Friday Night Lights Movie Review 2004

Excellent tale about West Texas and its love for high school football. Based on the 1990 nonfiction account written by H.G. Bissinger of the 1988 season of the Odessa-Permian Panthers team, the film showcases the be-all, end-all small town fervor for the game and the all-consuming impact that has on its teenaged players. Among those are arrogant star running back James "Boobie" Miles (Luke), shy and insecure quarterback Mike Winchell (Black), and troubled tailback Don Billingsley (Hedlund), who's abused by his alcoholic dad (country singer McGraw, making a notable debut). Thornton gives a fine performance as Coach Gaines, a reserved man who knows his job is on the line if the team doesn't make the state championship.

Distribution

Universal Studios Home Video, 100 Universal City Plz., Universal City, CA 91608-9955, Phone: (818)777-1000, Fax: (818)866-1483, URL: http://www.universalstudios.com, Remarks: Does not handle retail queries from consumers; contact your local video distributor.

Available on VHS, DVD
Running time 117 minutes.
Originally from United States.

Cast and Crew

Genres

Sports Dramas, Football, High School, True Stories, Period Piece: 1980s, Texas, Bad Dads, Dedicated Teachers

Screenplay

Peter Berg, David Aaron Cohen

Cast

Billy Bob Thornton, Derek Luke, Jay Hernandez, Lucas Black, Garrett Hedlund, Connie Britton, Lee Jackson, Lee Thompson Young, Tim McGraw, Grover Coulson

Cinematography

Tobias Schliessler

Director

Peter Berg

Music

Brian Reitzell, David Torn

Other

David Rosenbloom, Colby Parker, Peter Borck, Susan Matheson, Sharon Seymour

Producer

Brian Grazer, Imagine Entertainment, Universal