Starring:
Josh Lucas as Coach Don Haskins
Derek Luke as Bobby Joe Hill
Jon Voight as Coach Adolph Rupp
Austin Nichols as Jerry Armstrong
Evan Jones as Moe
Schin A.S. Kerr as David Lattin
Alphonso McAuley as Orsten Artis
Mehcad Brooks as Harry Flournoy
Sam Jones III as Willie Worsley
Damaine Radcliff as Willie Cager
Emily Deschanel as Mary Haskins
Al Shearer as Nevil Shed
Kip Weeks as Togo Railey
Red West as Ross Moore
Mitch Eakins as Dick Myers
Alejandro D. Hernandez as David Palacio
James Olivard as Louis Baudoin
Wilbur Fitzgerald as Wade Richardson
Andy Stahl as Dr. Ray
Brett Rice as George McCarty
Wes Brown as Pat Riley
Special Features:
“Legacy of the Bear”: Highlights of Coach Haskins’ Illustrious Career
“Surviving Practice”: An Inside Look Into Coach Haskins’ Training Regimen
“In Their Own Words — Remembering 1966”: Extended Interviews with Players and Colleagues of Coach Haskins
Alicia Keys Music Video — “Sweet Music”
Deleted Scenes
Two Audio Commentaries: Director James Gartner & Producer Jerry Bruckheimer; Writers Chris Cleveland & Bettina Gilois
Other Info:
Widescreen (2.35:1)
English Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround
Subtitles: French, Spanish
Picture: Running Time: 118 Minutes
Synopsis:
The following is from the DVD cover:
“The studio that brought you Remember the Titans now delivers another winner with this exciting and inspirational true story of the team that changed college basketball — and the nation — forever! Josh Lucas (Sweet Home Alabama) stars as future Hall of Fame coach Don Haskins of tiny Texas Western University, who bucks convention by simply starting the best players he can find: history’s first all-African American lineup. In a turbulent time of social and political change, their unlikely success sends shock waves through the sport that follow the underdog Miners all the way to an epic showdown with all-white, #1 ranked Kentucky for the National Championship!”
Glory Road is rated PG for racial issues including violence and epithets, and mild language.
Mini-Review:
Simply put, if you liked Remember the Titans, you’re probably going to like Glory Road. Both films are produced by Jerry Bruckheimer. Both films deal with underdog teams coming out of nowhere to win championships. Both films deal with racism on and off of the field or court. Both films are based on true stories. And the fact that Glory Road is based on a true story is what makes it most interesting. If it hadn’t been, then this would have seemed like a ripoff of Titans. But as it is, this ends up depicting a team that changed not only basketball, but all American sports and how they are played.
This film is almost more about race relations than it is about sports. A majority of the film takes place off of the basketball court. But that being said, the game sequences are exciting. You don’t really have to know much about basketball to follow them and get pulled into the emotions of the scenes.
Glory Road features a great cast. Josh Lucas is good as Coach Don Haskins, a man who is colorblind when it comes to putting together a team. Still, he knows exactly what he’s getting into when he puts his controversial team together. More notable is Jon Voight as Coach Adolph Rupp. With the help of makeup and a Southern accent, he totally transforms into a character that seems like Ross Perot’s brother. The team itself is a memorable bunch with Derek Luke leading them as Bobby Joe Hill.
If you like sports films or are intrigued by films discussing racism, then Glory Road is a movie you’re going to want to check out.
This DVD has a strong selection of bonus features. First up is “Legacy of the Bear”. It discusses the life and career of Coach Haskins. What he achieved is quite remarkable. Oddly, though, he’s rarely seen speaking about himself in the video. They leave most of the talking to his former players and assistant coaches. “Surviving Practice” shows how Haskins conducted practices and drilled his players. You hear many players say how hard he was and you even see Haskins drill the actors in the film. Next up is “In Their Own Words — Remembering 1966”. In this video the players discuss what it was really like living and playing in this era. I was a bit shocked to hear that the players’ fellow blacks even ridiculed them for being “Uncle Toms”. It wasn’t just racist white folks giving them a hard time. It’s quite interesting to hear about what happened straight from the guys that lived it. The Alicia Keys music video “Sweet Music” has a nice tune, but the video is a mere 2 minutes long. You’ll also find a batch of Deleted Scenes, many of which feature more of Jon Voight as Coach Rupp. Another amusing deleted scene shows the players roused out of bed late one night to go frog hunting. Finally, there are two Audio Commentaries one with Director James Gartner & Producer Jerry Bruckheimer and a second with writers Chris Cleveland & Bettina Gilois.
