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Hoosiers - 1986 "And David put his hand in the bag and took out a stone and slung it. And it struck the Philistine on the head and he fell to the ground. Amen."
I played basketball my whole life. Played in college, sort of outrageous I can call myself an NCAA athlete
. Still try to play today. Also my mom was born and raised in Indiana. Anyways I say all that to say it would be absolutely sacrilegious to not have this movie on my countdown. This is a love letter to basketball in the state where basketball is king. Makes me fall in love with basketball all over again anytime I see it.
There is nothing really outstanding about the movie. It's an underdog story told many times before and since. It's just handled with such care you can't help but to fall in love with it, especially if you are a basketball nut like me. The basketball scenes just feel and look poetic. Dennis Hopper is awesome in it as a drunken dad to one of the players who is also a great basketball mind. "Don't get caught watching the paint dry"
. Hackman is nothing revolutionary but he does a great job as the coach. Oh and Jimmy Chitwood is the most Indiana white boy basketball player name ever
. He is the man.
Maybe I am just so attracted to it because of the underdog basketball narrative. I am a 5'10 white kid who plays basketball. Safe to say I've always been an underdog on the court. I have to gain respect, it's never given its earned. I'll just always have a soft spot for this flick.
P.S. Lebron is going F*ck up Space Jam
Director - David Anspaugh
Best Performance - Gene Hackman as Coach Norman Dale
Rotten Tomatoes Score - 89%
Factoid - For the scene where Dennis Hopper walks onto the court drunk in the middle of the game, Hopper wanted a ten-second notice before calling action. At the ten-second notice, he spun around in circles until action was called, allowing him to stagger onto the court in an awkward fashion in order to appear drunk. He remembered James Dean in Giant (1956) asking George Stevens for 30 seconds so he could spin around to better feel the inebriation.
Stock In Countdown - Neutral