Hoosiers (1986)

User Rating:

7.5/10   

Director:

David Anspaugh

Writer:

Angelo Pizzo (written by)

Release Date:

14 November 1986 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Sport

Tagline:

They needed a second chance to finish first.

Plot:

A coach with a checkered past and a local drunk train a small town high school basketball team to become a top contender for the championship.

Plot Keywords:

Coach | Team | High School | Indiana | Basketball

Awards:

Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 3 wins & 3 nominations

US TV Schedule:

Sun. July 12

8:00 PM

CW

Cast

Gene Hackman	...	Coach Norman Dale
Barbara Hershey	...	Myra Fleener
Dennis Hopper	...	Shooter
Sheb Wooley	...	Cletus
Fern Persons	...	Opal Fleener
Chelcie Ross	...	George
Robert Swan	...	Rollin
Michael O'Guinne	...	Rooster
Wil Dewitt	...	Reverenf Doty
John Robert Thompson	...	Sheriff Finley
Michael Sassone	...	Preacher Purl
Gloria Dorson	...	Millie
Mike Dalzell	...	Mayor Carl
Skip Welker	...	Junior (as Calvert L. Welker)
Eric Gilliom	...	J. June

Also Known As:

Best Shot (UK)

Runtime:

114 min

Country:

UK | USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (CFI)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Certification:

Australia:PG | UK:PG | Argentina:Atp | Chile:TE | Finland:S | Sweden:Btl | USA:PG | Singapore:PG | Iceland:L

Filming Locations:

Brownsburg, Indiana, USA

Company:

De Haven Productions

Trivia:

Based on the 1954 Indiana State champs, Milan Indians.

Goofs:

Continuity: During the game when Everett Flatch cuts his shoulder open, he can be seen on the court after Coach Dale benches him.

Quotes:

Coach Norman Dale: [after sitting an injured Everett] Strap, in for Everett. Don't shoot the ball unless you're under the basket all by yourself!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Strongbad_email.exe: Disc Six (2008) (V)

Soundtrack:

Butler War Song

A superb time-capsule of mid-century, mid-western Americana.

This movie is authentic nostalgia for anyone who grew up in the mid-west in the 50's and 60's. It's what life looked like when I myself "came down to this planet" in the late 1940's and experienced my teens in the 60's.

The old school with high ceilings and gleaming wooden floors, the gyms with the gold-toned wall-tiles, even the hospital scene with the nurse in her starched white uniform -- all evoke a peculiar beauty that you no longer find today.

There is even a scene where a young teen girl yells "NO!" to an unjust referee call, and her pointy glasses and pony tail look so much like me back then, it feels like a glimpse into a parallel dimension.

I'd say this is a must-see experience for people my age -- although all ages can thoroughly enjoy the basketball action.

I'm glad for the social progress since then. But there is a "peculiar beauty" from those times that is starkly missing today.