Hoosiers (1986)

Hoosiers (1986)
Failed college coach Norman Dale (Gene Hackman) gets a chance at redemption when he is hired to direct the basketball program at a high school in a tiny Indiana town. After a teacher (Barbara Hershey) persuades star player Jimmy Chitwood to quit and focus on his long-neglected studies, Dale struggles to develop a winning team in the face of community criticism for his temper and his unconventional choice of assistant coach: Shooter (Dennis Hopper), a notorious alcoholic.
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Release Date: 1986

DVD Release Date: December 10th, 1997

PG |1 hr 54 min

Plot Summary

Failed college coach Norman Dale (Gene Hackman) gets a chance at redemption when he is hired to direct the basketball program at a high school in a tiny Indiana town. After a teacher (Barbara Hershey) persuades star player Jimmy Chitwood to quit and focus on his long-neglected studies, Dale struggles to develop a winning team in the face of community criticism for his temper and his unconventional choice of assistant coach: Shooter (Dennis Hopper), a notorious alcoholic.

Cast: Gene Hackman, Barbara Hershey, Dennis Hopper, Sheb Wooley, Fern Persons, Brad Boyle, Steve Hollar, Brad Long

Director: David Anspaugh

Genres: Drama

Production Co: Hemdale Film Corporation [us]

Keywords: Underdog , Competition , Rise , Father , 1950s , Heartwarming , Inspiring , Small town ,

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Basketball Movies Film Fixation: Hoosiers

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Ratings & Reviews

100
Roger EbertChicago Sun-Times
In the way it combines sports with human nature, it reminded me of another wonderful Indiana sports movie, "Breaking Away." It's a movie that is all heart. show more
88
Mike ClarkUSA Today
This is one of the best re-creations ever of the early-'50s Midwest. [11 Sept 1987, Life, p.3D]
100
Peter StackSan Francisco Chronicle
The pieces of the drama are put forth like the shapes of the five fingers of a hand, and finally they find a kind of awkward unity that was predictable from the start. And yet, the gesture of it all is utterly captivating, the way a dream would be if it ever really came true. [27 Feb 1987, Daily Datebook, p.74]