Product Description

Peter Coyote (E.T., Erin Brokovich) and Karen Allen (The Perfect Storm) star in this touching family drama about the unifying power of basketball in a community torn apart by war. Both a riveting sports film and a tale of triumph over adversity, The Basket is "a hoop dream movie with a whole lot of heart" (Dallas Morning News)! In 1918, when the wheat-farming townspeople of Waterville, Washington, welcome home their first wounded son from WWI, they'restruck by the harsh reality of war. And just as bigotry and hatred toward two German orphans dividethe close-knit community, a new schoolteacher, Martin (Coyote), rolls into town with some strange ideas and an even stranger leather ball. Through the brand-new game called basketball, Martin strivesto bring harmony to the town...before it tears itself apart!

Product Details

• #26755 in DVD
• Brand: COYOTE,PETER
• Released on: 2001-12-11
• Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
• Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
• Formats: Anamorphic, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DTS Surround Sound, Dubbed, DVD, Special Edition, Widescreen, NTSC
• Original language: English, French, German
• Subtitled in: English
• Dubbed in: Spanish
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: .25 pounds
• Running time: 105 minutes

Amazon.com
The Basket, set in the United States during World War I, is a quiet family film about tolerance and basketball. German orphans Helmut and Brigitta are adopted by the pastor in the tiny farming town of Waterville, Washington. The people of Waterville are suspicious--both of the new "Huns" in town and new schoolteacher Mr. Conlon (Peter Coyote). Conlon sets the town abuzz by teaching (gasp!) German opera and showing his students a new game from the east called basketball. Can the small-town hayseeds beat the juggernaut team, the Spokane Spartans? Will Helmut get to play? And what about that new tractor everybody wants? The Basket doesn't generate quite the excitement of, say, Hoosiers, but it is not a bad movie at all and is beautifully shot, to boot. It's also a great way to teach kids that it isn't as easy as you might think to spot the bad guys. --Ali Davis