Woodlawn, the motion picture, is based on true events surrounding the 1974 Banks and Woodlawn football game at Birmingham’s Legion Field. That historic game still holds the record for the largest attendance at an Alabama high school football game. The film follows Woodlawn running back Tony Nathan’s recruitment by the legendary Alabama football coach Paul “Bear” Bryant (played by Academy Award winner Jon Voight) during a period when the state was embroiled in racial tensions.
This film was shot on location in Birmingham and produced and directed by Jon and Andy Erwin, whose father is the real-life chaplain character in the movie. National film critics typically are not kind to faith-based, inspirational films, yet Woodlawn laid waste to convention with almost universal critical acclaim for this real-life story. Equally vital to an independent film’s success is fan reviews and word of mouth, Woodlawn ranked among the most favorable in all national fan review polls for major films released in 2015.
With great excitement, join our celebration of The Ritz’ major capital investment to upgrade capacity to screen films which will be unveiled with Woodlawn – a new automatic full-proscenium screen, surround-sound, digital soundboard and projector. Films at The Ritz are going to be a whole new ballgame!
