HOLLYWOOD has put another coaching flick on the field. Fast on the heels of “Miracle,” which focused on coach Herb Brooks and the 1980 U.S.A. hockey team, and “Friday Night Lights,” which chronicled coach Gary Gaines’ drive to win a 1988 Texas state football championship, comes “Coach Carter.” A true-to-life saga, the gritty film features a hoops coach’s drive to have his kids win on the court and in the classroom.
This affinity for coach movies dates back at least to the 1940s with “Knute Rockne All American,” which glorified the life of the Notre Dame gridiron god.
“Coaches are charismatic characters,” says Rob Edelman (this name as published has been corrected in this text), author of “Great Baseball Films” and a film history teacher at SUNY Albany. “They make great heroes and villains, and they are involved in issues related to character-building, as well as winning and losing.”
“The best celluloid coaches are like the best celluloid drill sergeants,” Edelman says. “They may be tough and strict, but they are fair. They inspire loyalty because they teach their charges how to survive on the ball field or battlefield.”
Thomas Carter, the director of “Coach Carter” (no relation), believes his film takes the genre in a different direction.
“I think it’s unlike almost any sports movie because the real emphasis is not on sport,” he says. “This movie tries to elevate academic achievement above athletic achievement.”
Carter believes the popularity of big-screen coaches boils down to the audi-ence’s longing for leadership.
“We are all looking for the guy who is courageous enough to take the stand that nobody else will take,” he says. “In this movie, we have a coach who, in a very dramatic way, took a position not just on the basketball court but beyond the basketball court that really affected the lives of these kids in a very measurable way.”
Below, we evaluate game tape on some of the best examples of the cinema of coaching.
“Knute Rockne All American”
(1940)
KNUTE ROCKNE (Pat O’Brien)
PHILOSOPHY The Notre Dame gridiron legend is portrayed as a paragon of virtue and a teacher of “clean sportsmanship and right living.” His on-field innovations are also stressed, including his role in developing the forward pass.
THE BIG GAME Rockne appeals to his team at halftime of the big game against Army wrapped in blankets while in a wheelchair. He recalls the memory of the late Notre Dame halfback George Gipp and implores his boys to “win just one for the Gipper.”
“Rocky” (1976)
MICKY (Burgess Meredith)
PHILOSOPHY Mickey is a craggy, cantankerous gym rat who empha-sizes fundamentals and dresses and talks like a long-shoreman. He has been in the fight game for 50 years, though, and his clever training tricks, such as tying Rocky’s feet together to develop his balance, save Rocky in the ring.
THE BIG GAME When Rocky can’t see during his title fight against Apollo Creed because of a badly swollen eye, he begs his trainer to “cut me Mick.” Mickey gives the nod, and Rocky’s face is sliced so he can continue battling in the ring.
“Hoosiers” (1986)
NORMAN DALE (Gene Hackman)
PHILOSOPHY It’s 1951, and an aging coach with a great record but a violent history takes on tiny Hickory High’s basketball team. He gains his charges’ trust by showing them that disciplined passing and drilling on the fundamentals can make them winners.
THE BIG GAME Hickory plays in the state finals in Indianapolis’ cavernous 15,000-seat arena. Dale has his kids measure the court dimensions, which match Hickory’s. The trick settles them down, allowing them to compete on an even playing field and contend for the title.
“A League of Their Own” (1992)
JIMMY DUGAN (Tom Hanks)
PHILOSOPHY Baseball is a complicated, difficult game, and you have to have tough skin to accept a coach’s criticism, even if you’re in the fledgling 1940s women’s pro league. In other words, as Dugan sums up his stoic approach, “There’s no crying in baseball!”
THE BIG GAME Dugan resents having to coach a bunch of girls, and at first he’s either drunk or asleep in the dugout. When he realizes the women can play and want to win, he takes charge and leads the Rockford Peaches into the first women’s World Series.
“Any Given Sunday” (1999)
TONY D’AMATO (Al Pacino)
PHILOSOPHY This pro-football vet knows he can’t patronize his players — elite athletes who’ve played football since they could walk. D’Amato simply demands excellence from them and consoles and prays with them when they lose.
THE BIG GAME The world-weary D’Amato has lost his first- and second-string QBs and must make do with untried, high-strung sub Willie Beamen. After a terrible start in which Beamen vomits in the huddle, D’Amato helps him focus and gets the team to the playoffs.
“Remember the Titans” (2000)
HERMAN BOONE (Denzel Washington)
PHILOSOPHY Thrown into a racially explosive situation on a Virginia high school football team in 1971, Titans coach Boone uses drill sergeant discipline. His methods include 3 a.m. runs through swamps, but he creates a team that is “mobile, agile, hostile.”
THE BIG GAME The Titans are in the state championship after losing a star player to injury. Boone has to rally the troops and sacrifice his own ego by burying the hatchet with the white coach he replaced and work with him to ensure a chance at victory.
“Miracle” (2004)
HERB BROOKS (Kurt Russell)
PHILOSOPHY Brooks is a hard-nosed, draconian disciplinarian who stresses conditioning to the extreme. as he coaches the 1980 U.S.A. Olympic hockey team. His mantra is teamwork, and he has no tolerance for individual stars. As he drills “skating, passing, flow, creativity,” the team gels as a unit.
THE BIG GAME Russell’s performance makes the memory of U.S.A.’s victory over the Russians come back to life. His pregame speech, in which he tells his team, “This is your time,” will send icy chills down your spine.
“Friday Night Lights” (2004)
GARY GAINES (Billy Bob Thorton)
PHILOSOPHY At first, Gaines seems like a win-at-all-costs football fanatic who cares little for the welfare of his young players. But as the clock winds down, we discover heart, soul and wisdom underneath that gruffness as he helps his players mature on and off the field.
THE BIG GAME Gaines takes his small but tough team to the state finals. And while he coaches a great game, the outcome is very un-Hollywood. In the end, he teaches his players as much about living as he does about winning.
“Coach Carter” (2005); KEN CARTER (Samuel L. Jackson)
PHILOSOPHY Books before basketball. That’s the bottom line for the coach of the Richmond High Oilers. Carter requires his players to sign contracts stipulating they will maintain a 2.3 GPA, attend all their classes and sit in the front row. Eventually, the discipline his kids learn positively affects their play and their scholastic performance.
THE BIG GAME The previous season, the Oilers won only four games. With his focus on conditioning, speed and pace, Carter guides them to an undefeated regular season and a spot in the state playoffs. But before they get there, the coach deals with some players underperforming in class by locking the gym and forcing them into the library.
