I didn't grow up in the 50's but for me, by far, "Hoosiers."
No "he shoots - cut - closeup as the ball goes in." No mini-court to facilitate cinematography. No small section audience in digital multiples.
Just REAL basketball.
Maris Valainis as "Jimmy Chitwood" is as close to Larry Bird as we'll ever see in a fictional film. Gene Hackman is remarkable, the best coach character since G.D. Spradlin (more on that later) and Craig T. Nelson in "All The Right Moves." There's the "this really happened" aspect. And finally - that score! A masterwork by icon Jerry Goldsmith.
As someone who's done work in both, that opening scene, the car mowing through the leaf-strewn rural fall streets, with "Main Title - Welcome To Hickory" underneath, defines perfect film-making. Pity the original score was done almost exclusively on synths - the drum programming is putrid (it has been redone with orchestra). Every time I happen on that opening scene while cruising for content, I'm stopped in my tracks, goosebumps.
Second for me, for personal reasons, is 1977's "One On One," Robby Benson's tour-de-force, co-written with his father, Jerry Segal. I've read the book, multiple early versions of the screenplay (entitled, "Catch A Rising Star."), and purchased both the vinyl, and digital versions of the OST.
The story around the perils of men's basketball recruiting was ahead of its time. Benson's brings the perfect wide-eyed "wow - look at all this" note to the character. He also offers a quite realistic point guard / "hot dog" (if unrealistically short). The soundtrack's a critical component, featuring superb music by
Charles Fox,
Paul Williams's lyrics, brilliantly executed by Seals and Crofts. Annette O'Toole's turn as his counter-culture girlfriend is spot-on. And then there's G.D. Spradlin, absolutely bang-on, as the coach of Megalith U. Unlike "Hoosiers," plenty of groaners here, but for me, #2. My friends and I still run quotes from this one.
