150 Word Review: 'Hoosiers' (1986)
Ball of fire
Why does Indiana love basketball? Well, for one, it's an indoor sport that can be played during the long dark winter. So why do I love Indiana basketball? Because of Hoosiers, an underdog sports movie loosely inspired by the true story of a high school basketball team of farmboys who go all the way to state. Directed by David Anspaugh, Hoosiers is set in 1951 in the Middle of Nowhere, Indiana. The movie's period production is flawless, but Jerry Goldsmith's uplifting soundtrack uses 80's drum machines and synthesizers.
Hoosiers features titanic mid-career performances from Gene Hackman and Dennis Hopper. Hopper plays a town drunk with heartbreaking vulnerability. Hackman is a has-been coach given a second chance. His methods are unorthodox but he has what it takes to win. Has there ever been an actor as genuine and relaxed onscreen as Hackman? Every performance is a portrait of a fallible human.