Plot: What’s it about?
First and foremost, this is not the life story of Bobby Knight (Thank God). Rather, it is the delightful story of an aging, once great coach, who finds solice in a small Indiana town as coach of the local basketball team. Academy Award winner, Gene Hackman (who is always great) plays Coach Norman Dale, a man with a past that they never really explain, except that he’s been in the Navy for the last 10 years and coached college basketball before that. The story is set in 1952, in the small Indiana town of Hickory, where Coach Dale quickly finds out how fast word gets around and is told first hand what he should and shouldn’t do with the High School basketball team.
Hickory is a small town, maybe a thousand people at most, and all the townspeople are very set in their ways, and rally around the local High School team as a way to “relive old glory days” as Myra (Barbara Hershey) puts it. They are reluctant to accept Dale as their new coach, and what they really want is their local “ringer”, Jimmy (Maris Valaninis) to come back and play for the team. Jimmy had quit the team the year before when his father died, and is now cared for by his neighbor (and acting principal) Myra Flanner. So what is the point of the movie, you may ask? The towm has to come to accept, no matter how much they hate it, Coach Norman Dale (a man with a past) as their new basketball coach. He has a habit of not conforming to the rules, getting kicked out of games, but has a head and a heart for the game and the kids who play the game.
Hoosiers is a basketball movie, plain and simple. Chances are, if you’re a basketball fan, that you’ve seen this fine film. And, chances are, that if you’re a basketball fan–you liked it. It’s a simple movie that isn’t about saving the world, but rather a story of determination and spirit that is bound to influence almost anyone who sees it. If you’re at all skeptical, I challenge you to watch “Hoosiers” and then tell me I’m wrong when I say it’s a winner!
Video: How does it look?
Hoosiers is presented in it’s original ratio of 1.85:1, and is dissapointingly not enhanced for 16:9 TV’s. They’ve had two chances to get this right now, but choose to take the low road both times. Still, the image is the best you’ll find out there, but there are several scenes with visible grain and artifacting. This movie is almost 15 years old (hard to believe) and is really starting to show it’s age. We need a new, special edition of “Hoosiers” with a new anamorphic transfer!
Audio: How does it sound?
A remixed Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack makes “Hoosiers” all the more interesting to watch. Jerry Goldsmith’s sountrack sounds a bit dated, but with the synthesizer humming throughout the movie, it sounds like it’s brand new. In some scenes I noticed a bit of a “dry” effect, most notably when Hackman (Coach Dale) is yelling at the players, it tends to break off. Other than that, the sound is very decent.
Supplements: What are the extras?
I restate my claim for a “Hoosiers” Special Edition. All you get is a two-page booklet which “substitutes” for some production notes, and on the disc itself you get a theatrical trailer. The new menus are neat, though… they have sound!
