Le grand défi

"Hoosiers" is a film that feels like it was made during Hollywood's Golden Age. The movie is somewhat based on the true story of a small Indiana high school that defied the odds in 1952 and won the state basketball championship. Gene Hackman is the mysterious, hard-nosed coach that must win at all costs. However, he has a secret from his past that could tear the team apart. Hackman does some of the best work of his storied career here. His character is reminiscent of his Oscar-winning turn in "The French Connection" some 15 years earlier. Barbara Hershey is super as usual as one of the school teachers in town. Dennis Hopper shines the most in his greatest screen role. He received his lone Oscar-nomination here by playing a drunken father of one of Hackman's players. "Hoosiers" is very similar to "The Last Picture Show" in its ability to show small-town life at its most realistic. It is also a film that will have the whole audience cheering, ala "Rocky". Easily the best basketball film ever made and one of the best, and most under-rated, films of the 1980s. 5 stars out of 5.

Gene Hackman gave his usual Oscar-winning performance while Dennis Hopper was simply outstanding. What can you say about a feel good movie like this. I've always enjoyed happy ending and this was one of the best. It almost made me feel like I wanted to be a basketball fan in Indiana in 1951. This movie left me feeling that I wanted to watch it again (I've already seen it five times). That's what great movies do to you, they force you to keep coming back. For me, Patton and The Sting were like that. I've seen Patton 15 times and The Sting at least 10. That's why I purchased Hoosiers instead of renting it. I've recommended it to my friends so they can derive the same satisfaction from it that I did. It helps to be a sports fan but not necessarily because this movie was a metaphor for life. It was truly a David versus Goliath-type story.

A movie that defines the idea of the underdogs rising to meet the challenge of greatness, Hoosiers gives the audience something to cheer for. A tough-as-nails coach with a heart of gold, a team of farmboys with dreams of making it to the state finals, a small town pinning their hopes on their little high school - the movie has it all. It is well-paced, and is not overladen with side-plots and frivolities. There are no doped-up, foul-mouthed players, no need for gratuitous "party hearty" shots of the players behaving like hedonists or abusing their opponents. Some sports movies may trade in that stock and be considered "great" for it; this film doesn't and it's better for it. Superbly cast, superbly acted, and superbly executed. A worthy addition to the library of any sports film fan.

What makes this one of the most popular sports films of all time isn't just the sport, it's because it's such a human-interest film, such a wonderful story of giving people second chances in life. Add a true-life David beat Goliath story and you have an appealing film.

It doesn't hurt that Gene Hackman is the star, either. He may not have that celebrity appeal or the looks of Clark Gable or Bratt Pitt, but this man can flat-out act! He makes a very believable high school basketball coach who is tough-but-fair on the outside and soft-and-compassionate on the inside.

The story of an extremely tiny school defying the odds and becoming a state champion in dramatic form was so inspiring that this film has played thousands of times for 20 years now by high school coaches to their kids for motivation.

But the key to the story is the coach getting a second chance in life to do what he loves and does best and he, in turn, giving others a second chance such as the alcoholic here played by Dennis Hopper. There are great lessons on teamwork, patience, tolerance and a whole bunch of other qualities. In one of the DVD documentaries, both Hackman and Hoppper comment on how many times people have approached them and THIS is the movie they mention that meant so much them. That says a lot since both men have made many famous movies.

An unsung hero of this movie is the cinematography. Man, this is beautifully filmed and the rural Midwest has never looked so pretty and appealing. It paints a beautiful picture of this part of the United States. It also paints a fond remembrance of the early 1950s. You get an honest-to-goodness feel of what it's like to be part of a basketball in this area during that time,

Basketball meant an awful lot - and still does - to these folks. If you are sports fan in particularly, this movie will bring a tear or two to your eyes. However, this story is for everyone who believes people deserve chances to overcome previous mistakes. Few films, whatever the topic, have the "heart" this movie demonstrates.

I rate it 7 basketballs out of ten. See this movie's discussion board to reply my comments.

The movie is loosely based on the 1954 season of the tiny town of the Milan Indians in Indiana. I dug up some facts about this team. It was coached by Marvin Wood and his coaching was met with great controversy in the town as in the movie. The movie plays with the actual events to increase drama but the real story seems just as sensational. It is called the greatest story in Indiana sports history. The team beat NBA great Oscar Roberston's high school team in the semifinals. Coach Wood actually did measure the height of the basketball goal in the fieldhouse to keep the team from being intimidated. Towards the end of the real final game, the Milan team was exhausted. To help out, Milan's best shooter, Bobby Plump, held the ball for an excruciating 4 minutes, an eternity in basketball, before taking a final shot. He then missed the shot! In the final seconds the Indians were able to get the ball back from Muncie and Plump hit the last second winning shot. Where the movie strayed is that the real `Hickory' team had a roster of 12 players, and the real coach was in his second year of coaching the team and was long-time married. I dunno if there was a real life alcoholic character like Shooter. Coach Wood died of cancer Oct. 13, 1999 at the age of 71. At the funeral the 1954 basketball team members who attended all wore carnations, dyed in the school's yellow-gold team color. Wood had often said, "God was coaching that team, not me."