Blue Chips DVD with Nick Nolte, Mary McDonnell, J.T. Walsh (PG-13) +Movie Reviews

One of the best basketball movies ever made

retrowens | Alabama, USA | 09/10/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

""Blue Chips" is one of my favorite basketball movies. I've seen it a few times and it still doesn't get old. A coach (Nick Nolte) that has always had a successful career as coach of Western University is facing the threat of his first ever losing season. He has to find a way to get his team back on a winning streak, even if it means finding new and better players. Nick Nolte does a spectacular job as the coach, but that's not the only reason that "Blue Chips" is such a realistic and great basketball movie. If you're familiar with NBA basketball, you'll see a lot of players that you know from today's game such as Penny Hardaway and Shaq. You'll also see other basketball legends such as Larry Bird and Bob Cousy. When it's gametime, it's as realistic as a movie can get. It has powerful coaching, spectacular defensive and offensive movies, the roaring crowd, and even the press conference after the game. "Blue Chips" has more drama in it than just about any basketball movie ever made.If you'd like to see a realistic basketball movie, I recommend getting "Blue Chips." It won't let you down."

An entertaining look at college basketball recruiting

Andrew | Elkins Park | 12/22/1999

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Nick Nolte plays an explosive, but caring college basketball coach who's career is on the decline due to recruiting problems. Nolte decides to lose his ethics and give recruits money, cars, houses, etc. to get them to come to his school. A serious sports movie without the usual fairytale ending. The basketball action is exciting and realistic because most of it is played by real NBA stars, like Shaq, Penny Hardaway, Allan Houston, George Lynch and many others. Bob Cousy is better than expected as the athletic director who doesn't miss foul shots."

Not a Hoosiers Imitator

Haitianlover | Tallahassee, Florida | 02/05/2003

(4 out of 5 stars)

"We sure do make a lot of sports movies in the US, and this is one of the better ones, not as good as Hoosiers, but then again who could touch Gene Hackman in his prime, right? What I like about this one is the somewhat stiff performances by Shaq and Anfernee Hardaway, which add "something" of reality to the film. Really. The other good thing is Nick Nolte. He played his part to the hilt. He sold his soul to the devil (he cheated), but then he redeemed himself. The scene with him teaching the kids at the playground the fundamentals is a classy and classic ending. Excellent movie. It's not as emotionally exhilerating as Hoosiers, but that's another story, right?"

"Blue Chips" Deserves A Blue Ribbon In This Writer's Opinion

David Von Pein | Mooresville, Indiana; USA | 07/18/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Nick Nolte, age 53 here, is outstanding in his role as "Pete Bell" in 1994's "Blue Chips". Bell is a Bobby Knight-like basketball coach who is not at all happy when his team is on the losing end of the score. Knight himself has a role in this movie, as do some other well-known people from the real basketball world.

I find myself watching and re-watching the opening scene of this film, where Nolte storms into the locker room, wreaking havoc on the water cooler (and whatever else happens to be within arm's reach). It's a great beginning to a very good motion picture.

The DVD edition of "Blue Chips" was released by Paramount in March of 2005, and became a welcome addition to my collection of movie discs. The DVD offers up a beautiful-looking Widescreen (1.85:1 anamorphic) version of the movie. Colors are brilliant. No bonus features are offered on the disc however. Not even the Theatrical Trailer, which would have been kind of nice to have.

The 1997 VHS video edition of "Blue Chips" is not really too bad either, although it's not in the preferred Widescreen mode. But the VHS does offer a robust 2.0 Dolby Surround track.

If you collect sports movies, you should probably get yourself a video or DVD copy of 1994's "Blue Chips" for sure. It's worth the price for that opening water cooler-destroying scene and Coach Bell's later basketball-kicking tirade all by themselves. ;)

"I want this team to win so bad I can TASTE it!!""

The other side of collegiate athletics

spiders-n-vinegaroons | Miami, FL | 03/06/2007

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Being involved in collegiate and high school coaching, I tend to go back and watch this film from time to time to remind me of what sports is all about. If you're a coach, it's about your devotion to your program and to your kids that you coach. It's the job, it's the challenge. It's the same as teaching a class of Math or History to a bunch of kids. The point is to teach them to become better at what they do and to also make them better on everything outside of the game itself.

If you're a ballplayer, it's about your devotion to the game and to yourself and to your team. You're as good as your team and it is up to you to understand the philosophy being taught in the game. The game doesn't just teach you about becoming a better ball player. The game teaches you about leadership, teamwork, decision-making, and responsibility. Whether you succeed at the game or not, you succeed in all other aspects involved.

Blue Chips is about how critical it can become at times to make right decisions at all levels of athletics. Whether you're the president of the college, the athletic director, a booster, a coach, or even a player, the decisions you make can have considerable effects and consequences for the overall integrity of the sport, your school, and career. Without going into too much detail about the movie, Blue Chips deals with under the table financing of high school players by boosters and people close to the college, in hopes of wooing these standouts to sign with the program. All levels of the program are involved in this true-to-life tale of deception, greed, and moral judgment.

I will disagree with other reviewers about the cast. I will argue that to tell the true story of this side of collegiate athletics, it would be normal to use actual athletes that were "larger than life" at the time. Overall, a good movie to watch if you enjoy the sports genre."

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