IMDb > Friday Night Lights (2004)
Friday Night Lights
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Friday Night Lights (2004) More at IMDbPro »

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Friday Night Lights (2004) -- Based on H.G. Bissinger's book, which profiled the economically depressed town of Odessa, Texas and their heroic high school football team, The Permian High Panthers.
Friday Night Lights (2004) -- Based on H.G. Bissinger's book, which profiled the economically depressed town of Odessa, Texas and their heroic high school football team, The Permian High Panthers.
Friday Night Lights (2004) -- Sinematurk - Trailer (Flash)

Overview

User Rating:
7.2/10   19,421 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
Down 6% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.
Directors:
Peter Berg
Josh Pate
Writers (WGA):
Buzz Bissinger (book)
David Aaron Cohen (screenplay) ...
more
Contact:
View company contact information for Friday Night Lights on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
8 October 2004 (USA) more
Genre:
Action | Drama | Sport more
Tagline:
Hope comes alive more
Plot:
Based on H.G. Bissinger's book, which profiled the economically depressed town of Odessa, Texas and their heroic high school football team, The Permian High Panthers. full summary | full synopsis
Plot Keywords:
more
Awards:
1 win & 4 nominations more
NewsDesk:
(47 articles)
What Allison is thankful for
 (From AOL - TVSquad. 22 November 2009, 1:03 PM, PST)
Review: Friday Night Lights - A Sort of a Homecoming
 (From AOL - TVSquad. 19 November 2009, 6:29 AM, PST)
User Comments:
Excellent Look at a Small Town's Football Madness more (270 total)

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

Billy Bob Thornton ... Coach Gary Gaines

Lucas Black ... Mike Winchell

Garrett Hedlund ... Don Billingsley
Derek Luke ... Boobie Miles

Jay Hernandez ... Brian Chavez
Lee Jackson ... Ivory Christian

Lee Thompson Young ... Chris Comer

Tim McGraw ... Charles Billingsley
Grover Coulson ... L.V. Miles

Connie Britton ... Sharon Gaines

Connie Cooper ... Mrs. Winchell
Kasey Stevens ... Flippy

Ryanne Duzich ... Melissa

Amber Heard ... Maria

Morgan Farris ... Jennifer Gaines
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Create a character page for: ?

Additional Details

MPAA:
Rated PG-13 for thematic issues, sexual content, language, some teen drinking and rough sports action.
Parents Guide:
Add content advisory for parents
Runtime:
118 min
Country:
USA
Language:
English
Color:
Color
Aspect Ratio:
2.35 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS
Certification:
Iceland:LH | Canada:G (Quebec) | Canada:PG (Alberta/British Columbia/Manitoba/Nova Scotia/Ontario) | Australia:M (tv rating) | South Korea:12 | Malaysia:U | Ireland:12A | Singapore:NC-16 | UK:12A (original rating) | UK:12 (video rating) (2005) | USA:PG-13 | Argentina:13 | Finland:K-11 | Australia:PG
Filming Locations:
Abilene, Texas, USA more
Company:
Friday Night Lights LLC more

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
To gather research, producers visited real high school football games in Texas during the fall of 2003. more
Goofs:
Anachronisms: At the high school party, a bag of Lay's potato chips is clearly shown. The design of that bag and the Lay's logo is post-2000. more
Quotes:
Radio Listener: There's too much learning going on at that school. more
Movie Connections:
Referenced in Be Kind Rewind (2008) more
Soundtrack:
A Poor Man's Memory, more

FAQ

Who created the background music for the movie?
more

User Comments

   (Comment on this title)
36 out of 54 people found the following comment useful.
Excellent Look at a Small Town's Football Madness, 9 October 2004
10/10
Author: Doris Bell (jabell) from Olney, MD

To be honest, I went to this movie primarily to see Christian Kane, but the reviews had been excellent. I expected a cross between All the Right Moves and Remember the Titans, but it was nothing like the second, which was about two coaches forced to make their teams blend into one while avoiding racial problems. There were elements of All the Right Moves, though, as several of the young men expressed their desire to get out of Odessa through football, but the movie focused on several of them rather than just one. Its best companion piece in my opinion is the Texas Cheerleader Murder, which shows the same football madness from the other gender as they will do anything to be cheerleaders!

Billy Bob Thornton was excellent as the coach, facing pressure on all sides to win the state championship. An excellent touch was the large number of for sale signs on his lawn after his team was blown away in the game following Boobie's injury. The community put pressure on the boys as well, everyone who owned a state championship ring from prior years pushing them in the kids' faces. Tim McGraw was a revelation as Brian's abusive father, and the actress who was Mike Winchell's mother gave a brilliant performance.

All of the young actors were excellent, especially Derek Luke as the unfortunate Boobie. He made the audience feel his pain and frustration. Lucas Black, who had done such a marvelous job in American Gothic, has a face that reflects his pain as he faces all of his tribulations, which include the pressure of suddenly becoming the team's best hope when Boobie is out and of having a mother with mental and/or emotional problems. Every one of them is a gem.

The cinematography was outstanding, and the shots of the town and the bleak surroundings certainly demonstrated why the kids wanted to get away. Despair hung in the air, with people clinging to their moments of glory as the only happy days of their entire lives. This was its primary likeness to All the Right Moves, although the hated home town was a Pennsylvania steel town (Johnstown, PA, which I escaped from myself), not a Texas prairie city.

And what made things even more intense was that this was a true story. Showing the boys' fates at the end was an excellent conclusion.

And Christian Kane? I knew he only had a cameo, as he had told Peter Berg that he'd love to be in the movie and would take any part there was. He was the man in the restaurant/bar who asked Mike Winchell if he'd take a picture with him & his kid. He was long-haired, unshaven, and, to be honest, if I'd seen him this way first, I'd never have given him a second look. He did a good job as a "good ole boy," though!

Was the above comment useful to you?
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Message Boards

Discuss this movie with other users on IMDb message board for Friday Night Lights (2004)
Recent Posts (updated daily)User
My High School Football Short Film rainefilms
So Inspirational edlund32
Real life Friday Night Lights (Head to Head) displacedbrett
This is dumbest, stupidest movie I have ever seen glpatton
Had promise, but chose not to deliver The_Great_Pantubo
Amber Heard maridgelyjr
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