UnderRated By Many, But A Spirited Classic

Rating: 8/10 (29 May 2010)

With the recent death of Dennis Hopper whose support in this one as Shooter is a classic support role, this film was very much over looked by everybody when it was released. After all, this is only about high school basketball and it is very much a period piece. It is set in the 1950's, in the Mid-West, but with a very big city cast.
It was over looked despite the fact that this is the classic under dog from the small town getting to the state championship at the high school level. This is the theme that the NCAA's are built on in college basketball every year. Yet the film did not get positive press on it's initial release.
Then the film hit television, & like the Wizard of Oz, this film has a plot that plays well on television. It has Gene Hackman proving he is more than Popeye Doyle as he plays a high school basketball coach who rarely exists in reality. He plays that role with a relish that carries this film. With Shooter (Hopper) in support as a mentor, but a mentor with a drinking problem, a small school beats the odds. That is a heart which works in many classic motion pictures, & it works well here.
This is a big time cast working with a director who really, this is the best & only big time film he has directed. Like the underdog, his directing here is just classic. What makes this film work is the dream. This film represents that dream, the underdog coming through.
Hackmans speech, the cast around him, & a great story line, come together here by accident. While this is not Dennis Hoppers most memorable role, Shooter too represents this spirit.