Undefeated

This movie is just great. It totally deserved the Oscar.While the movie is presumably about high school football in an impoverished area of Memphis, it is really about the importance of fathers. None of the major players on the team have fathers in their lives. Neither did the coach when he was growing up, and his memories of the toll that took on him led him to become a stand-in father to the young men on his team.He set high standards and gave the players the choice to live up to them or not, while constantly telling them they could, that they had everything in themselves to make good choices. He constantly talked about character, and the importance of having it. Through the games they played you could see this group of individuals become a team.My favorite scene was the one where he talked to Chavez about the importance of talking things out with someone he thought wronged him. Throughout my life I've persuaded people who are upset with something someone else said or did to just talk to the other person about it. In almost every case the upset person finds that the other person did not mean to hurt them. (I read a great short story in grade school where a girl overheard another girl say something mean, only to learn she'd been reading aloud from a book where the heroine had the same first name.)This movie is also very depressing in a way because the teenagers in this high school have not received an education though they have spent years in school. One promising athlete struggles to get a high enough score on his ACT's to qualify for college entrance, and one of the high school administrators admits the student had been promoted just because of his size. And this young man was smart, fully capable of learning and eager to do it.The coach offered a home to this player so he could have tutors (tutors would not go to the part of town where the player lived with his grandmother). I'd just read an article in the newspaper about how common this is throughout sports. The movie addresses the "unfairness" of this favoritism as a black administrator points out anyone with talent can and should be encouraged by adults, whether that be a football coach or a music teacher.Another person paid for a player to go to college because the young man showed such strength of character. This unnamed benefactor never even met the young man, just heard about him from one of the assistant coaches.It takes people who give a damn to change this world. One person at a time. If every person who watches this movie makes a difference in one other person's life, what a great world this would be.

I'm a Memphis native, but I've lived in Southern California for the last 45 years. I initially decided to see this movie because I attended one of the other eight segregated all black high schools in that city in the early to mid 1960s. I also thought that it was possible that I might catch a glimpse of the church I attended there in the 1960s, before leaving Memphis to attend college in Alabama. Manassas High School was located across the street from the church I attended as a youth. I wasn't disappointed.Let me say first that football is the secondary theme of this film. The humanitarian theme absolutely trumps the football element. Having said that, this documentary was very powerful. On my next visit to Memphis, I'd like to meet the coach of the team, Bill Courtney, and to shake his hand, but preferably to give him a very big hug for a selflessness, love and compassion that I have rarely ever seen. It is a story of this very talented white coach who neglected his own business and even his own family to help black inner city youth to make the most of their lives. Your heart will be deeply touched. Guaranteed!!! No wonder it won an Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature.Now, back to catching a glimpse of the church I attended in the 1960s. I was utterly surprised that a portion of the film was shot inside of the building that was once the main sanctuary of that church. My father's funeral was held in that sanctuary in 1993. In one scene, I also caught a glimpse of my father's picture that was displayed on the wall as one of the founding members of the church. This is one reason I was prompted to purchase the movie after having initially rented the movie from Red Box. But, even in the absence of such a sentimental attachment, this documentary is worth owning.

This movie is a documentary. However, the raw story is better than a movie script because it's true. It is not a smooth predictable ride. However, you can feel the change in ethos of a losing team turning around their losing ways. But more importantly, you see the incredible change in 3 players. If you need a feel good experience that is not overly dramatic and predictable, then take the time to watch Undefeated.

Sports documentaries with youth are the most powerful, because you can follow the children growing into adulthood and also follow teams going from zeroes to heroes. Hoop Dreams, More Than A Game, and Heart of the Game, probably are the best in that regard, and I would say that Undefeated, would be right behind them.It would have been so awesome if the film ended the way (not to ruin it for you) you were hoping it to end, but being that it is non-fiction, God authored it the way he saw fit.It's a well done documentary...Oh... and Puffy is an executive on the film (see the special features) and I was all set with hearing his two cents.

If you love a good sports film, this documentary tells the true story of an underdog team from an underprivileged area with a coach who changed their trajectory. We watched it as a family - I highly recommend making time to watch this!

Beautiful story. I highly recommend everyone watch it.

This is a great documentary.

Great story based upon true history.

J'ai aimé se film, car il est très bon, et de très bonne qualité.

Wer Sport-Dokus und Gesellschafts-Dokus mag, der sollte hier unbedingt reinschauen. Interessante Protagonisten und eine Geschichte die zum Nachdenken anregt. Was das Doku-Team hier geschaffen hat, ist wirklich aller Ehren wert.

Great documentary, but not at the level of other ones I've seen. Great for a true highschool football fan, but maybe a bit too gritty for other people. Still....a great buy.

This is truly great DVD. I watched it on TV and brought 2 copies straight afterwards. Every sports coach and every teacher should watch this. I've already used two great phrases gleaned from this film in my own professional life, as they are so powerful and motivational, "I expect that from some of these idiots....not from you!" For anyone who wants some inspiration in motivating others this film is a must. Being a fan of Hoop Dreams and others from the genre I was already a convert, and this has cemented my love of sports documentaries. Buy this film, not for selfish reasons but "for the betterment of someone other than yourself!" Superb.

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