Hoosiers

Rating:
Summary: Nothing But Net
Review: Hoosiers helped to redefine the sports film genre and is about as perfect as a movie can be. Norman Dale (Gene Hackman) is a down on his luck Basketball coach, who thanks to a checkered career, is forced to lead a last place High Scool team. Taken to task over his abilities as a coach, team players, some faculty, and members of the community, don't want him around. Therefore, Dale is forced to confront his demons. Some are in the form of the alcoholic father (Dennis Hopper in an Oscar nominated role) of a star team player, while others are brought to light as he begins to date teacher Myra Fleener (Barbara Hershey). The coach must find a way to bring the team together and take one last shot at redemption, for his squad, and himself as well.

Directed by David Anspaugh, who would go on to helm another great "sports" themed film, the also recommended Rudy from 1993, Hoosiers boasts a great cast and winning direction. Anspaugh is somehow able to tap into the human spirit and translate it very well on to the screen. Thanks to beautiful cinematography by Fred Murphy, and composer Jerry Goldsmith's rousing (and Oscar nominated) score, the film is made so much the better. The script by Angelo Pizzo gives us flawed and very human characters, but they still have many heroic qualities in them, and thus we can root for them at the same time.

The DVD extras (or lack thereof) are very weak The theatrical trailer and trivia filled liner notes are you get here. The film can be viewed in either the widescreen, or, pan and scan formats As was the case with the aforementioned movie Rudy on DVD, I wanted more, in terms of extras-so the film rates 5 stars but the disc only gets gets 4. I hope to one day see a special edition for Hoosiers...it deserves that much for sure.

Rating:
Summary: An All American Movie
Review: I am not a basketball fan. I don't even like the game. What attracted me to this movie was the poster showing a pair of 1950s-looking basketball sneakers in the foreground with an open field of heartland America in the background. I finally got to see it on tape and I am sure glad that I did. This is one of my all-time favorite movies. It's hard to describe but this movie is what America is all about. Great performances, photography and a brilliantly emotionally packed Jerry Goldsmith score contribute to the success of this film. One critic called it 'a-stand-up-and-cheer-movie' and that is so very true. When the opening credits played I just knew this was going to be a great film. Jerry Goldsmith's music behind the credits showing Gene Hackman traveling across the back roads of mid America is pure Americana. And the final shot of the team photograph on the gymnasium wall with Hackman's echoing words just made this film for me. Whenever you feel down and out slip this movie in your player.

Rating:
Summary: Great Sports Entertainment!
Review: Based on a true high school basketball Cinderella story that occurred in 1954 in Indiana, Hoosiers is a must- see film about a team of young men who are forced to adjust to a brand- new coach (played by Gene Hackman) who has been hired to lead the team following his own banishment from college basketball for physically hitting one of his players. The movie, set in rural Indiana in the early 1950's, starts out simply enough, with scenes of open fields and of Hackman driving into the small town and heading to the high school to meet with the principle and find out more about his new job.

The plot of this film takes a few twists, but remains focused mostly on basketball. Hackman angers the basketball- crazy citizens of the town when he pulls some unusual coaching moves and loses the first two games of the season. He also raises some eyebrows when he hires the town drunk (played impeccably by Dennis Hopper, who received an Oscar nomination for his effort) as his assistant coach. Hackman makes this move to help Hopper gain confidence and get a new lease on life, but the locals think Hackman is too unorthodox for their tastes and they hold a town meeting to decide on whether or not to fire him from the job. Hackman survives and ultimately takes his team to the state finals and the championship game.

Hoosiers features some great music and a heartwarming story line that will keep viewers rooting for the underdog team, Hackman's Hickory Hucksters, all the way to the end of the film. The movie works on just about every level, with great drama and chemistry between the characters. And the scenes on the basketball court keep the action moving at a fast pace, with an excellent score (Hoosiers was nominated for the Oscar for best music) that keeps you in suspense, even though you already know the outcome of the movie.

The only thing I didn't care for in this movie was the love interest that develops between Hackman and one of the other co- stars, Barbara Hershey. It really doesn't have anything to do with the plot of the movie. I think the director included this to show some character development on the part of Hershey- a woman who is very skeptical and even a little insulting toward Hackman when he arrives at the school at the start of the movie. But the main theme of the film is basketball, and I think it would have been best if this "love" scene had been eliminated.

As far as sports movies go, Hoosiers ranks among my favorites of all- time. I have viewed this movie dozens of times and it still never fails to satisfy. It's an excellent representation of the American dream: Hackman getting a new start in life and success following his ban from college coaching; Hopper getting a second chance in life to beat his problem with alcoholism; and the underdog Hickory Hucksters basketball team getting the chance of a lifetime to beat a much larger school. Hoosiers is one of those rare treats in modern cinema that works at most every level and holds your interest throughout, even when you know very well what is going to happen. It's great sports entertainment, and a must- see motion picture for fans of the game of basketball.

Rating:
Summary: A classic and good all around sports movie.
Review: What a great movie this is. It has everything in it. Good Basketball, drama and ultimately triumph. A movie that shows a team or character that beats the odds and comes out a winner is always great to see. Even better is when it happened in real life. This is what this movie is based on, a tiny farming town in 1950's Indiana that rose above the odds and became the state champion by between a high school powerhouse that was at least 6 or 7 times bigger in population than the little high school.

Gene Hackman plays the coach of the team who has a mysterious background. He reminds me a bit of how the famous Bobby Knight is, a hard disciplinarian who instills pride, respect and total commitment to being the best. Barbara Hershey plays his protaganist at the beginning of the movie, but later becomes the love interest. Dennis Hopper, plays the town drunk, but who is also the source of basketball strategy that the team rely's on.
The high school basketball team players are unknown actors, but who cares? They do a great job.

It is also nice to see how the town really is supportive of the team, but that is how Indiana Basketball is in reality. The "innocence" of the 1950's is also shown in the movie, when things were a bit simpler and people had alot of faith in religion. That is nice to see as well, since I know alot of small farming communities do rely on the local church for their needs.

But all in all this is a great sports movie. It would seem hard to believe that such a small school can become a champion in sports, but that is what makes it great! I like to see it when an underdog can overcome and become a champion, like what Chaminade University did in 1983, when it beat the mighty Ralph Sampson and the University of Virginia in a pre-season tournament, or when Villanova beat the mighty Georgetown to become NCAA Basketball Champions in 1986 (I think).

Anyways this is a HIGHLY recommended movie!

Rating:
Summary: Living It
Review: I grew up in Indiana and am well-acquainted with the true story behind the 1954 State Championship from Milan. I've actually met a couple of the players from that team, one of whom plays a referee in the final game of this film.

The image that forever stays with me from this movie is that of Ollie, the unlikely hero being carried off the floor by his teammates, his fists pumping the air. To me there is no better image in the entire film than that. It epitomizes the message behind this movie and others like Rudy and Breaking Away, both of which, coincidentally, take place in Indiana and, like Hoosiers, are based on true stories. The message is that you can reach the unreachable.

How's that for sentimentality? Some have complained that the film is too sentimental, but in basketball-crazy Indiana, home to six of the ten biggest high school gyms in the nation (ours seated 8,200), the story behind Hoosiers was legendary. And that, naturally, is a big reason why this movie inspires me. Oh, yeah, and Gene Hackman and Dennis Hopper do a good job.

My only disappointment is that there are no notable features on the DVD. Of course, it was made in 1986, before a director had to consider how to make a movie and a movie about the movie.

Rating:
Summary: This movie was BETTER than 5-stars.........
Review: One of my all time favorite films, and the one that got me into LOVING Gene Hackman. And excellent adventure of an ex College basketball coach filling in the shoes of a small town high school basketball coach. With simply amazing acting from Hackman, who made this role into his own.

Based on a true story, this movie attemps to make us believe in a group of young men just trying to make something of themselves, and a coach with a last chance to succeed.

Hackman carries the movie, with help from an excellent Supporting Cast. Barbara Hershey plays the lonely teacher who finds a place in the heart of the coach. Beautifully played by both actors.

I would recommend this movie to any Hackman fans, or basketball fans. A touching film that doesn't dissapoint.

Rating:
Summary: Come on Hickory Huskers Team!
Review: This film is a winner. David Anspaugh made the best film of basket in all the story of the american cinema.
A script extremely simple but fullfilled with conviction, well written with unforgettable shots in the battle field.
Gene Haxkman gives one of his most famous performances as the chief of the team. Dennis Hopper shows us why he was nominated in 1986 for this role as supporting actor. His performance is extraordinary. Hershey as always makes the perfect balance for Hackman showing his inner interpretative force.
This film has been choosen as one of the classical film for management approachs ; togeteher with Tunes of glory, Moby Dick , The bridge over Kwai river and Lawrence of Arabia.
So watch this; the film is much more than a famous fact in Indiana in 1952. It's a life lesson; the metaphor of David and Goliat is underlined.
If you think carefully , this film is very close in what its epic actitude concerns with Seabiscuit, that pearl of David Ross , nominated recently as best movie by the Academy.
Watch this movie and let this item be part of your DVD collection.

Rating:
Summary: Classic!
Review: This is a must-have DVD for the sports enthusiast! Superb!

Rating:
Summary: Great Basketball "Good Guy" Wins Movie
Review: This is a movie I saw many years ago advertised on television but its release in Australia was limited. It isn't available in any format, so it has been excellent to be able to get it on DVD from the USA. A great movie with Hackman in particular playing a great part where despite the odds, the good guy wins. Suitable for any age, with special meaning for basketball fans. Some good action shots, but the story (based on fact) is what really gets you. The only minor downside is that there are no "special" features on the DVD, but it came from an era when that was not the norm.

Rating:
Summary: Corny, yes, but also very good.
Review: If I had read an outline of this story, I would probably have thought "too corny and unoriginal" and passed up on the movie. I'm glad I didn't, because it takes a concept that is, indeed, corny -- and yields a thoroughly enjoyable result. The acting, the cinematography, the wonderful music score, the realistic game sequences -- all are done to near perfection. My favorite scene is the one in which Coach Dale opens the door from the locker room and walks onto the floor to coach his first game at Hickory. The players are warming up, the band is playing the fight song, the crowd is on its feet in anticipation of the new season -- the electric feeling of the scene rings remarkably true to anyone who has experienced serious high school athletics.