Viewers will be able to read into the do-or-die philosophy whatever they choose, and in the meantime simply enjoy this big-screen ode to the madness.
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10/19/04
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Friday Night Lights (2004)
81
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Reviews Counted:162
Fresh:132
Rotten:30
Average Rating:7.2/10
Consensus: An acute survey of the football-obsessed heartland that succeeds as both a stirring drama and a rousing sports movie.
Theatrical Release:Oct 8, 2004 Wide
Box Office: $61,188,085
Synopsis: From Oscar®-winning producer Brian Grazer and Imagine Entertainment and based on the best-selling book about high school football by H.G. Bissinger, Friday Night Lights chronicles the entire 1988... [More]
Starring: Billy Bob Thornton, Tim McGraw, Derek Luke, Jay Hernandez
Director: Peter Berg
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Reviews for Friday Night Lights
It has an intentionally rough, gritty, bleached, documentary feel but Berg is in complete control, with every shot a small gem of precision and mastery.
10/19/04
The movie works because Berg never forgets to keep his heart in the game and not just his head.
10/19/04
Substitutes slick, cynical point-scoring for insight.
10/19/04
[Made] with a skill and grace that lifts the material up; all of the actors, and everyone involved in the film's production, came together and made something special.
10/19/04
Unusually well drawn characters and the empathy its creators have for them are just two of the things that distinguish Peter (Very Bad Things) Berg's latest from most sports movies.
10/19/04
Graduate work in the Jerry Bruckheimer school of overproduced, underwritten gut shots. Though Berg’s big-game finale will win fans, the buildup feels like one long time out.
10/19/04
Despite minor bugaboos, the film works because each play and conversation is filled with a nervy feeling of how fate could turn on its characters at any moment.
10/17/04
We see just how serious Texans -- fans and players alike -- take their football.
10/15/04
This West Texas football saga is a real, wrenching look at players, fans and the game that's much more than a game.
10/14/04
Unparalleled realism and hard-hitting performances make Friday Night Lights one of the great sports movies.
10/14/04
Emotional gut punches are plentiful in director Peter Berg's stunning 'Friday Night Lights.'
10/13/04
A good sports movie with amped up sports action, good acting, and an ending that sneaks up on you with surprising emotional power.
10/13/04
A true-life yarn that was dubbed by SI as "one of the greatest sports stories of all time" has now been turned into one of the dullest sports films of recent years.
10/13/04
Experiences most of its success by its disturbing depiction of adults living vicariously through their children.
10/12/04
Friday Night Lights is the real deal, a grim, in-your-face expose of one West Texas school's fanatical sports program.
10/12/04
Top CriticAn emotionally draining viewing experience that only briefly threatens to be undermined by the requisite climactic locker-room pep talk that teeters ever so slightly toward the saccharine. Still, there's a lot of truth here.
10/12/04
The story gestures at a cross-sectional view of America on a Nashville scale.
10/12/04
I can’t help looking at this as an indictment of the high school football system.
10/11/04
The extreme close ups and use of a hand held camera part of the time was tedious, but as the film progressed, the excitement built to a tumultuous conclusion.
10/11/04
Latest News for Friday Night Lights
August 08, 2008:
Play Ball With RT's Top Sports Movies!
It's a busy time in the sports universe: the Olympics are underway, baseball's pennant races are heating up, and NFL players are in the midst of training camp. (Oh, and Shaq and... More...
December 23, 2007:
Peter Berg Confirmed to Direct New Dune Film
Score another one for the rumor mill: Peter Berg has been confirmed as the director of a new Dune. More...
October 16, 2007:
And the Possible Dune Remake's Director Might Be...
A few weeks ago, we discussed a CHUD report about Frank Herbert's Dune possibly heading back to the big screen. Now, according to Ain't It Cool News, some of the details... More...
June 05, 2007:
Scott Porter Signs On for a "Speed Racer" Role
Fans of TV's "Friday Night Lights" may be familiar with actor Scott Porter. Movie fans will see him in next year's "Speed Racer" adaptation. More...
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