Apparently trying to corner the market on inspirational fact-based sports movies, the Disney folks follow recent films about football, baseball, hockey, and even golf with this recounting of the NCAA championship run of the Texas Western basketball team in the mid-1960s. What made their winning season and ultimate victory over powerhouse Kentucky more than just a typical underdog story was the fact that it was the first time a coach had fielded mostly black players—a controversial move in a time dominated by racism. Although set against a larger canvas of right vs. wrong, director James Gartner's Glory Road nevertheless follows a familiar formula, pushing all of the expected buttons with experienced efficiency (the movie leaves no cliché unturned in its journey towards a foreordained conclusion), while also taking the usual historical liberties. Of course, subtlety is a bit rare in a Jerry Bruckheimer (Armageddon, Bad Boys) production, so the film stints on context and character in favor of the easy lump in the throat and expression of righteous indignation, ultimately failing to do justice to this remarkable story. Still, while it follows a well-worn path, this conventional crowd-pleaser should be considered a strong optional purchase. [Note: Available in either widescreen or full screen versions, DVD extras include two audio commentaries (one by director James Gartner and producer Jerry Bruckheimer; the other by writers Chris Cleveland and Bettina Gilois), a 22-minute “In Their Own Words: Remembering 1966” interview featurette with real-life players and colleagues of Coach Haskins, 13-minutes of “Legacy of the Bear” highlights of Haskins' illustrious career, four deleted scenes (7 min.), the five-minute “Surviving Practice” featurette, the music video “Sweet Music” by Alicia Keys, and trailers. Bottom line: a fine extras package for a crowd-pleasing formulaic film.] (F. Swietek)
Glory Road
Walt Disney, 118 min., PG, DVD: $29.99, June 6 Volume 21, Issue 3
Glory Road
Star Ratings
As of March 2022, Video Librarian has changed from a four-star rating system to a five-star one. This change allows our reviewers to have a wider range of critical viewpoints, as well as to synchronize with Google’s rating structure. This change affects all reviews from March 2022 onwards. All reviews from before this period will still retain their original rating. Future film submissions will be considered our new 1-5 star criteria.
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