| Training Day | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster with original release date | |
| Directed by | Antoine Fuqua |
| Written by | David Ayer |
| Produced by |
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| Starring | |
| Cinematography | Mauro Fiore |
| Edited by | Conrad Buff |
| Music by | Mark Mancina |
Production companies |
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| Distributed by | Warner Bros. Pictures |
Release dates |
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Running time | 122 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $45 million |
| Box office | $104.9 million |
Training Day is a 2001 Americancrime thriller film directed byAntoine Fuqua and written byDavid Ayer. It starsDenzel Washington as Alonzo Harris andEthan Hawke as Jake Hoyt, twoLAPD narcotics officers followed over a 24-hour period in the gang-ridden neighborhoods ofWestlake,Echo Park, andSouth Central Los Angeles. It also featuresScott Glenn,Eva Mendes,Cliff Curtis,Dr. Dre,Snoop Dogg, andMacy Gray in supporting roles.
Training Day was released on October 5, 2001, byWarner Bros. Pictures. It received generally positive reviews from critics, who praised Washington and Hawke's performances but were divided on the screenplay. The film received numerous accolades and nominations with Washington's performance earning him theAcademy Award for Best Actor and Hawke being nominated forBest Supporting Actor at the74th Academy Awards.[1]
Atelevision series based on the film, produced byJerry Bruckheimer, was announced in August 2015 and premiered on February 2, 2017, onCBS. OnlyNoel Gugliemi,Tom Berenger andRaymond J. Barry reprised their roles. The show was cancelled after one season.
Jake Hoyt, an ambitiousLAPD officer, is assigned to work with Detective Alonzo Harris, a highly decoratednarcotics officer for a one-day evaluation to determine if Jake will be invited to join the narcotics squad. Driving around in Alonzo'sMonte Carlo, they begin the day by catching some college kids buyingmarijuana. Alonzo confiscates the drugs, puts them into a pipe and tells Jake to smoke it. When Jake refuses, Alonzo threatens him at gunpoint, stating that such a refusal while on the streets would get him killed. Jake smokes the pipe and gets very high. Alonzo laughs, disclosing that it was laced withPCP.
They pay a visit to Roger, an ex-cop turned drug dealer. After they leave, Jake notices a pair of addicts attempting torape Letty, a teenage girl in an alley. Jake intervenes while Alonzo watches him subdue the attackers. After Letty leaves, Alonzo menaces the rapists, but declines to arrest them and Jake collects Letty's wallet from the ground.
Later, Alonzo and Jake apprehend a dealer named Blue, who hascrack rocks and a loaded handgun in his possession. Rather than go to jail, Blue informs on his employer Kevin "Sandman" Miller, who is in prison. Using a fakesearch warrant, Alonzo steals $40,000 from Sandman's home. At lunch, the two visit Alonzo's mistress Sara and their young son. Alonzo then meets with a trio of corrupt high-ranking police officials he dubs the "Three Wise Men". Aware that theRussian mafia is hunting Alonzo, they suggest he skip town. Alonzo insists he has control of the situation and trades the $40,000 for anarrest warrant.
Alonzo assembles his squad of narcotics officers, and with Jake in tow they return to Roger's house and use the warrant to seize $4 million, a quarter of which Alonzo keeps and shares with his squad. Jake refuses to take a share of the money, worrying Alonzo and the other officers. Alonzo executes Roger after Jake refuses his order to do so, staging the scene with his men to make the shooting look justified. Infuriated, Jake gets into astandoff with the corrupt officers. Alonzo reveals he orchestrated the day's events to have leverage over Jake and threatens him with the police department's post-incident blood test, which will catch the PCP Jake smoked and end his career. Alonzo promises to protect Jake from the drug test in exchange for his cooperation and Jake begrudgingly complies.
Later that evening, Alonzo drives Jake to the home of aSureño gangster named Smiley for an errand. As he waits for Alonzo, Jake reluctantly playspoker with Smiley and his fellow gang members, Sniper and Moreno. Smiley then explains Alonzo's situation: Alonzo got into a fight with a connected Russian mobster inLas Vegas and killed him. Alonzo must pay a million dollars as compensation, or be killed himself. Additionally, Smiley reveals Alonzo has abandoned Jake and paid Smiley to kill him. Jake attempts to flee but is beaten and dragged to the bathroom to be executed. Moreno searches Jake for money and finds the wallet of Letty, who happens to be Smiley's cousin. After calling Letty and confirming that Jake saved her, Smiley releases Jake out of gratitude.
An infuriated Jake returns to Sara's apartment to arrest Alonzo before he leaves to pay the Russians with Roger's money. A gunfight and chase ensue, and Alonzo is eventually subdued on the street while the entire neighborhood gathers to watch. Alonzo offers money to whoever kills Jake, but the neighborhood residents, tired of Alonzo's abuse, refuse. Jake takes the stolen cash to submit as evidence against Alonzo and the neighborhood gang allows him to leave safely with earned respect. An enraged Alonzo, realizing his plan has been foiled, unravels into a final desperatetantrum and threatens retaliation against the neighborhood, but, knowing he no longer holds any sway over them, the residents ignore Alonzo and walk away during his rant. Alonzo attempts to flee for theLos Angeles International Airport, but is ambushed and gunned down by the Russians. Jake returns home as the press reports on Alonzo's death.
Although corruption in the LAPD'sC.R.A.S.H. unit was yet to be exposed whenTraining Day was written, Antoine Fuqua has stated that the emergence of theRampart Scandal in the late 1990s catalyzed the completion of the film. Denzel Washington also grew a beard in order to emulate the appearance ofRafael Pérez, an LAPD narcotics officer involved in multiple scandals.[3][4] Fuqua wanted Washington's character to be seductive and part of a machine, and not just a random rogue cop. In Washington's own words: "I think in some ways he's done his job too well. He's learned how to manipulate, how to push the line further and further, and, in the process, he's become more hard-core than some of the guys he's chasing."[5]
Fuqua also saw Ethan Hawke's character as generally honorable but so driven by ambition that he was willing to compromise his principles, particularly when following the charming and persuasive example of Washington's character. He has said that he fought with studio executives who wanted to cut the Three Wise Men scene, thinking it slowed the film. He insisted that the scene was pivotal in establishing that at least some of Alonzo's illegal actions were sanctioned by his superiors who regarded unethical behavior as a necessary evil.[6]
Fuqua wantedTraining Day to look as authentic as possible, and he shot on location in some of the most infamous neighborhoods of Los Angeles. He even obtained permission to shoot in theImperial Courtshousing project, the first time L.A. street gangs had allowed a film crew to be brought into that neighborhood. The crew also filmed in Hoover Block andBaldwin Village.[7] Parts of the film were shot on the dead end street Palmwood Drive, whereBlack P. Stones gang members were seen on the rooftops.Cle Shaheed Sloan, the gang technical advisor ofTraining Day, managed to get on screen real-life gang members fromRollin' 60 Crips,PJ Watts Crips, and Black P. Stones. According to Fuqua, the actors and crew ended up receiving a warm welcome from local residents. When he was unable to shoot a scene directly on location, he recreated the locations on sets.[6]
There were also two police officers on hand astechnical advisors, Michael Patterson and Paul Lozada (the latter from theSan Francisco Police Department). Washington, Hawke and other cast members also met with undercover police officers, local drug dealers, and gang members to help understand their roles better.[7]
Davis Guggenheim was originally attached to direct the film, withMatt Damon as Jake Hoyt andSamuel L. Jackson as Alonzo Harris.[8] Once Washington became attached to the project, however, he requested to have Guggenheim replaced with Fuqua.[9]Eminem was offered the role of Hoyt, but turned it down in order to focus on preparing for8 Mile (2002).[10] If he had appeared, he would've shared scenes with his mentorDr. Dre as well asSnoop Dogg, both of whom do appear in the film.Tobey Maguire,Paul Walker,Freddie Prinze Jr.,Ryan Phillippe, andScott Speedman all auditioned for the role of Hoyt.[11]
A soundtrack to the film was released on September 11, 2001, byPriority Records. It peaked at 35 on theBillboard 200 and 19 on theTop R&B/Hip-Hop Albums and spawned two hit singles,Nelly's "#1" andDr. Dre andDJ Quik's "Put It on Me".
Training Day was originally scheduled for release on September 21, 2001, and had a strong advertising push.[12] However, following theSeptember 11 attacks, the film was pushed back to October 5, 2001, replacingCollateral Damage's original release date.[13]
Training Day was initially released onDVD andVHS on March 19, 2002.[14] ABlu-ray version was initially released on August 1, 2006.[15] A 4K Blu-ray version was released on February 28, 2023.[16]
Training Day opened at number one, grossing $22.5 million, ahead of fellow new releaseSerendipity in second place.[17] Upon opening, it achieved the second-highest October opening weekend, behindMeet the Parents.[18] It repeated in the top spot in its second weekend, above that week's new release ofBandits in second place, and spent its first six weeks in the Top 10 at the box office.[19] It went on to gross $76.6 million in the United States and Canada, and $28.2 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $104.9 million,[20] against a budget of $45 million.[21]
On thereview aggregator websiteRotten Tomatoes, 74% of 170 critics' reviews are positive. The website's consensus reads: "The ending may be less than satisfying, but Denzel Washington reminds us why he's such a great actor in this taut and brutal police drama."[22]Metacritic, which uses aweighted average, assigned the film a score of 71 out of 100, based on 36 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.[23] Audiences polled byCinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B+" on an A+ to F scale.[24]
Chicago Sun-Times film criticRoger Ebert said: "Washington seems to enjoy a performance that's over the top and down the other side".[25] Ebert gave the film three out of four stars, praising both the lead and supporting actors and the film's gritty, kinetic energy. He criticized the plot's implausibility, but praised its execution, stating: "Ayer's screenplay is ingenious in the way it plants clues and pays them off in unexpected ways, so thatTraining Day makes as much sense as movies like this usually can."[25]
Writing inThe Hollywood Reporter, Michael Rechtshaffen gave the film a positive review, stating: "Denzel Washington ventures into the dark side as a seriously corrupt narcotics cop... and the results are electrifying. So is the picture, thanks to taut, sinewy direction by Antoine Fuqua and a compelling script by David Ayer."[26]
Denzel Washington's performance as Detective Alonzo Harris was highly praised by critics. InThe Village Voice,Amy Taubin wrote that his "old-fashioned combination of decency and sexiness suggests the African American counterpart toGregory Peck (in hisTo Kill a Mockingbird period), as an LAPD cop so evil he makesHarvey Keitel'sBad Lieutenant look like even smaller potatoes than he was meant to be".[27]
| Award | Ceremony date | Category | Recipient(s) | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Academy Awards[28] | March 24, 2002 | Best Actor | Denzel Washington | Won |
| Best Supporting Actor | Ethan Hawke | Nominated | ||
| American Film Institute Awards[29] | January 5, 2002 | Actor of the Year – Male – Movies | Denzel Washington | Won |
| All Def Movie Awards | February 25, 2016 | Most Quoted Movie | Nominated | |
| Best Bad Mu#&a Award | Denzel Washington | Won | ||
| ALMA Awards | May 18, 2002 | Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture | Eva Mendes | Nominated |
| Excellence in Make-Up in Television and Film | Ken Diaz and Jay Wejebe | Won | ||
| ASCAP Film and Television Music Awards | Most Performed Song from a Motion Picture | "#1" –Nelly and Waiel "Wally" Yaghnam | Won | |
| Awards Circuit Community Awards | Best Actor in a Leading Role | Denzel Washington | Runner-up | |
| Best Actor in a Supporting Role | Ethan Hawke | Nominated | ||
| BET Awards | June 25, 2002 | Best Actor | Denzel Washington(also forJohn Q.) | Nominated |
| Black Reel Awards[30] | April 21, 2002 | Best Film | Won | |
| Best Director | Antoine Fuqua | Won | ||
| Best Actor | Denzel Washington | Won | ||
| Best Film Poster | Won | |||
| Best Original Soundtrack | Nominated | |||
| Best Original Song | "#1" – Nelly | Nominated | ||
| BMI Film & TV Awards | Film Music Award | Mark Mancina | Won | |
| Boston Society of Film Critics Awards[31] | December 16, 2001 | Best Actor | Denzel Washington | Won[a] |
| Chicago Film Critics Association Awards[32] | February 25, 2002 | Best Actor | Nominated | |
| Dallas–Fort Worth Film Critics Association Awards | January 3, 2002 | Best Actor | Nominated | |
| Festival Nazionale del Doppiaggio Voci nell'Ombra | Best Male Voice (Film Award) | Francesco Pannofino(for dubbing Denzel Washington) | Won | |
| Best Male Voice (Audience Award) | Won | |||
| Golden Globe Awards[33] | January 20, 2002 | Best Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama | Denzel Washington | Nominated |
| Golden Schmoes Awards | Best Actor of the Year | Nominated | ||
| Kansas City Film Critics Circle Awards[34] | Best Actor | Won | ||
| Las Vegas Film Critics Society Awards[35] | Best Actor | Nominated | ||
| Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards[36] | December 15, 2001 | Best Actor | Won | |
| MTV Movie Awards[37] | June 1, 2002 | Best Villain | Won | |
| Best Line | "King Kong ain't got nothin' on me!" | Nominated | ||
| Best Cameo | Snoop Dogg | Won | ||
| MTV Video Music Awards | August 29, 2002 | Best Video from a Film | "#1" – Nelly | Nominated |
| NAACP Image Awards | March 3, 2002 | Outstanding Motion Picture | Nominated | |
| Outstanding Actor in a Motion Picture | Denzel Washington | Won | ||
| National Society of Film Critics Awards[38] | January 4, 2002 | Best Actor | 2nd Place | |
| New York Film Critics Circle Awards[39] | January 6, 2002 | Best Actor | Runner-up | |
| Online Film Critics Society Awards[40] | January 2, 2002 | Best Actor | Nominated | |
| Satellite Awards[41] | January 19, 2002 | Best Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama | Nominated | |
| Screen Actors Guild Awards[42] | March 10, 2002 | Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role | Nominated | |
| Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role | Ethan Hawke | Nominated | ||
| Taurus World Stunt Awards[43] | May 2002 | Best Work with a Vehicle | Brian Machleit and Robert Powell | Nominated |
In June 2003, theAmerican Film Institute named Alonzo Harris the 50th greatest screen villain of all time in its listAFI's 100 Years...100 Heroes & Villains.[44]
On August 7, 2015, it was announced thatAntoine Fuqua had decided to develop atelevision series based on the movie, and had teamed withJerry Bruckheimer to develop the concept.Warner Bros. Television was shopping the show to the American broadcast networks.Will Beall would write the series, while Fuqua would serve as executive producer, and would direct the potential pilot.[45]CBS ordered a pilot on August 14, 2015. In addition to Fuqua, Bruckheimer, Beall, andJonathan Littman will serve as executive producers for the series, which is set 15 years after the original film.[46] In May 2016, CBS picked up the series.[47]
In theCBS television series Alonzo is mentioned by Deputy Chief Joy Lockhart when briefing Officer Kyle Craig on sending him undercover at LAPD's Special Investigation Section to investigate Detective Frank Roarke. Frank briefly mentions Alonzo at the end of the first season. The series, starringBill Paxton andJustin Cornwell, premiered on February 2, 2017, with a 13-episode run as amid-season replacement.
Filming for the first season had been completed in December 2016, so the run was not affected by Paxton's death on February 25, 2017, two days after the fourth episode aired.[48] The lowest rated drama series on CBS that season, it was canceled on May 17, 2017, the same week the season finale aired.[49]
In October 2019, it was reported that Warner Bros. was developing a prequel toTraining Day. The prequel follows a young Alonzo Harris in late April 1992, two days before the verdict of theRodney King trial and the associatedL.A. riots.[50] The prequel, namedTraining Day: Day of the Riot, was set to start production in California in February 2022, but as of November 2024, the film appears to be still in development.[51]
