THE REWATCHABLES · January 11, 2017
A 1999 legal / drama directed by Oliver Stone, covered in the complete Rewatchables archive.
ON THIS EPISODE
FROM THE CONVERSATION
WHY IT WORKS
WHAT DID NOT WORK
SCENES THEY KEPT COMING BACK TO
The movie opens with aggressive football imagery and sets its macho, high-energy tone.
Opening minutesA strong emotional scene where the veteran coach and young quarterback clash, though Stone overcuts it.
Opening minutesA vivid power scene showing the owner’s comfort around football culture.
About 8 minThe doctor subplot turns seedy as the team’s medical corruption is exposed.
About 16 minLawrence Taylor delivers a long, memorable speech about fading glory and what football teaches.
About 32 minPacino’s closing speech about inches, life, and football is treated as the movie’s defining moment.
About 40 minThe climactic final drive is praised for its intensity despite silly field-distance logic.
About 40 minWHERE THEY DISAGREED
Bill SimmonsHe has great speeches but probably is not a good coach.
Chris RyanHe mostly responds to Bill’s skepticism and agrees that there is a lot of bewilderment on the sideline.
Bill SimmonsThe film correctly anticipated ownership moves, concussions, painkillers, and league politics.
Chris RyanAgrees and adds that the movie feels even more realistic in hindsight.
Bill SimmonsHe thinks it is one of the best sports speeches ever.
Chris RyanSays there is some disagreement out there, but ultimately praises it too.
Bill SimmonsWould cut the Elizabeth Berkley subplot and some personal Pacino material.
Chris RyanWould preserve the key football and dramatic elements; does not push back strongly.
Considers it polarizing but very rewatchable and one of the better sports movies.
Opening minutesArgues Stone’s cuts often hurt scenes and should have been removed in a director’s cut.
Opening minutesTreats Pacino as the movie’s emotional and performance anchor.
About 8 minViews Foxx as a genuine breakout who made the quarterback role believable.
Opening minutesThinks the scene is excellent in concept but weakened by Stone’s editing.
Opening minutesArgues the coach has great speeches but is probably not actually a good coach.
About 16 minThinks the owner makes rational, modern football moves and would be fun in real life.
About 8 minConsiders Woods a perfect, hilarious, scene-stealing presence.
About 8 minCalls the final speech one of the best sports-movie scenes ever.
About 40 minEnjoys the climactic play sequence despite the implausible field geometry.
About 40 minAdmires how the film made NFL action feel immersive and modern.
About 16 minWould have liked more of her storyline and character.
About 48 minThe film is read as a story about coaches, owners, coordinators, and players fighting for control.
Opening minutesThey connect the movie’s owner relocation talk and franchise maneuvering to real NFL history.
About 8 minThey emphasize how bluntly the film addresses head injuries and medical corruption before the league openly did.
About 16 minThe D'Amato-Beeman-Crozier triangle is framed as an argument over modernizing the game versus preserving tradition.
Opening minutesThe hosts contrast the movie’s chaotic style with the times Stone simply lets scenes play, which they think works best.
Opening minutesThe HBO 'director's cut' of the film is said to be six minutes shorter than the theatrical release.
Opening minutesThe film reportedly has about 3,000 cuts.
Opening minutesThe movie was initially developed with Clint Eastwood or Robert De Niro in mind for Pacino’s role.
About 8 minThe NFL stopped cooperating with the production after learning the film’s critical angle.
About 24 minThe film’s football action used a more immersive camera style that influenced later coverage.
About 16 minThe movie includes an absurd Albuquerque expansion-team ending.
About 8 minJames Woods’ Dr. Harvey Mandrake was apparently based on a real NFL doctor model or research.
About 16 min · medium confidenceThe final speech is said to be based on a Marty Schottenheimer Browns speech, though that is unverified here.
About 40 min · medium confidenceSome castings were rumored or recast, including Will Smith and P. Diddy for Willie Beeman.
Opening minutes · medium confidenceUsed as a prior Sports Movie Hall of Fame podcast comparison.
Opening minutesReferenced as another sports-movie podcast and comparison point for baseball-style strategy talk.
Opening minutesNamed as one of the old Sports Movie Hall of Fame episodes.
Opening minutesMentioned as another prior sports-movie episode.
Opening minutesUsed to describe Pacino’s tough-guy persona and his earlier role as Vincent Hanna.
Opening minutesReferenced as part of Stone’s stylistic evolution and decline/prestige period.
Opening minutesCited as another example of Stone’s fast-cut, multi-format style.
Opening minutesReferenced as one of the mythic films Stone seems to be visually quoting.
Opening minutesAnother film Stone allegedly uses for heroic imagery and cutaways.
Opening minutesUsed to situate Pacino’s 1999 peak run.
About 8 minReferenced as Pacino’s Miami role and Stone’s writing credit connection.
About 56 minCompared to the inches speech and the film’s humanizing of football.
About 40 minUsed to compare the duality of the doctor subplot and Stone’s war-movie instincts.
About 32 min · medium confidenceReferenced as a sports-adjacent movie and a Miami/LA comparison point.
About 48 min · medium confidenceA recurring joke that Stone’s set was wild and war-zone-like, with hyperactive editing as the signature symptom.
Opening minutesA running gag about Pacino ending up coaching an imaginary Albuquerque team.
About 8 minThe hosts joke that James Woods is so intense he could sue or intimidate them.
About 8 minThe final speech becomes an extended bit as they quote and riff on 'the inches are all around us.'
About 40 minThey repeatedly praise Miami settings as a source of seedy entertainment value.
About 16 min“I'm not even sure it's an honorable mention”Opening minutes
“It's all Oliver Stone on the wing”Opening minutes
“You gotta be willing to die”About 40 min
“Runny nose, diarrhea, gonorrhea, pink eye, you”About 40 min
“You can't win! You cannot lose.”About 56 min
MAKE IT A MOVIE NIGHT
WHAT TO WATCH NEXT
Three movies to watch before Any Given Sunday, and three to watch next.
ON THE MIC
Bill SimmonsThe Rewatchables
Chris RyanThe RewatchablesREWATCH FAVS
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