Hoosiers (1986)

"You Are All Winners in My Book"

Gene Hackman tells the boys that as they are about to take part in the state championship game at Butler stadium. Basically, he is with them, win or lose.

Hackman plays Norman Dale, a last chance basketball coach who was a national title winner in his university coaching days, however, his career ended suddenly. He was in the navy for the last few decades and here is his opportunity to get back into basketball. He comes to the small town of Hickory Indiana with a high school population of 65 students to coach and teach at the school. All the town ever thinks about is basketball. Some are stuck in the failure they had in their youth.

Dale has to face the challenge of a lack of respect from the kids, the parents and the whole town. There are glimmers of hope as one kid who walked off the court is brought back by his dad and apologizes. The story is, hey just let him coach. Hickory has only 6 players at the beginning with the best player sitting out basketball for his own reasons. Jimmy is the best player that people have seen in years. Dale acts unimpressed and tells Jimmy that in a one way conversation. His caretaker is played by Barbara Hershey, who is also a teacher in the school who is unfriendly toward Dale from the time he arrives.

Dale sticks to his guns and his process of leading his team. Eventually the team starts to get it, but the town has had it with his approach. Just as you think the door is closing, things turn around and Dale gets to continue to lead his team with the best player and finally, the full contingent of players he needs. Although a small school, they go on to beat teams much bigger then they getting them into the championship game.

The story has a lot of elements to it, persistence, a clear desire of everyone to be a winner, difference of opinion on how to get there, compassion and even a little love story to broaden the appeal of the movie. December 23, 2008

Hoosiers - the best sprots movie around

This is the best sprots that I have ever seen. The producers probably did the movie an injustice with the decision not to include some of the deleted scenes that are on the feature DVD. Specifically the harvest scene and the scene where Buddy is allowed back on the team. The movie makers were very smart to use actual basketball players - the athletic action was superb. Buy the DVD set. December 8, 2008

Last Chance at Redemption

Hoosier is a great sports movie and great storytelling. Shot in 1986 as a early 50s period piece, it will remain timeless. Hoosiers is the standard underdog sports movie, but a carefully crafted script with complex characters, great acting, and a superb music score lift it far above most of the other films in the genre.

Hoosiers is also the story of two men's struggle for redemption. A mature aspect of the script is that Coach Dale is not portrayed as wrongly accused or even justified in his prior actions. He really did do something dreadful as a coach a decade previously and he continues to struggle against the same impulses that threaten to destroy his life. This makes him sympathetic to one of the player's father who is wrecking all the lives around him with a different self-destructive compulsion.

Beyond a wonderful small town story of victory against all odds, Jerry Goldsmith wrote an outstanding uplifting musical score. Goldsmith was nominated for an academy award, but didn't win. I haven't looked up what beat him out, but I suspect the Academy made a mistake.

The Shut Mouth Society
The Shopkeeper November 10, 2008

The king of all sports movies...

I often lament about the fact that sports movies in general are repetitive and clichéd and that there are rarely any truly inspirational and or original attempts at the genre. In fact, aside from `Friday Night Lights' I have yet to be truly impressed with a sports movie really. That was all until I saw `Hoosiers' last night, a film that I had avoided because of the whole `sports movie' stigmata and just really felt it was going to be yet another sappy true story with all the same dynamics as every other sappy true story.

I was wrong.

Yes, `Hoosiers' follows a familiar formula when it comes to telling the story of the Hickory Huskers, and Indiana high school basketball team that rises to greatness under the wing of their new coach Norman Dale. What sets the film apart though are the wonderfully fleshed out characters that add weight and depth to the film. It flows the same as most sports films do, but this film has heart whereas most sports movies do not. The brilliant performances also aid in this regard, adding layers of emotional attachment to the people involved and causing the audience to invest themselves fully into the film.

Norman Dale is an ex-college basketball coach who has spent that last ten years in the navy after being fired for punching a player in the face. This single mistake has plagued Dale for years and it still hangs over his head as he attempts to move forward and coach this high school team. The problem is that the town of Hickory is a very emotionally invested town, each and every individual taking a special interest in the basketball team, and so the insertion of new blood sends the town in a frenzy. They immediately attack Dale for his unconventional coaching techniques, and when the team doesn't perform too well on the court the town tries to get Dale fired. Still, Dale presses forward, trying his best to move his team in the right direction, and he soon begins to make friends out of a few influential townsfolk, most importantly Jimmy, the towns basketball star who refused to play after his previous coach died.

The film, like almost every other sports themed drama, makes a point to be an inspirational and moving film about overcoming obstacles to attain greatness, and in that respect it works much grander than most other films thanks to the wonderful performances by the cast. Gene Hackman (one of our greatest working actors) is a joy as Norman Dale, giving his character so much warmth and undeniable charm. He is the outcast, he is the rebel but he is so comfortable and charismatic that you want to rally beside him every step of the way. Barbara Hershey is also wonderful as Myra Fleener, the young teacher who is initially turned off by Dale but soon falls for him. She does a beautiful job of fleshing out her characters real drive and motivations.

The real star here is Dennis Hopper, who thankfully earned an Oscar nomination for his performance. He really sinks deep into his character, giving him such a believable arch. As Shooter, the town drunk, Hopper plays on our sympathies, but never leaves us without reason to sympathize. He isn't lazy with his portrayal but really works at building layers around this man.

So, if you are a sports fan, or a fan of sports films, then no doubt you've already seen this film. If you are not a fan of either (like myself) then I urge you to consider this one, because it is far from your average cliché. This movie really has heart and soul, and it really raises the bar for all other sports related dramas to try and reach. September 26, 2008

BLU-RAY REVIEWS?

WHO TO BELIEVE?

Hoosiers{Blu-Ray Version}, April 18, 2008
By Sam - See all my reviews
GREAT SPORTS MOVIE! INSTEAD OF REVIEWING MOVIE, WHICH WE ALL KNOW IS A GREAT SPORTS MOVIE, JUST WANTED TO SAY THE BLU-RAY PICTURE IS A HUGE IMPROVEMENT OVER MY OLD DVD. I'M ONLY REPLACING MY OLD MOVIES THAT I LOVE BUT LOOK BAD ON MY NEW HDTV. WAS VERY PLEASED WITH THE PICTURE QUALITY ON THIS. THE ONLY DRAWBACK TO THIS BLU-RAY IS THERE AREN'T ANY EXTRAS EXCEPT FOR A TRAILER. BUT IF YOUR LOOKING FOR BETTER PICTURE QUALITY, YOU WON'T BE DISSAPOINTED.


Hoosiers good movie but not enough., May 6, 2007
By J. J. Esquivel Becerra "Charolin" (Mexico City) - See all my reviews
It's a good movie but a poor transfer to Bluray.


June 30, 2008

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