A Soldier's Story

A Soldier's Story
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Norman Jewison
Screenplay by	Charles Fuller
Based on	A Soldier's Play (1981 play) by Charles Fuller
Produced by	Norman Jewison Patrick Palmer Ronald L. Schwary
Starring	Howard E. Rollins, Jr. Adolph Caesar
Cinematography	Russell Boyd
Edited by	Caroline Biggerstaff Mark Warner
Music by	Herbie Hancock
Production company	Columbia Pictures
Distributed by	Columbia Pictures
Release date	September 14, 1984 (1984-09-14)
Running time	101 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$6 million
Box office	$21,821,347[1]

A Soldier's Story is a 1984 American mystery drama film^[2] directed and produced by Norman Jewison, adapted by Charles Fuller from his Pulitzer Prize-winning A Soldier's Play. It is a murder mystery set in a segregated regiment of the U.S Army commanded by White officers and training in the Jim Crow South. In a time and place where a Black commissioned officer is bitterly resented by nearly everyone, an African-American JAG captain investigates the murder of an African-American drill sergeant in Louisiana following American entry into World War II. As the investigation proceeds, the events leading up to the sergeant's murder are shown in flashbacks.

The cast is led by Howard Rollins and Adolph Caesar. Other actors include Art Evans, David Alan Grier, Larry Riley, David Harris, Robert Townsend, and Patti LaBelle. Denzel Washington, still at the beginning of his career, appears in a supporting role. Several actors reprise their roles from the stage version.

The film premiered at the 1984 Toronto International Film Festival and was both a critical and commercial success. It received three Academy Award nominations: Best Picture, Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Supporting Actor for Adolph Caesar. The film was ranked by the National Board of Review as one of the 10 best films of 1984, and it won the Golden Prize at the 14th Moscow International Film Festival.^[3]