Hoosiers (2007)

Blu-ray

Hoosiers is the inspirational, true basketball story about a small town team in Indiana, and their coach Norman Dale who lead them to their greatest glory. Gene Hackman plays Dale in a riveting performance as a man getting a second chance, but never backing away from his dreams of what a great team he can have and what honorable men his players can be. Hackman is aided in his job by a superb Dennis Hopper who plays the role of the alcoholic, Shooter. Barbara Hershey also makes good as Myra Fleener, a woman who knows how to handle Coach Dale. There is a strength and earnestness to all the performances, but it is the look of this movie that really engages us in the story. Director David Anspaugh has given this movie an almost morbidly dark look, yet the reality is that this helps to make Hoosiers eventually leave the darkness and enter the light.

If you want to be uplifted, if you want to see one of the most well acted, well shot and well crafted movies of the mid-1980s, Hoosiers will give you everything you need and then some.

No Extras came with this release.

While studios have always seemed to crank out these feel good sports movies, there is something about Hoosiers that seems to have always played with more authenticity. Sports films don't seem to consistently burn up the box office. Hoosiers made less than $30 but it is an institution amongst basketball enthusiasts. Contrast that with We Are Marshall (a football film yes, but you get the analogy), which did $42 million and if you add inflation into the mix the numbers come out about right. However, I don't know that people are ever going to look at that film with the same reverence that they hold for Hoosiers.

I guess my point is that this movie has stood the test of time. It is loved and watched to this day. You mention this film to people and they get that glow in their eyes. The story might be predictable but that is only because it is universal. It is something that we are able to grasp on to and relate with. Also, I maintain that I love movies because I want to be many of the characters I see on screen. That said, who wouldn't want to be one of the Hoosiers if not Norman Dale himself?

Should you have this movie in your Blu-ray collection? That's a no brainer. I just think they should have ported all the extras over from the Standard Special Edition, high def versions be damned!