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A review by JAMES SOUTHALL

I've always had a soft spot for sports movies - you always seem to walk out of them with a smile on your face, even when you don't quite understand the appeal of the sport in question (such as me and basketball, and baseball, and American football, and horseracing, and boxing - oh, and they're probably the only sports which have movies made about them; I'm still holding out for a classic tale of love, lust and betrayal set against the backdrop of a test cricket series between England and Australia - the batsman's holding the bowler's willy, and all that stuff).  Hoosiers is regularly considered as one of the finest sports movies ever made, though I'm not quite sure what sets it apart from the rest - as ever, an under-achieving team ends up defying all the odds and conquering the world (well, almost).  And despite me asking people every time I think of the movie what a "Hoosier" is, I'm still none the wiser.

Anyway, whatever it means, the movie marked the first collaboration between composer Jerry Goldsmith and director David Anspaugh; the pair went on to collaborate on Rudy and they're due to work together again this year on The Game of their Lives, which is about a real sport.  Goldsmith's score is quite unique in his canon, sharing little in similar with anything he has written before or since.  "Best Shot", which opens the album (and which is what the movie was known as internationally, so as not to confuse uninitiated folks like me who are ignorant about Hoosiers - sounds like it might be a brand of vacuum cleaner) is entirely synthesised, and pounds along with bags of energy and vibrancy, going through a range of great tunes along the way.

The rest of the score combines the synth stylings of the first cue with a moderate orchestra, which occasionally takes up the melodies but usually plays something of a backseat, something unheard of for Goldsmith before or since.  It can take a little getting used to, but ends up being so infectious that you can't stop humming or whistling along, or indeed marvel at the shameless cheesiness of it all, which might put the European Union's cheese mountain to shame.  When the Civil War-style theme comes in during "The Pivot", you're tempted to leap up from your seat and give the first person you find a hug (though I was slightly less enthusiastic when the first person I found turned out to be Harry Knowles).  "The Finals" is a fifteen-minute finale that will have you bouncing around, whooping for joy at the appropriate moments (oops, did I just give away the film's surprise ending?) - especially when the orchestra finally takes over and leaps from the speakers at the end.

You have to take it in the enthusiastic yet sincere spirit in which it was intended else it all falls over, but if you do then there is much to be gained from listening.  The synths date it horribly, but there have been very few better scores written for sports movies.  The CD is unfortunately very hard to find (there's a 1987 release by Polydor's UK arm and a later Japanese release, though both are long out of print) - you might find one at the Amazon link below.  For those who like Goldsmith at his tuneful, cheery best - look no further.

Buy this CD from amazon.com by clicking here!

Tracks

1. Best Shot (4:25)
2. You Did Good (7:02)
3. The Coach Stays (2:42)
4. The Pivot (3:29)
5. Get the Ball (1:49)
6. Town Meeting (4:47)
7. The Finals (15:19)