slow-motion shots, or a saddened Ernie running through the rain, but he maintains a good pace with the film and the 130 minute running time flies by. He also gets a boost from his cast. Dennis Quaid (who appeared on every talk show that there is promoting this film) is very good here as the serious and conflicted Schwartzwalder. He comes from a time when men didn’t express emotion, and Quaid maintains that hard edge. Rob Brown is a true find as Davis. His expressive face and eyes relay a great deal of emotion and we immediately take a liking to Ernie.

The Express breaks for the end zone on Blu-ray Disc courtesy of Universal Studios Home Entertainment. The film has been letterboxed at 2.35:1 and the Disc contains a VC-1 1080p HD transfer which runs at an average of 32 Mbps. The image is very sharp and clear, showing no overt grain and no defects from the source material. The colors look very good, most notably greens and the Syracuse orange. The picture shows a high level of detail and there is a nice depth to the image, which really looks great during the football games. I noted no artifacting or video noise, and the picture was never too dark. The Disc carries a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track which runs at 48 kHz and an average of 4.0 Mbps. The track provides clear dialogue and sound effects. This track offers fantastic audio and nowhere is it more evident than in the football games. The stereo effects are solid, as we hear the players moving from side-to-side. They then move behind us in the surround channels, where they are mixed with the crowd’s cheers. The hits provide substance for the subwoofers, as do the cannons which are fired with every score. The in-film music sounds very good as well.