The Last Game
by T. Patrick Murray;Alex Weinress
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DVD details
Actor: Dustin Picciotti, Joyce Pettine, Jr., Mike Pettine, Sr.Director: T. Patrick Murray;Alex Weinress
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo
Format: Anamorphic, Color, Dolby, DVD-Video, HiFi Sound, NTSC, Widescreen
Picture Format: 1.78:1
Running Time: 88 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2003-12-30
Audience Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Studio: High Definition Films
DVD Reviews of The Last Game
DVD Review: Go Bucks, or; "Highlight reel as unfolding drama"
Summary: 4 Stars
Having lived in central Bucks County for most of my life, I will admit to a complete bias toward this cinema verite style documentary, created by Alex Weinress and Patrick Murray; who follow the football team at Central Bucks West High School, located in Doylestown Pa, during their 1999 season. Mike Pettine, CB West's legendary (in high school football circles); head coach; gives the filmmakers carte blanch to follow the Bucks everywhere as their season unfolds. When the entire season suddenly seems to hinge on one play, they are right there as well. You'll just have to watch the movie if you want to know more about this item, though. Suffice to say that unbiased viewers; even those who have little interest in sports; may find themselves vicariously living and dying with the fortunes of these CB West kids as they fight for their third consecutive State Championship.
Though biased I can't fathom some of the criticism leveled at this movie. At first glance the drill sergeant-like attitude Coach Pettine exhibits toward his players may seem petty and demeaning, but anyone actually following the movie will certainly note his explanation for this. He knows that if they can take his verbal punishment they can then take the psychological battering leveled by opposing teams. A good example of this can be seen in the way the West players respond in a crucial game against BecaHi (Bethlehem Catholic High School) when they (strategically, it seems) adopt a no respect attitude toward the Bucks. BecaHi's blue collar kids, many of whose fathers and grandfathers must have worked at the steel mill in town before it closed, make it clear from the git go that they aren't in awe of Pennsylvania's supposed #1 team one bit; nor of nationally ranked fullback Dustin Picciotti. At one point after a play has ended, and while Picciotti's back is partially turned toward him, one of BecaHi's smaller players nonchalantly throws a shoulder into Picciotti while walking back to the huddle--what cohones! Conversely, Coach Pettine brooks no such behavior on the part of his players, whom he would rather see respect the other team while grinding them into the turf. In any event, BecaHi's psych-out ploy temporarily throws a wrench into the CB West machine during the first half of the game, but the Bucks then steel themselves and regain their form. Pettine's approach is vindicated. (This doesn't necessarily mean they win the game of course!) In another scene we see three West players walking out to the field before a game with Neshaminy High School, a contest described by the coach as a kind of midseason championship game. The kids are lightheartedly singing the words to the pop tune "Leaving on a Jet Plane" together. No game face on at all! It's as though Pettine's practices are so tough, the game itself is sometimes a breeze.
I mentioned earlier that Coach's "tough-as-nails" attitude toward his players is employed to enable in them the poise necessary to win games against topnotch opponents. This doesn't mean however, that the stereotype of the "tough but fair" high school coach is realized in Pettine who at times can be a perfect petty tyrant, screaming questions during games at slacking players; who; when they try to answer, are cut off with in-your-face insults--epithets really. He also isn't above berating his own coaching staff--right in front of his players, sadly. If viewers remember however, that they are watching a documentary, they can see that the filmmakers, with their fly-on-the-wall point of view, aren't trying to put Mr. Pettine up as a knight in shining armor. It must be admitted too, that the coach is a pretty complex individual. He readily concedes during one of his voiceovers in the film that football games mean little in the greater scheme of things; quite an eyebrow raising statement from a man you'd assume would maintain a "winning is everything" philosophy. In another telling scene, as the CB West kids find their backs against the wall near the end of a crucial game, several players are standing along the sideline in a semi-circle around the coach. He's imploring them to step up to the plate now that their best player, Dustin Picciotti, has exited the game with a twisted ankle. Through an uncanny coach-to-team flow of inspiration, he instills in these players the confidence in their abilities at that moment, a quantity absolutely necessary if they are to emerge victorious.
I wish I could describe the look in these kids' eyes as they hang on Coach Pettine's every word. I'll just say it's worth the price of the DVD alone.
In another segment filmed surreptitiously by an effectively hidden camera, the coach is shown to be quite a stand up guy. While relating to a college scout how this documentary originated Pettine explains that after he had conceded to the two filmmakers the privilege of filming the team, he was approached by an ESPN representative, coincidentally, to make a similar film. When Coach told the ESPN rep he'd already committed to Weinress and Murray, the rep replied, "Hey, this is ESPN!" Coach stood his ground however, and mentioned that although CB West was the #1 ranked team in Pennsyvania, #2 was league rival North Penn coached by his son Mike Pettine Jr, and that they might want to film that team; which they ended up doing.
When CB West then hosts North Penn for the league championship we see the first real tension in the film developing. The Philadelphia Daily News devotes a good part of its sports section to hyping the game; a perfect storybook match-up. We see the West players walking from the gym toward the battleground; the stands at War Memorial Field utterly filled to overflowing; five deep in the SRO areas; earsplitting bedlam even before the game's start, with the berserk North Penn students hurling epithets, some quite creative, at the CB West players. (Some of the North Penn rooters hold up signs that read "FTB".) (!) All this against the backdrop of the voiceover of a local TV channel's sports announcer: "....tonight it's for all the marbles.... father versus son....game of the century...." Again; if you need to know more; buy the movie!
The North Penn games themselves (there are two, actually), make a nice prelude to the contests that follow. As I mentioned, these Bucks are usually loose before a game, most of which they typically win by scores of 40 to 10 or so. The irony here is that this team can be crippled by their own talent since as they meet stiffer competition, they find themselves in unfamiliar waters. This kind of drama, which takes place in spades toward the end of the season; is well capitalized on by the two filmmakers, who, though working with a shoestring budget, seem to have done a good editing job. Anyone paying close attention throughout will be rewarded handsomely upon realization that these dramatic developments (created by the natural playing out of reality--the best kind), have been foreshadowed or "flashbacked" by the filmmakers. In one segment a potentially crushing development for CB West takes place as three of their best players leave another crucial game with injuries. In a flashback we then see a 4th string halfback griping about not getting enough practice time. Now he's given a chance to prove himself. Will he rise to the occasion? Or will he tragically; heartbreakingly; crumble under pressure? In an earlier segment shot during practice, Coach is yelling at #20, Andrew Elsing, showing him how to perform a certain gridiron feat. Later....
At this point it becomes hard to argue anymore for the legitimacy of the film's "highlight reel as unfolding drama" approach without ruining it for potential viewers.
I personally found the suspense toward the end of the film nearly unbearable.
DVD Review: BIG CB WEST FAN!!!!!!
Summary: 5 Stars
Man how I miss the Pettine days. Hollywood could not script this. It has to be one of the top 3 football documetaries or movies of all time!!!! DVD Review: The Last Game
Summary: 5 Stars
"The Last Game" relates a rich human story while taking us into the surprisingly ruthless, disciplined world of high school football. This riveting, highly personal film fascinates on several levels: the brutal sense of competition felt even at the high school level (Coach Pettine is no pussycat); the senior Pettine's struggle to decide whether it's time to close his admirable run as coach; and finally, the unusual, awkward dynamic of father and son going head to head as rival coaches. Surprisingly gripping and intense, "The Last Game" is one match-up you won't soon forget.DVD Review: Hands Down
Summary: 5 Stars
The best football documentary ever made. I've seen them all and they cannot even come close to the feel of this movie. If I did not know any better I would think this film was fully scripted.DVD Review: Best football documentary ever
Summary: 5 Stars
This is by far the best football movie/documentary I have ever seen. It is hard to believe that this story is actually true; in fact if I didn't see it with my own two eye I would not believe it. This film was brilliantly filmed and beautifully done! If you like high school football or even football in general this movie is for you! I highly recommend this film to everyone! You wont be able to leave you seat!!
Description of The Last Game
A film about the #1 ranked high school football team in Pennsylvania, and the #3 ranked team in the USA. Mike Pettine, Sr. has coached CB West for 33 years, and is thinking about hanging up his whistle and trading in his cleats for new golf spikes. But with a record 30 game win streak as well as 2 State Championships in a row, he is unable to resist the thrill of the game and the joy of coaching, and enters the season undecided whether it will be his last. The odds against going undefeated for a 3rd straight season, if Vegas allowed such bets, would be 10,000 to 1 against. After all, he lost his offensive line to Division 1 college scholarships. And the odds of winning a world record 3rd straight Pennsylvania AAAA State Championship? A million to 1 shot. Sure, he has good players, like Dustin Picciotti, ranked the #1 fullback prospect in the nation, but he has a bigger problem... the last game of the season on the schedule. On a Friday night in November, the #1 team in PA plays the #2 ranked team... a team coached by none other than... Mike Pettine, Jr. Believe it or not, the name similarity is not a coincidence- it really is his only son who he must face as his greatest rival. And who is stuck in the middle of all this? The wife of Senior and the mother of Junior, a saintly woman called Joyce Pettine, who must keep the peace and decide which side of the field to sit on. THE LAST GAME, if it were a Hollywood script, would be laughed at for the contrivances- but life is stranger than fiction, and all of this is true. The filmmakers, while talented, admit that they are the luckiest two guys around. Both T. Patrick Murray, who originated the project, and Alex Weinress, who shot and edited the film with his partner every day, every practice, every game and everything in between, both played football themselves. But Murray had a unique insight into the sport, as his uncle was the General Manager of the Philadelphia Eagles, and his Dad owned the New England Patriots from the NFL. After the film won BEST FILM at two film festivals, one time beating the winner of that year's SUNDANCE FILM FESTIVAL Best Documentary Award to take top prize, THE LAST GAME was broadcast on national TV in prime time on ESPN, and then went to DVD. The greatest Hollywood sports-centered filmmaker- RON SHELTON- who made Bull Durham and Tin Cup, as well as many other great non-sports features, saw the doc and wrote an adapted screenplay. Currently, Murray and Weinress, along with Kip Konwiser and Jim Lampley, are developing a Hollywood remake of this amazing, once in a lifetime sport story- a football film more about family and friendship... a sports story that reminds us that, in the game of football, and life, winning isn't everything. The ultimate victory is 100% effort, failure is the foundation on which success is built, and to win at the expense of those we love is actually to lose something much more valuable. But, in the end, THE LAST GAME is about a man who coaches like a drill sergeant but secretly conceals a softness and heart of gold only seen by his little grandson. It is about a family who tries to balance an impossible equation of allegiances, a team of teenagers who handle the burden of pressures most adults never experience. Most of all, it is about never giving up, no matter how late it is in the game of football, or life- no matter how far you find yourself behind on the scoreboard- with the power of perseverance, THE LAST GAME proves that attitude beats ability, teamwork beats individual talent, and 'victory' is a state of exhausted effort confused with the less noble goal of 'winning'. THE LAST GAME entertains better than any 100 million Hollywood blockbuster, while teaching us the true meaning of football, family, friendship- and ask us if the price of winning to serve individual ego & America's obsession with success is paid with our soul?Sports documentaries don't get any better than The Last Game, which seems likely to remain the greatest film ever made about the undiluted thrill of high school football. You couldn't write a Hollywood script better than this riveting, real-life celebration of Central Bucks West--the reigning champions of Pennsylvania high school football--and the team's passionate hard-ass coach of 32 years, Mike Pettine Sr. The year is 1999, and as CB West storms its way toward an astonishing, undefeated three-season record of 45-0, we witness the many facets of an unfolding drama: star fullback Dustin Picciotti rises to prominence with an abundance of cocky self-assurance; former CB West player-turned-rival coach Mike Pettine Jr. prepares to battle his father's team in a crucial game; and Pettine Sr. wrestles with the decision to retire after this, his 33rd season. It all culminates in a final championship contest during which Picciotti and two other valuable players are injured--an escalating sequence of events that's guaranteed to have you white-knuckled on the edge of your seat. Given the pure, non-professional nature of high school football, the raw energy of this low-budget, shot-on-video production, and the volatile personalities involved, The Last Game reflects the spirit of CB West: It's just about perfect. --Jeff Shannon
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