Originally Posted by
Olympic Fan
Agree ... the greatest sports movie ever.
Let me suggest, if you really love the movie, that you buy the two-disc DVD edition. The extra scenes are worth the purchase price (especially the scene that explains the mysterious return of Buddy Luper to the team; there's also a wonderful early scene where the whole community gathers for a corn husking).
The commentary explains that the movie was cut on orders from studio execs, who insisted on a certain running time. For that reason, the director made some cuts he didn't want to make -- I'd love to see a Director's Cut of the film released in its original form.
The two-disc edition also includes the complete film version (with radio play-by-play) of the 1954 Milan-Muncie Central championship game -- the game that inspired the movie.
Bobby Plump, meet Jimmy Chitwood!
Definitely a must for fanatics.