Friday Night

Starring:ValÃ©rie Lemercier, Vincent Lindon, HÃ©lÃ¨ne de Saint-PÃ¨re, HÃ©lÃ¨ne FilliÃ¨res, Florence Loiret, GrÃ©goire Colin, Gilles D'Ambra, Micha Lescot, Gianfranco Poddighe, Nordine Barour, Lionel Goldstein, Didier Woldemard, Nicolas Struve, JÃ©rÃ´me Pouly, Nausicaa Meyer, Christophe Windling, Erwan Ribard, Jacqueline Rapsaet, Conception Pires, VÃ©ronique Gugenheim
Director: Claire Denis
Studio: Fox Lorber
Product Type: DVD

Customer Reviews:

Friday Nights.......2007-05-17

Friday Nights

Title: Friday Night Lights
Director: Peter Berg
Produced by: Brian Grazer
Release date: 10/08/04

Did you know that the Permian Panthers have won more state championships then any other high school team in the state of Texas? That is a very good record considering that there are more high school teams in Texas than Kentucky and Tennessee put together.

In this great sports film it tells the true story of a high school football team in Odessa, Texas, where football is life. This movie was inspired by the true season of the 1988 Permian Panthers. Friday Night Lights was based on a book written by H.G. Bissinger, and was voted by ESPN the magazine the greatest football novel of all time.

This movie keys on the life of five ordinary small town boys that all share one dream, a state championship, Mike Winchell (Lucas Black), Boobie Miles (Derek Luke) Brian Chavez (Jay Hernandez), Don Billingsley (Garrett Hedlund), and Ivory Christian (Lee Jackson). These teenage boys have the weight of the world on them as they head into the 1988 season.

In this small town they have one huge quality that is football. Every Friday night all businesses close for the night and all the houses are empty. Since everybody is at Barrett Stadium one of the largest high school fields in the country. The Panthers are always one of the top teams in the state, and every year the community expects a state title. Considering all this anything less then a state championship is failure.

Permian heads in as a good favorite to win state, but when Permian's star All American running back, Boobie Miles, hurts his leg in there first game the teams confidence and chances decline. The panthers were then forced to start a tiny one hundred pound running back that is nowhere near the skill level of Boobie Miles. After Bobbie finds out he is out for the season, the whole team and town about give up on their chances of winning state. It looked as if there was a horrible disaster that happened in the town, the way everybody acted. However quarterback Mike Winchell, fullback Don Billingsley, and defensive end Ivory Christian will not let this team go down that easy.

The panthers manage to pull together a good season. They faced a season that Permian was not use to, finishing barely in front of five hundred. Losing games no one in town thought would be close. But they ended up in a three-way tie for first and second place in the region. As a result they do it the way everyone settles a tie, they flipped a coin. The coin flip went there way and they found them self in the state tournament. The team gets motivated after hearing about Boobie being hurt, and probably having his football career end. They then dedicate the state tournament to Boobie. Permian makes it all the way to the state championship game where they face a powerhouse from central Texas, the Dallas Carter Cowboys. Where Dallas Carter went undefeated and won every game without breaking a sweat. Since Permian barely got into state championship Dallas Carter was heavily favored. But the panthers wont go down without a fight.

This movie has great camera views and makes you feel like your watching a real football game. After I watched the movie I really wanted to play football, it was that good. For example I would watch the part of the movie where they play Dallas Carter before every one of my football games, it made me so pumped and ready to play. It kept me on the edge of my seat the whole movie just waiting to see what happens next. I would defiantly advise sports lovers or people who just like a good movie to check this one out.

By.jd

Definitely an above average sports film.......2007-04-10

I have read so many spectacular reviews of the TV series FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHT that I decided that I needed to watch the series myself. But I first wanted to see the film that the TV series was based upon.

This is a carefully crafted film about the somewhat dubious role that football is allowed to play in the lives of small town Americans. What many people seem to miss in seeing the film is the deeply critical aspects of the film. While the struggles of Permian High School to overcome the loss of their star player Boobie Miles -- who is portrayed as a 1988 high school equivalent of today's Darren McFadden of Arkansas (like McFadden, Miles is portrayed as someone who is spectacularly fast, a great receiver, and even an accomplished passer) -- take center stage, there is also a quiet but pervasive criticism of the role that football is allowed to play in people's lives in this small town. There is the sadness of several former players who have never been able to find meaning in their lives after hanging up their cleats. There is also the poignancy of people utterly obsessed with the failure or success of the local high school team, as if there was some connection between the quality of their lives and the fate of the team. From the beginning to the end of the movie there is a sense that these are people without lives, so that while on one level we celebrate the victories of the team on another we experience a deep sadness. I kept thinking of something Kierkegaard wrote while watching the movie. He distinguished between the comic and the tragic, characterizing the latter as regarding with finite interest that which ought to be of eternal interest, while identifying the comic as regarding something finite as of eternal interest. In this sense, the movie is at its heart a tragicomedy. The movie doesn't explore precisely why these people have such sad lives, but it leaves no question at the end that they do.

This is a very slick movie, which is impressive given that it was essentially a low budget film (it was made for around $30 million) with a very large cast. As a result the film has pretty much a no name cast, the only actor that most people would be familiar with being Billy Bob Thornton. But the film never reveals its low budget. From beginning to end every aspect is highly polished.

I mentioned the way that the movie criticizes our obsession with football and how this obsession is contrasted with the fundamental emptiness in the lives of the characters in the film. The two characters who most display these aspects of the film are the aforementioned Boobie Miles and former star Charles Billingsley, played by country music star Tim McGraw. The only thing that Miles has going for him at the start of the film is his athletic ability and as we hear him struggling to read a recruiting letter we realize that he is borderline illiterate. When he learns that his knee injury is far worse than anyone imagined he realizes how little life has to offer him. He is a man with rapidly collapsing horizons. Billingsley, on the other hand, has only his memories of having starred for Permian. He relentlessly drives his son to achieve a similar kind of success so that he can relive some of it vicariously.

This film in the end is not a celebration of football, but a paean on our excessive obsession with what is, in the end, only a game. It does not mean that football is devoid of all redeeming values, but it does mean to point out that there is more to life than football.

Small Town Football.......2007-03-17

"Friday Night Lights", the inspiration for the 2006-2007 TV series of the same name, is an unflinchingly look at a small, economically-depressed Texas town where the only exciting event is the Friday night high school football game. That kind of spotlight creates intense expectations for the Permian High School Football Team to succeed, causing players to make tough choices and live with the consequences.

Billy Bob Thornton does an inspiring turn as the football coach who rallies the team after a season-ending injury to a key player. His leadership and mentoring of the team causes the players to come together and make the best of their situation and of each other. The movie avoids a cliche ending but leaves the viewer with the sense that what the players accomplish together will be with them all their lives.

This film is highly recommended as an excellent capture of high school sports as preparation for the challenges of adult life.

A great movie!.......2007-02-21

I don't claim to be a movie critic, I'm just a regular guy. And I thought this movie was one of the best sports movies that I've ever seen! I would rank it right up there with Hoosiers, Rudy and Remember the Titans. It's not necessarily a feel-good movie, like the others I mentioned, but it's just a great story! The west-Texas realism is outstanding!

Just A great Football movie-Ffiday night Lights.......2007-01-31

This is truely on of the best high school football movies out. its shows us the pressure that our children go throught. Right from the start to the end , losing, the cost that parnets put our kids to test them. Football is trurly America only sport+++

Friday Night Lights (Full Screen Edition)

Average customer rating:

Friday Nights
Definitely an above average sports film
Small Town Football
A great movie!
Just A great Football movie-Ffiday night Lights

Friday Night Lights (Full Screen Edition)
Starring: Billy Bob Thornton , Lucas Black (II) , Garrett Hedlund , Derek Luke , and Jay Hernandez
Director: Peter Berg
Manufacturer: Universal Studios
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B0006IJ5PM
Release Date: 2005-01-18

Customer Reviews:

Friday Nights.......2007-05-17

Definitely an above average sports film.......2007-04-10

Small Town Football.......2007-03-17

A great movie!.......2007-02-21

Just A great Football movie-Ffiday night Lights.......2007-01-31

Average customer rating:

Friday Nights
Definitely an above average sports film
Small Town Football
A great movie!
Just A great Football movie-Ffiday night Lights

Friday Night Lights [HD DVD]
Starring: Angie Bolling , Connie Cooper , Rutherford Cravens , Ken Farmer , and John Patrick Hayden
Director: Peter Berg
Manufacturer: Universal
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: HD DVD

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ASIN: B000FGG60C
Release Date: 2006-07-11

Description

A genuine stand-up-and-cheer movie about a courageous high school football team's fight to fulfill their destiny and live their dream, Friday Night Lights is "unforgettable and real!" (Larry King) Billy Bob Thornton stars in a true American story of how one legendary Texas town made hope come alive under the exhilarating glare of Friday Night Lights! "One of the greatest sports stories ever told" (Sports Illustrated) is now "one of the greatest sports movies ever made!" (Larry King)

Customer Reviews:

Friday Nights.......2007-05-17

Definitely an above average sports film.......2007-04-10

Small Town Football.......2007-03-17

A great movie!.......2007-02-21

Just A great Football movie-Ffiday night Lights.......2007-01-31

Average customer rating:

Nice Little Movie
Another Totally Implausible WWII Propaganda Film
Friday steals the show!
Just a lot of fun!
A Solid B Movie With A Blind Detective And Ruthless Nazi Spies

Eyes in the Night
Starring: Edward Arnold , Ann Harding , Donna Reed , Stephen McNally , and Katherine Emery
Director: Fred Zinnemann
Manufacturer: Alpha Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B00008AOUV
Release Date: 2003-02-18

Customer Reviews:

Nice Little Movie.......2006-11-17

This is a Thin Man movie with a dash of Val Lewton hastily thrown in. Not quite your typical film noir, but close to it. Nazi's? Donna Reed behaves like a Nazi, completely against type, even though she is unaware of all the real goings on. She treats her stepmother cruelly, and even accuses her of murder. (Cue the blind detective. Only at the end does she show any remorse. No wonder the characters were so brutal! Two murders, a hostage situation, and a German shepherd guide dog for a rescuer makes for a riot of a film. A little bit of slapstick is thrown in to make this MGM movie from 1942 funny. The print could have been better. Certain scenes are a little murky, inclunding the credits, on my new widescreen Toshiba television. The black and white is not as vibrantly displayed as on a Turner DVD, but for $7.98 or less, this is worth it, until Turner releases it, after which I would recommend an upgrade. All in all, an improvement over most Alpha titles, and a nice form of entertainment.

Another Totally Implausible WWII Propaganda Film.......2006-10-03

Another WWII Implausible Propaganda Film
"Eyes in the Night" is another example of the power of WWII propaganda to freeze the brains of screenwriters. Adapted from a decent detective novel, the Nazi spy element was amped up to cash in on home front paranoia. Along with the better detective elements went most of the logic, suspense, and character motivation of the original story. In its place is a confused mess that even Director Fred Zinnemann (later to do "High Noon" and "Here to Eternity") could not salvage.

Along with simplistic motivation you will find a lot of stupid pet tricks as the blind detective's (Duncan Maclain played by Edward Arnold) seeing eye dog can open doors and obey vague fetch commands that confuse his step-and-fetch-it black servant (Mantan Moreland).

Set in the United States, Duncan's long-time friend Norma (Ann Harding) lives on a country estate with her new husband who for unknown reasons stores top secret scientific plans in his small unguarded wall safe. You know they are critical to the war effort because the spies say they are worth ten armored divisions. As the story unfolds it is slowly revealed that almost everyone is a Nazi spy; the entire household staff, a community theatre group, and a few guys of unknown origin. There are almost enough German personnel to fill up those ten armored divisions.

Although they enjoy a huge numerical advantage the spies conveniently wait around until Norma and her husband leave town to make their move on the safe.

A melodramatic back-story concerns Norma's relationship with her new stepdaughter and aspiring actress Barbara (Donna Reed). Barbara is supposed to be just 17 but Reed was in her early 20's and looked about 30. Harding (as always) is quite good and Reed (as always) is quite bad, the talent disparity gives their scenes together a farcical quality. These actually are bad enough to give the movie a certain camp appeal. Reed might be the only aspiring movie actress to have been challenged by the role of an aspiring movie actress.

Zinnemann does infuse his production with a certain style. Playing off the blindness of his main character with frequent blackouts and generally understated lighting. There may never have been a feature film whose negative had less exposure to light than this one did.

Arnold's performance is a bit over the top, apparently compensating for his character's blindness with aggressive flailing (imagine an extremely fat man replacing Patty Duke as Helen Kellor) and a loud voice.

Along with Harding, Katherine Emery (a stage actress in her film debut) gives a great understated performance as the leader of the huge band of Nazi's. She may remind "Narnia" viewers of the best performance in that film, Tilda Swinton's White Witch.

There are no extras on the DVD but it is a very good print.

Then again, what do I know? I'm only a child.

Friday steals the show!.......2006-03-22

To be honest about it, I got this disc by mistake, thinking it was another film. It turns out that the mistake was a brilliant one, because "Eyes in the Night" is a near-forgotten gem. This is a movie that should be a favorite in the rotation on TCM, but somehow it escapes notice.

The plot centers around a blind detective played by Edward Arnold (very effectively) who appears from the very beginning to be an eccentric sort. At first glance, you might mistake him for a gruff Nero Wolfe clone, but any such misconception melts away when you discover that there's no Archie Goodwin here to do all the leg work. No, Arnold does his own, with the able assistance of his seeing eye dog, Friday.

Arnold's niece has married a wealthy inventor doing government work. Her strained relationship with her step-daughter gets worse when a lover they shared is murdered. The girl blames her step-mother, who seeks Arnold's help in finding the real killer.

As it turns out, that murder is the tip of an iceberg of espionage, and the victim belonged to a ring of spies seeking the inventor's latest classified formula! Arnold finds himself trapped in the house with the family, prisoners of the spies. That's when the blind man shows what he can do! And most of all, that's when Friday gets serious!

I won't ruin it for you, but let's just say that Friday engages in canine heroics that would give Rin-Tin-Tin and Lassie both inferiority complexes. Actually, the animal stunts are fairly spectacular, even if the dog's intelligence level seemed to surpass that of just about anyone else in the movie (not that Arnold's human helpers are that hard to top in the mental category, another fun part of the movie). When Friday escapes from a locked basement, it's almost worthy of McGyver!

"Eyes in the Night" is a great blend of action, mystery, and humor. There are a few stretches where the film drags briefly, but it doesn't hurt the overall product. This is a load of fun. Friday alone makes it worth watching. Arnold's effective performance and the antics of his zany non-canine employees are just bonuses!

Just a lot of fun!.......2006-03-05

This film will provide a good solid evening of entertainment. Yes, it is a Grade B detective film from the 40's, but it contains some distinctive, fun moments. The detective (played by Edward Arnold) is blind and must employ his own set of tricks to nab the bad guys. His Dog FRIDAY is a hoot. This dog is brighter than most of the humans in the movie! It is worth the price of the film to watch this dog act! Donna Reed at her youngest, is one of the female actresses, she adds a bit of interest in her "bad girl" routine.
To sum it up, this is a film that provides a good entertainment. It certainly is different!

A Solid B Movie With A Blind Detective And Ruthless Nazi Spies.......2006-01-16

Eyes in the Night has Nazi spies with a ruthless leader, a country home atmosphere, a spoiled daughter and a noble stepmother, and a secret in a safe that, in 1942, is worth ten armored divisions to the Germans. Most of all, it has a smart, confidant, resourceful private detective who happens to be blind.

Duncan Maclain (Edward Arnold) lost his sight in WWI. Now he's a successful detective who has mastered Braille, judo, and has honed his other senses to a keen edge. He has as his associates a tough but humorous assistant (Allan Jenkins) and his smart guide dog, Friday. One day he's visited by an old acquaintance, Norma Lawry (Ann Harding), for whom he has great affection. "You're just as beautiful as ever," he says, after "seeing" her face with his fingertips. "The only time I miss not having eyes is when you're around." Norma has married a scientist who is working on a great discovery for the war effort. Her daughter, Barbara Lawry (Donna Reed), however, dislikes her intensely, wants to be an actress and has begun seeing the lead in a play they're rehearsing. The man is a cad who had also wooed Norma before she married Barbara's husband. Norma wants Mac to help her discourage the actor, but one night someone does it first and permanently. The actor is killed, the body disappears and Mac suspects there is more to things than meets the eye. When he visits Norma's country estate, he quickly finds a nest of Nazi spies intent on learning the secret Norma's husband has discovered.

There's murder to be done, men to be tortured, a safe to be broken into and the ruthlessness of the Nazis to be exposed. Mac Maclain must use all his wiles, from acting like a drunk to strong-arming a few of the bad guys. "Where are you?" cries one of the Nazis, trapped in the darkened basement with no bullets left in his revolver. "In the dark," Maclain says quietly, "In the dark. In my kingdom." It's quiet for a minute. Then there's a strangled cry. He even matches erudite quotations on blindness with the butler, topping the man with these words from John Milton, "O loss of sight, of thee I most complain! Blind among enemies! O worse than chains, dungeon, or beggary, or decrepit age!" Maclain may be blind among enemies, but it doesn't slow him down at all. Eventually Maclain beats the Nazis at their own game, with the help of Friday, and Norma and Barbara are reconciled.

This is one of the many, many well-crafted B movies turned out in the Forties. It's a tight story of espionage, made interesting by the skills and cleverness of the blind Duncan Maclain. Edward Arnold, one the of the great Hollywood character actors, dominates the movie with his characteristic blend of confidence and good humor. One of the villains (it's no secret; we learn her true nature early on) is played by an actress named Katherine Emery. She made only a dozen or so films, preferring the stage. She's a forbidding combination of Gale Sondergaard and Mercedes McCambridge. She is eerily self-possessed. Typical of many of the films of the era, there's a black servant, played by Mantan Moreland, who is all rolling eyes. There is a roster of actors with familiar faces or whose faces will be, such as Reginald Denny, Rosemary DeCamp, John Emery, Steven Geray, Barry Nelson and Steven McNally (billed as Horace McNally). It's also worth remembering that first-class directors such as Fred Zinnemann, who later made such films as From Here to Eternity, High Noon, A Man for All Seasons and The Day of the Jackal, learned their craft by making studio programers like Eyes in the Night.

This Alpha Video is in better shape than we might have expected. It's watchable. There are no extras and only six chapter stops.

Average customer rating:

One Night Stand
More a poem for the eyes and ears than a film
The open space before commitment.
A brilliant film from a brilliant artist!
Pretty bad

Friday Night
Starring: Valérie Lemercier , Vincent Lindon , Hélène de Saint-Père , Hélène Fillières , and Florence Loiret
Director: Claire Denis
Manufacturer: Fox Lorber
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B0000C23D1
Release Date: 2003-11-11

Amazon.com

Like the other films of French director Claire Denis, Friday Night exists in a realm of glances, skin, and dreams. Working with basic elements, Denis (whose previous films were the hypnotic Beau Travail and the scary Trouble Every Day) fashions an often-wordless liaison between a woman caught in a huge Paris traffic jam (there's a transportation strike going on) and the stranger she picks up in her car. Their brief encounter is the simplest of situations, but Denis grounds it in the exactly realized locations of their courtship: car interior, hotel room, late-night restaurant. And, of course, in the expressive faces of the two actors: Valerie Lemercier, best known for her comic roles, and Vincent Lindon (late of Chaos). The dreamlike rhythms of the piece will undoubtedly defeat some viewers, but if you give yourself over to the movie's spell, it will come alive. --Robert Horton

Description

Claire Denis' visually stunning and sensual film explores a chance encounter between two strangers who meet in the middle of a transit strike and wind up changing their lives forever.

Customer Reviews:

One Night Stand.......2005-07-24

Claire Denis' beautiful one night stand with her audience. One night with a total stranger sans baggage. It didn't happen before & won't happen again. Note we have an early hint when the woman is preparing to move in with her boyfriend, however she can't throw out that flashy dress.

More a poem for the eyes and ears than a film.......2005-04-04

If you're looking for action, thrills, an intricate plot and a cliff hanger of an ending, this is not the film for you. But if you're content to find a lyrical, seamless, gentle film about two strangers sharing a night for no other reason than curiosity and affection, you'll be pleasantly surprised by Friday Night. Sometimes people share their bodies and perhaps even their hearts for a night without the world collapsing aound their ears, without people being hurt, without a thousand words of drama and heartache. Friday Night portrays such a night, wrapped in superb camerawork (you can always tell when a cinematographer started out as a still photographer,) ethereal, lighter than air music (I'll buy this DVD if only for that, as there seems to be no soundtrack cd) and editing which allows us to be caressed by the quiet moments. Someone once said that the music is between the notes, and the editor and director understand this. An unusual, sensual, quiet little experience for the film fan weary of overacted, explosive American fare. If you've experienced a one night stand or two, you may find yourself wishing they had been this uncomplicated and enjoyable.

The open space before commitment........2004-09-02

Laure (Valerie Lemercier) is moving out of her apartment to move in with her boyfriend. Almost all of her possessions are packed and labeled, with the exception of a few she needs to decide on. Her home, the area that belongs to her completely is in her car. In the midst of Paris' transit strike, she gives a lift to Jean (Vincent Lindon).

That is a brief description of the beginning of Madame Denis' wonderful Vendredi Soir. Very few films are paced so exquisitely showing us the first stages of attraction and desire as this one did. The shots of Laure watching Jean's hands, Jean removing Laure's glove to caress her hand and their decisive brush against each other on the staircase are some of the loveliest and most romantic images I've seen on film.

Desire is sometimes fleeting, but almost always memorizable. Yes, their affair is brief but during it, you can almost see them both noting, analyzing and remembering. The final shot of Laure, dressed and ready to go, as she gently touches Jean was both her and our exit out of the gorgeous, romantic fantasy that was this movie.

A brilliant film from a brilliant artist!.......2004-08-31

I had to sign up as a reviewer just to counter the terribly uninsightful customer reviews of this film. This is great film! An historic film! Claire Denis is a courageous filmmaker precisely because she does not pander to the audience's expecations; she does not conform to the conventions of Hollywood-influenced filmmaking. Instead she pursues the kind of quiet drama that unfolds in real life with remarkable insight into character, with remarkable compassion for humanity. As a result, her films might sometimes seem slow, or seem as though little is happening. But what you get is far more amazing than a sinking "Titanic": You get a real picture of the sort of real drama that occurs between real people in their real lives. Imagine a love story between people who are not more beautiful, not more amazing, not more different than you and I -- imagine a love story between people like us -- and then imagine a filmmaker who can capture all of its minute nuance. That is greatness. That is Claire Denis. That is "Friday Night."

Pretty bad.......2004-03-28

Okay, I'm a big Claire Denis fan--the sublime "Chocolat," "Nenette and Boni," even "Beau Travail"--but this one is worse than pretty bad, really. It's downright awful. All, that is, but the stunning opening shot over the roofs of Paris.

Average customer rating:

Sorry's Not Good Enough/Friday Night
Starring: Mcfly
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Sorry's Not Good Enough/Friday Night
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ASIN: B000L22TC4
Release Date: 2006-12-19

Average customer rating:

GREAT!
Mostly true to the book - an elegiac classic
Sad movie delving into heartbreaking reality behind game
Good depiction of football but a little boring
A Great Movie About Living In The Moment

Friday Night Lights (UMD Mini For PSP)
Starring: Angie Bolling , Connie Cooper , Rutherford Cravens , Ken Farmer , and John Patrick Hayden
Director: Peter Berg
Manufacturer: Universal Studios
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Sony PSP PlayGear Amp
Sony PSP Comfort Grips Black
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A genuine stand-up-and-cheer movie about a courageous high school football team s fight to fulfill their destiny and live their dream, Friday Night Lights is unforgettable and real! (Larry King) Billy Bob Thornton stars in a true American story of how one legendary Texas town made hope come alive under the exhilarating glare of Friday Night Lights! One of the greatest sports stories ever told (Spo

ASIN: B0009WK5CM
Release Date: 2005-08-30

Amazon.com

Based on the perennial nonfiction bestseller by H.G. Bissinger, Friday Night Lights looks at high school football in the harsh light of reality, finding heart and hardness while stirring our emotions. Actor-director Peter Berg (Very Bad Things, The Rundown) is Bissinger's cousin; he knows the material well, and understands how an obsession with winning turns high school kids into somber, over-pressured gladiators--expendable soldiers in a community war against shame and obscurity. The fact-based story focuses on the 1988 football season of Odessa-Permian high school in West Texas, and as a fast-paced sports movie, Berg delivers the goods with a rousing, frenetically styled crowd-pleaser. But there's darkness in this tale of weary underdogs, including an abusive father (well-played by country music star Tim McGraw), threatening townsfolk, an injured star running back (Derek Luke), a tormented quarterback (Lucas Black), and the melancholy coach (Billy Bob Thornton) who takes his team to the finals. Berg's film could use less flashy cutting and more drama to support its gridiron intensity, but Friday Night Lights offers a refreshing alternative to the conventional sports movie, and makes a perfect triple-feature with the equally exciting documentaries Go Tigers! and The Last Game. --Jeff Shannon

Customer Reviews:

GREAT!.......2007-01-04

It was a gift for my grandson and he was very happy, so I'm happy!

Mostly true to the book - an elegiac classic.......2004-11-16

While it doesn't have quite the impact the book has, the movie "Friday Night Lights" is definitely better than many other sports movies. This one is up there among Hoosiers and Remember the Titans.

For those unfamiliar with the tale - this movie is about the Permian High School Panthers, of Odessa, Texas. It is the 1988 season, and expectations are high, with a star-studded roster, and many key returnees.

The back story, however, is what makes the book, and thus the movie - compelling. This is not merely a season-long documentary of the team and their deeds on the field of competition. It is more about what makes them what they are off the field.

Odessa is a declining oil town in the wasteland that is the Permian Basin, a desert-like landscape nearly oppressive in its endless sameness. The townspeople of Odessa draw virtually their whole sense of community pride, self-esteem and well-being from how well the Panthers perform on the football field. Unfortunately, these are not professional football players, but merely 17-year-old boys who, because of the intense pressure on them to perform, cannot possibly life the carefree life of the normal 17-year-old.

The movie spends a lot of time on the choreographed football sequences, which are great, but also explores some of the issues surrounding the players and their lives off the field - some have abusive fathers, some feel inexorably tied down by family obligations, others feel like they're just marking time before they go on to bigger and better things.

While some liberty was taken with the book, the essence of it was not lost, and the melancholy pacing of the film is appropriate to how one feels when reading the book.

Sad movie delving into heartbreaking reality behind game.......2004-11-12

I have a strong taste for realistic movies, but I must say that "Friday Night Lights" almost brought me to tears. The most heartwrenching scene is when Derek Luke (who plays the self-confident and talented "Boobie" Miles) knows his season, and time playing football is over, and goes to clean out his locker. He's all smiles, and confidence, telling his teammates to be perfect and win. But as soon as he walks outside the school, and joins his uncle in his car, he breaks down. Football is all I have, he cries, it's all I can do, and his uncle holds him. I have rarely seen such a powerful scene. I don't cry at movies, but I fought to hold in tears. Derek Luke is a largely overrated actor and deserves to be a star. I've seen reviews that unforgivingly didn't even mention his name among the cast. The other sad, moving storyline is that of the second-string running back, whose abusive, alcoholic father is played by singer Tim McGraw. What this film doesn't have is a happy ending, and cliche-ridden sports formulas that sink most sports movies. It's all the more powerful for that. It's a bleak, almost depressing movie because you know for the vast majority of kids in this rural town (that lives precariously through high school kids who are expected to play to perfection) are going to go nowhere, to sink into working class lives. Weeks later after seeing it, I still can't shake the images and sounds of seeing Billingsley and Miles struggling under the weight of expectation and knowing they most likely live in a dead-end town.

Good depiction of football but a little boring.......2004-11-04

This movie was ok... It was one of those films you walk out of unchanged...like it didn't matter if you had seen it or not. The movie didn't quite hold my full attention...I found myself wondering when it was going to be over but there were some good aspects of the film. I really enjoyed the documentary-like feel to the movie- it made the story really come to life as if the viewer were there. It was also a good depiction of highschool football, in that, these guy's lives turned into a fight to win and nothing else. They had one motive and no other aspects to their lives. However, as good a depiction it was- I think the movie lacked character developement. Some of the guys we get to know- but others not so much. The film opens with the quarter back and this makes the viewer assume that he will be a driving character for the movie but we really don't get to know him all that well. This is a flaw with numerous other characters as well- the movie really only shows you the surface level of some the guys. So I couldn't really get that emotionally involved. But the movie did stur up some tears, so i do reccomend seeing it if you are a football fan- but maybe as just a rental-

A Great Movie About Living In The Moment.......2004-11-02

I had heard nothing but good things about "Friday Night Lights" before going to see the film for myself. As a teenager, I attended a school with a similiar love of football, so this movie really hit home for me. "Friday Night Lights" manages to take the viewer into the action better than most football movies to date.

The movie starts off a little fuzzy, adding the documentary type effect, but after a third of the movie has passed, it takes on a more professional Hollywood big film feel.

The acting is good. The storyline is not only true but works well on the big screen. Billy Bob Thorton, besides having been married to the most beautiful woman in the world, is a also a great actor. He does a great job not over-acting in this film. Many actors would have not have been able to pull this role off. But Billy Bob makes the true-life character Coach Gary Gaines come across quite well.

The on-the-field scenes are very realistic, and the movie manages to throw in "touching" moments and a few "funny" parts. All of the young actors did a great job of making the situations seem believable and also managed to not over-act their parts.

I highly recommend this movie top any football fan. It delivers the goods.

For parents...their are a few sexually explicit scenes, so use discretion. Send little ones for popcorn when the scene starts to get a little heavy.

See ya next review

Average customer rating:

One Night Stand
More a poem for the eyes and ears than a film
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A brilliant film from a brilliant artist!
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Friday Night
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Customer Reviews:

One Night Stand.......2005-07-24

More a poem for the eyes and ears than a film.......2005-04-04

The open space before commitment........2004-09-02

A brilliant film from a brilliant artist!.......2004-08-31

Pretty bad.......2004-03-28

Average customer rating:

Friday Night Lights / 8 Mile Value Pack
Starring: Billy Bob Thornton , Lucas Black (II) , Garrett Hedlund , Derek Luke , and Jay Hernandez
Director: Peter Berg , and Curtis Hanson
Manufacturer: Universal Studios
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Release Date: 2005-04-26

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