Glory Road (2006)

User Rating:

7.0/10   

Director:

James Gartner

Writers (WGA):

Chris Cleveland (written by) &
Bettina Gilois (written by)

Release Date:

13 January 2006 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Sport

Tagline:

Winning changes everything.

Plot:

In 1966, Texas Western coach Don Haskins led the first all-black starting line-up for a college basketball team to the NCAA national championship.

Plot Keywords:

Texas | College Basketball | Basketball | Coach | College

Awards:

1 win & 3 nominations

Cast

Josh Lucas	...	Don Haskins
Derek Luke	...	Bobby Joe Hill
Austin Nichols	...	Jerry Armstrong
Jon Voight	...	Adolph Rupp
Evan Jones	...	Moe Iba
Schin A.S. Kerr	...	David Lattin
Alphonso McAuley	...	Orsten Artis
Mehcad Brooks	...	Harry Flournoy
Sam Jones III	...	Willie Worsley
Damaine Radcliff	...	Willie 'Scoops' Cager
Emily Deschanel	...	Mary Haskins
Al Shearer	...	Nevil Shed
Red West	...	Ross Moore
Kip Weeks	...	Togo Railey
Mitch Eakins	...	Dick Myers

MPAA:

Rated PG for racial issues including violence and epithets, and momentary language.

Runtime:

118 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

SDDS | Dolby Digital | DTS

Certification:

Singapore:PG | Australia:PG | Malaysia:(Banned) | USA:PG (certificate #42056) | Germany:6 | UK:PG | Italy:T | Finland:K-3 | South Korea:All | Netherlands:12

Filming Locations:

Baton Rouge, Louisiana, USA

Company:

Walt Disney Pictures

Trivia:

Prosthetic ears, cheeks, and nose was added to Jon Voight to make his angular face more rounded like Coach Rupp.

Goofs:

Continuity: During the final game, there are several flipped shots of Coach Haskins cheering, and his wedding ring and watch are visible on his right hand instead of his left.

Quotes:

Coach Don Haskins: You got a real talent son, why throw it away?
Bobby Joe Hill: I'll tell you why. Ever since I was a kid I've only loved one thing. That was playing ball. Do you understand what that's like, having that ball in your hand... It's like, It's like making sweet music with your game, only thing is you don't wanna hear the song.

Movie Connections:

Featured in "Siskel & Ebert & the Movies: (2006-01-21)" (2006)

Soundtrack:

Down in the Boondocks

Glory Road's History of TWC and Games Inaccurate

Glory Road is a very entertaining movie if you are will to overlook its many inaccuracies. The movie would make the viewer think that Coach Haskins came to TWC and recruited a national championship caliber team in his first year as a collegiate coach. The truth is that Coach Haskins had been at TWC for 3 or 4 years before the national championship year and that there were several black players already at TWC including Nolan Richardson. Haskins also recruited Jim Barnes before the championship year and teams that Barnes played on may have been better than the championship team.

The film also take too many liberties with the games that were played during the championship year. The first game of the year was not a nail biter as the film shows but almost a 50 point blowout. The film shows that Iowa led TWC most of the game. The Iowa game was never close and certainly was no buzzer beater. The fact is that TWC only played a handful of games that were close that year, most notably against New Mexico and then in the NCAA Tournament against Cincy and Kansas.

The most disappointing inaccuracy shown in the film was the final game against Kentucky. Kentucky only led briefly in the game and TWC had as much as an 11 point lead in the 2nd half. TWC was not behind when Bobby Joe Hill stole the ball twice in the first half. The two steals allowed TWC to expand its lead to 5 points and set the tone for the rest of the game. I know the producers of the movie had to have a more exciting finish to keep the audience excited but the truth is that the game was never much in doubt. If anyone has seen the actual game film that exists, you will see a poorly played offensive game by both teams and an outstanding defensive effort by TWC. The movie should have paid more time on Coach Haskins' three guard strategy to counter Kentucky's fast break offense.

Glory Road is an inspirational movie but not a very accurate movie if you know the history of TWC. See the movie if you want to watch a feel good movie but not if you are looking for sports fact.