Hoosiers (1986)
89%RT Audience Score: 88%
Awards & Nominations: Nominated for 2 Oscars
3 wins & 5 nominations total
It may adhere to the sports underdog formula, but Hoosiers has been made with such loving craft, and features such excellent performances, that it’s hard to resist.
Hoosiers is a slam dunk of a movie! It’s got heart, it’s got basketball, and it’s got Gene Hackman giving a performance that’s so good, it’s like he’s been practicing his whole life for this role. And let’s not forget about Dennis Hopper, who brings his A-game as the town drunk turned assistant coach. Sure, it’s a bit manipulative and conventional, but who cares when you’re rooting for the underdogs and feeling all the feels? This movie is a winner in my book!
Production Company(ies)
Discovery Channel, Jigsaw Productions, Tall Woods
Distributor
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, MGM/UA Home Entertainment Inc., Orion Pictures
Release Type
Theatrical
Filming Location(s)
Knightstown, Indiana, USA
MPAA / Certificate
PG
Year of Release
1987
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Color:Color
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Sound mix:Dolby Stereo
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Aspect ratio:1.85 : 1
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Runtime:1h 54m
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Language(s):English
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Country of origin:United States
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Release date:Release Date (Theaters): Nov 14, 1986 Original
Release Date (Streaming): Feb 29, 2000
Genre(s)
Drama
Keyword(s)
starring Gene Hackman, Barbara Hershey, Dennis Hopper, Sheb Wooley, Fern Persons, Brad Boyle, directed by David Anspaugh, written by Angelo Pizzo, drama, box office performance, budget, reviewed by Chris Stuckmann, Steven D Greydanus, Richard Schickel, Rick Groen, Pat Graham, James Berardinelli, Mike Massie, Matt Brunson, Ángel Luis Inurria, Rachel Wagner, Emanuel Levy, Randy White, PG rating, high school basketball, sports underdog, redemption, community criticism, unconventional coaching, alcoholism, teacher-student relationship, small town, Indiana, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, MGM/UA Home Entertainment Inc., Orion Pictures, Surround sound, Stereo sound
Worldwide gross: $28,607,524
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $76,360,201
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,148
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 8,327,176
US/Canada gross: $28,607,524
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): $76,360,201
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 880
US/Canada opening weekend: $220,068
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): $587,413
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,369
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): $6,000,000
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): $16,015,409
Production budget ranking: 1,484
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): $8,624,298
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): $51,720,494
ROI to date (est.): 210%
ROI ranking: 609
Barbara Hershey – Myra Fleener
Dennis Hopper – Shooter
Sheb Wooley – Cletus
Fern Persons – Opal Fleener
Brad Boyle – Whit
Director(s)
David Anspaugh
Writer(s)
Angelo Pizzo
Producer(s)
Angelo Pizzo, Carter DeHaven
Film Festivals
Awards & Nominations
Nominated for 2 Oscars
3 wins & 5 nominations total
Academy Awards
Oscar Nominees
All Critics (46) | Top Critics (13) | Fresh (42) | Rotten (4)
This film has so much heart. Every time I watch it, I am on the verge of tears for almost the entire runtime.
February 17, 2021 | Rating: A
Chris Stuckmann
ChrisStuckmann.com
TOP CRITIC
The filmmakers are at the top of their game.
October 29, 2008 | Rating: A-
Steven D. Greydanus
Decent Films
TOP CRITIC
Hackman is wonderful as an inarticulate man tense with the struggle to curb a flaring, mysterious anger.
August 1, 2008
Richard Schickel
TIME Magazine
TOP CRITIC
Shameless, yes, but open your eyes, close your mind, sit back and enjoy.
March 21, 2007
Rick Groen
Globe and Mail
TOP CRITIC
Bobby Knight would not be amused, though Tark the Shark might’ve had a good laugh at the naive masquerade.
March 21, 2007
Pat Graham
Chicago Reader
TOP CRITIC
Basketball movies don’t get any better.
March 21, 2007 | Rating: 3.5/4
James Berardinelli
ReelViews
TOP CRITIC
There are quite a number of practicing and shooting and gameplay montages, but it’s actually the character interactions that remain most stirring.
January 2, 2022 | Rating: 7/10
Mike Massie
Gone With The Twins
Much of its appeal comes courtesy of Gene Hackman, whose work here — a canny mix of aw-shucks bluster and below-the-surface slyness — was a warm-up for the career-best performance he would deliver two years later in Mississippi Burning.
June 7, 2021 | Rating: 3.5/4
Matt Brunson
Film Frenzy
Hoosiers benefits from David Anspaugh’s experience as a TV director, from the soundtrack, and the performances. [Full Review in Spanish]
March 26, 2020
Ángel Luis Inurria
El Pais (Spain)
Hoosier certainly qualifies [as a great sports moive].
June 28, 2019
Rachel Wagner
Rachel’s Reviews (YouTube)
An enjoyable, if conventional and manipulative small-town sports melodrama, boasting strong turns from Gene Hackman and Dennis Hopper, who received his only acting nomination for his part.
April 22, 2012 | Rating: B
Emanuel Levy
EmanuelLevy.Com
A tale of heroic sportsmanship.
January 2, 2011 | Rating: 5/5
Randy White
Common Sense Media…
Plot
Based on the true story of a small-town Indiana team that made the state finals in 1954, this movie chronicles the attempts of a coach with a spotty past, and the town’s basketball-loving drunk to lead their high school team to victory.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
Dennis Hopper received his only Academy Award nomination for his role as Shooter in Hoosiers.
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