Focus Features has released the first trailer for director Stephen Hopkins’ biopic Race, about athletic superstar Jesse Owens. The film follows Owens’ early career as a track and field athlete, focusing on his training and performance in the 1936 Olympics, which took place in Berlin under the Nazi regime. I’ll admit it’s a little odd to see a historical biopic from the director of Predator 2 and Lost in Space, but Race certainly looks to be a handsomely made film, even if it does feel a bit familiar. Owens’ story is definitely one worth telling, however, and Selma actor Stephan James appears to do a swell job of inhabiting the character.
Check out the first Race trailer below, via Yahoo! Movies. Written by Joe Shrapnel and Anna Waterhouse, the film also stars Jason Sudeikis, Jeremy Irons, Carice van Houten, Shanice Banton, and William Hurt. Race opens in theaters on February 19th.
Here’s the official synopsis for Race:
Based on the incredible true story of Jesse Owens, the legendary athletic superstar whose quest to become the greatest track and field athlete in history thrusts him onto the world stage of the 1936 Olympics, where he faces off against Adolf Hitler’s vision of Aryan supremacy. “Race” is an enthralling film about courage, determination, tolerance, and friendship, and an inspiring drama about one man’s fight to become an Olympic legend.
