A sharply observed and richly detailed nonfiction feature that plays like feel-good, crowd-pleasing entertainment.
Comment
03/26/07
Go Tigers! (2001)
85 %
Reviews Counted: 39 Fresh: 33 Rotten:6 Average Rating: 7.1/10
Consensus:
Go Tigers! is both an absorbing and evenhanded documentary, a perceptive look into the world of high school sports and its impact on a community.
Runtime: 1 hr 43 mins
Synopsis: In the shadow of a crumbling Norman Rockwell dreamscape, towns like Massillon, Ohio face an ongoing identity crisis and fiscal decline in the new dot com millennium. But while steel mills close and families drift away from such industrial pockets, Massillon's identity has remained intact.... [More]
Genre: Sports/Recreation
Starring: Dave Irwin, Danny Studer, Ellery Moore, Frank Cicchinelli, Rick Shepas
Director: Kenneth A. Carlson
Screenwriter: Kenneth A. Carlson
Producer: Kenneth A. Carlson, Sidney Sherman
Composer: Randy Miller
Screenwriter: Kenneth A. Carlson
Producer: Kenneth A. Carlson, Sidney Sherman
Composer: Randy Miller
Reviews
Top Critic
Director Kenneth Carlson may be a little too close to the subject of this documentary.
03/26/07
A really good documentary gets inside its subject and examines every aspect of it with a critical eye. Go Tigers! opens a lot of drawers but often only takes the slightest peek inside.
10/15/03
A sports documentary that is interested in much more than just sports.
12/31/02
Like the films Hoosiers and Hoop Dreams, Go Tigers! shows how a sport is more than just a game, but a part of American life.
12/08/02
Tales like this, told with passion and skill, are what make documentaries such a vibrant and enduring part of the cinema landscape.
10/15/02
Carlson is willing to overlook and forgive all of the craziness and even criminalities that find a home in Massillon.
09/08/02
Probably the best sports documentary since Hoop Dreams… Go Tigers! captures, vividly and unwaveringly, [high school] football as a civic enterprise.
08/26/02
Top Critic
There's some great sports footage, some colorful characters, and a great insight into the mind of a Midwestern football town.
01/04/02
Traverses an enormous amount of material ably and paints some vivid portraits in complex colors.
12/28/01
... as sports movies go, this one does manage to entertain and inform.
12/21/01
The sheer volume of topics here means the film isn't as in-depth as could have been, but it is a fine effort.
12/14/01
If ever there was a town that displayed the spirit of America, this is it.
11/18/01
a caution against an entire American culture grown fat, brutal, and stupid on their own frugal repast of bread and circus
10/13/01
In a vivid portrait of one high school football season, Carlson gives us a snapshot of American values on parade.
10/13/01
A smart and often mesmerizing look at how high-school sports can hold a medium-sized town in its grip.
10/08/01
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10/04/01
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