Hoosiers [Blu-ray]

Overview

Hoosiers tells the true story of a group of underdogs who become champions. Set in the 1950s, Hoosiers is about a hard-luck, unemployed college basketball coach (Gene Hackman) who gets a chance to coach a small-town Indiana high-school basketball team. Facing resentment from the community and the team itself, Hackman manages to inspire his young athletes, leading them to the state championship with the help of the assistant coach (Dennis Hopper), who happens to be a recovering alcoholic.

Product Details

Release Date:	06/05/2012
UPC:	0883904266891
Original Release:	1986
Rating:	PG
Source:	Mgm (Video & Dvd)
Region Code:	A
Presentation:	[Wide Screen]
Sound:	[Dolby Digital Mono, Dolby Digital Stereo]
Language:	English
Time:	1:55:00
Sales rank:	1,295

Special Features

Hoosier History documentary ; Original 1954 championship game; Deleted scenes; Audio commentary

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Gene Hackman	Coach Norman Dale
Dennis Hopper	Wilbur Shooter Flatch
Barbara Hershey	Myra Fleener
Sheb Wooley	Cletus
Fern Persons	Opal Fleener
Chelcie Ross	George
Robert Swan	Rollin
Maris Valainis	Jimmy Chitwood
Scott Summer	Strap
Wade Schenk	Ollie
Kent Poole	Merle
Brad Long	Buddy
Brad Boyle	Whit
Steve Hollar	Rade
David Neidorf	Everett
Michael O'Guinne	Rooster
Wil Dewitt	Mr. Doty
John Robert Thompson	Sheriff Finley
Gloria Dorsen	Millie
Michael Sassone	Preacher Purl
Mike Dalzell	Carl
Eric Gilliom	J. June
Laura Robling	Loetta
Wade Schenck	Ollie
Scott Summers	Strap
Gloria Dorson	Millie
Sam Smiley	Referee - Cedar Knob
Ken Strunk	Referee - Dugger
Rich Komenich	Reporter
Robert Sutton	Reporter
Robert F. Boyle	Referee - Oolitic
John E. Blazier	Spectator
Jerry Goldsmith	Composer

Technical Credits

Angelo Pizzo

Alvin Sargent

David Anspaugh	Director
Angelo Pizzo	Screenwriter,Producer
John Daly	Executive Producer,Producer
Carter DeHaven III	Producer
Derek Gibson	Executive Producer,Producer
Graham Henderson	Producer
Alvin Sargent	Screenwriter
Ernie F. Orsatti	Stunts

Editorial Reviews

Nothing moves the sports purist like the charge of the underdog. The more improbable, the better. And in Hoosiers, director David Anspaugh's wonderful celebration of the sporting spirit, a small-town Indiana high school basketball team comes out of nowhere and, against all odds, makes it all the way to the state finals. (The fact that it's based on true story from 1954 gives this "Rocky" story a little extra punch.) Washed-up college coach Norman Dale (Gene Hackman) and basketball nut/town drunk Shooter (Dennis Hopper) lead a ragtag collection mostly of farm boys, to glory. Along the way, they find a higher meaning to life and realize they can accomplish far more than they had ever imagined. Although the theme here is an old one, the film is enlivened both by Hackman's artistry and by Hopper's touching performance -- one that earned him an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor in a Supporting Role.

Barnes & Noble - Charles Salzberg

No matter the quality of the film or its box office success, Gene Hackman has been one of the most consistently interesting actors since 1969's Bonnie and Clyde. In the decidedly straightforward Hoosiers, he could have played his role as written and gotten away with a cliched characterization. As usual, though, he brings a genuine human complexity to his single-minded basketball coach with something to hide. It's somewhat similar to one of Hackman's greatest roles, Harry Caul in The Conversation: both men are fish out of water unless surrounded by what they know, whether sound equipment or basketballs. Hackman keeps the film's other elements in the realm of believability. The "unknown" segment of the cast -- the townspeople and the team -- are also remarkably natural, and they bring an important authenticity to the setting. The David-and-Goliath formula is overused in American films, and Hoosiers walks a fine line of calculated sentimentality -- a line that director David Anspaugh and writer Angelo Pizzo would cross in their next effort, the football film Rudy. Dennis Hopper received an Oscar nomination for his supporting role, which many wags quipped was as much in recognition of his corrosive work that same year in Blue Velvet as it was for Hoosiers.

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