Hoosiers

The sports film Hoosiers is directed by David Anspaugh and stars Gene Hackman, Barbara Hershey, and Dennis Hopper. The film takes place in 1951 Indiana. The film starts off with Norman Dale (Hackman) coming to a high school in Indiana to coach the team and also teach. He is not welcomed very warmly by the town because of how they are not used to change. Dale has not coached basketball for twelve years due to the fact that he was in the marines. At first the basketball season goes quite poorly and everyone in the town thinks that it is because that Jimmy, the town's best player, is not playing on the team because his mother is sick and that his father died. The local drunk of the town, Shooter (Hopper), knows much about the sport and becomes Dale's assistant coach. The two of them try and lead the team to a successful season and maybe a championship. Yippee! The screenplay was written by Angelo Pizzo and is one of the corniest films I have ever seen. How does someone make a true story feel so fake? It feels so formulaic in how that the team is down but then they come up and then they go down again. It seems like Pizzo just read the guidelines for how to make a basic sports film. There was just too much on the side of the sports story that makes it feel fake. For one is how suddenly the coach and Myra Fleener have a relationship out of nowhere and it really has no effect on the film at all. Another is how at every game they win with only three seconds left and it is really lucky. I've seen many basketball games and that really happens. So the screenplay for this film is poor. The direction for this film by Anspaugh was also poor. He helped create the fakeness and corniness that is felt throughout the film. The only thing I can say that he did well was get good performances out of his actors, but I have a feeling that since Hackman and Hopper are some of the greatest actors there are they just gave good performances without the help of Anspaugh. It also annoys how directors think that when they have shots of beautiful scenery it makes them a good director. It is not that hard to do that and it is not something for a director to be proud of. As I said in the last paragraph the acting was pretty good. Hackman played the coach and he gave a funny yet motivational performance and kept the film entertaining. His character did not have that much depth so Hackman couldn't really give that much depth so that is why Hackman couldn't really give a great performance. Hershey's character I truly believed had no purpose in the film besides being an unneeded love interest for the coach and she did not give a memorable performance what so ever. Dennis Hopper is the only one that really shined in this film as the drunk man trying to get his act together to be the assistant coach. When he performed best I believed was when he was forced to coach when Hackman was kicked out and his nervous face was just so funnily brilliant. I think he deserved his Oscar nomination and he made the film. Overall I give this film a 5/10. I would have given it lower if it wasn't for Dennis Hopper's performance. I would recommend this film for anyone who enjoys the sports genre.

I have seen it more times than southern people have been UFO's. It's a true story of a basketball coach who led his little high school basketball team to victory against all odds. Coach Norman Dale (Gene Hackman) is a former college basketball coach of the Ithaca Warriors who turns up in French Lick, Indiana to coach their local high school basketball team. He has a checkered past and a history of causing trouble. Right off the bat he gets into it with Barbara Hershey who is a teacher who becomes acting principal when the former one has a heart attack. Hershey doesn't like Dale at first but gradually warms up and becomes his ardent supporter and romantic interest. The townspeople don't like the Coach at all either and try to get him fired to no avail. But Dale has a recipe for success and it shows quickly when his team keeps winning and winning. I must say all the performances are terrific the best being Hackman and Dennis Hopper in his best role as Shooter, an alcoholic dad of one of the players who loves and knows basketball better than anyone and who Hackman recruits as assistant coach. Hopper is pure magic and it's touching to watch him with Hackman as Dale cares about him and won't give up on him. If you haven't ever watched this one do so it's an inspiration.

David Anspaugh's "Hoosiers" is a film about the passion to excel in sports. It's also about a man's comeback to the game after a rough patch in his own life. "Hoosiers" is a timeless film that will look good after years of its release because it speaks to us about how someone can inspire a group of people to do their best, as they become confident in what they are trying to accomplish. The film was lovingly written for the screen by Angelo Pizzo. Coach Norman Dale gets a reprieve in life when he is hired to coach the Hickory basket ball team in rural Indiana. Basketball is the game where most people in that state take an unusual interest. Their passion for the sport is evident. The new coach is looked with suspicion because he is an outsider and he believes in teamwork. He wants everyone to participate equally, which doesn't make for excitement in the court. The coach doesn't want anyone overshadowing another, that's why he insists in total involvement. Needless to say, his method clashes with the parents and towns people from the start. The coach's past comes to haunt him when Myra Fleener, one of the teachers, discovers an article that reveals an incident Mr. Dale would like to forget. At the same time, Myra realizes the goodness in the coach's heart by involving the drunken Shooter into helping him with the team. Gene Hackman has one of the best opportunities of his distinguished career with his portrayal of Coach Dale. He is splendid in the film and he wins us with his decency and by sticking to his principles, which he passes on to the team members. Barbara Hershey is also good as Myra, the young woman who falls in love with Dale. Dennis Hopper plays Shooter, the father of one of the kids in the team who has a drinking problem. "Hoosiers" is an inspiring film that ought to be seen by young people because of its message about team spirit and how to interact with one another in peace and harmony.

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Trailer—Hoosiers

Hoosiers

This site shows this movie to have about the normal number of "goofs" (here, all minor) - but its "perfection" is in the fact that this is an interesting, truly uplifting story, with warm characters, outstanding performances, and an appeal to everyone, whatever sex, age, background - and equally for those who know and/or care little for the game of basketball. There isn't a finer actor around than Gene Hackman, and Dennis Hopper is in the same league. All of the rest of the cast perform admirably, also. With the film now 20-years-old, since it depicted events in the 1950's, 30 years prior, it is just as fresh, and even a bit more nostalgic now than when originally released. (An interesting fact to note if you watch the film again: the actor playing Jimmy, the team's super-stat, while athletic, had not been a basket-baller in real life; whereas the shorter young man playing the team's "scrub," was the best in reality, and had to "act" to appear less-talented than he was.)

I am not a big sports fan, but I do like a good film with some. Hoosiers is exactly that, one of the better ones along with Breaking Away and Remember the Titans. Is it clichéd? Perhaps, but even so everything else is so good you are past caring. The movie looks beautiful with crisp cinematography and scenery and the basketball sequences are stunning. Jerry Goldsmith's score is very evocative, the film is sharply directed, the script has a perfect balance and the story is heart-warming and snappily paced. The acting I have no qualms with either, Gene Hackman is simply brilliant as is Dennis Hopper. Overall, Hoosiers(or Best Shot) is wonderful and one of the better sports movies out there. 10/10 Bethany Cox

A coach with a checkered past (Gene Hackman) and a local drunk (Dennis Hopper) train a small town high school basketball team to become a top contender for the championship. Although I am not one who cares for basketball or sports films (they all seem to follow the same general plot), this one does have some good things going for it. Namely, Gene Hackman, who never makes a bad movie (or at least never plays a bad role). And Dennis Hopper, who is something of a wild card and is appropriately cast as a drunk. Beyond that, it is just a feel good movie. Nothing too heavy, sort of the thing you expect from the 1980s. And that is just alright.