Hoosiers

How about this: the Rocky of high school basketball teams. Based, apparently, on a real occurrence back in the 50's when a team from a tiny town in Indiana won the state championship, the picture is pretty good. Gene Hackman is great as the coach (he too gets better every viewing) and the picture succeeds by virtue of its restraint. The fact is that this is a formula that will never fail if it is handled well (at least it will never fail for me) and it is certainly handled well here. It has much the same sheen and aura as “The Natural” and yes, evokes “Chariots of Fire” as well. There is a fine eye for the details of rural life in that era (at least as I imagine it was) and all the players are fine. Barbara Hershey looks lovely in a worn sort of way; I really like her. The most interesting character is Jimmy, the Christ-like star player, who has about three lines of dialogue in the entire picture. Really nicely photographed as wéll. The picture is about basketball, but also about small town life, and the virtues of integrity, discipline, and sportsmanship.

In its attempt to avoid the sensational, the picture tries often to avoid emphasis on the scores, and on occasion you don't even know what the outcome of the games were. But when push comes to shove, of course, they have to show you, and they do, and it is very exciting as they struggle towards the ultimate victory. Dennis Hopper, late of “Blue Velvet,” is also very good as the town drunk (and father of one of the players) who enjoys a brief redemption. The picture makes you happy and leaves you wondering whatever happened to those kids (that might make for an interesting picture, too... or was it already made as “That Championship Season?”). As the TIMES said, the picture’s chief virtue is its guilelessness, its lack of artistic pretension. A friend of mine said it was a great picture, but he likes basketball too much to be objective; besides, he doesn't know what the word means. In any event, he is wrong; it is not a great picture, but it is a terrific one.