Review of Junction Boys

Junction Boys
By: Team Marketing Average Rating: 4.0 Total Reviews: 13
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Football Coach

On: 2008-09-19

This is a semi-factual documentary of some brutal pre-season conditioning conducted by Paul "Bear" Bryant in his first year at Texas A & M. Im a coach and think its a great what-not-to-do movie. However, the acting isnt too bad and it might appeal to a non sports fan. Should be in every football fans library.

Beary Awesome

On: 2008-02-03

This movie is really worth watching. It has the movie,Sportcentury of Bear Bryant and interviews of the real people who were there. The movie is somewhat embellished abnd brings back memories of football camp. They believed you dont give players water also. Just remember it is camp and camp never is supposed to be fun. Camp is grulling. Truly the Bear is the best. Six national titles and only one losing season. The only ring he wore was the Junction Boys ring. He truly had such great respect for these guys. A sports film worth owning. Dont forget to buy Monday Night Mayhem.

Entertaining and I hope Historical

On: 2007-11-07

I enjoyed the Junction Boys DVD as I have lived during this time period. My son, who plays HS football now, did not like it. He felt like the camp in Junction was cruel and unusual punishment. From a historical point of view I remember things like this happening during that time in our history. I know coaches did things differently then; I am glad we have grown as humans since then. I also was pleased at how the movie ended. I have read the biography of Paul "Bear" Bryant and feel that the movie did a good job of depicting him as a man and coach of a time past. I was entertained and so it is a good movie in my estimation.

Great film

On: 2007-10-10

The Junction Boys is a great movie about Bear Bryant and the first team that he coached at Texas A&M. Its a great motivational film as well as a great story about coaching football under a demanding task master.
The story is true. You dont have to particularly care for football to enjoy this film. But if you do like football, any football, this is a must see movie. A true classic.

2 stars for the movie. 5 stars for the extra features.

On: 2007-01-01

The extra features on this disk are well worth the price but the movie itself is full of holes. Too much is left out. Paul Bryant comes out looking like a bad guy here which Im sure doesnt sit well with many college football fans. The extra features however are excellent. The ESPN presentations of Sports Century and The Real Junction Boys alone make this a worthy addition for any football fan. If you are intersted in this story buy the book. Its much more informative and portrays Bryant in a much better and understandable light. Was he mean? Yes! Was he ornery? Always! But you will understand why he became this way at this point in his career.

JUNCTION BOYS - GREAT DVD

On: 2006-02-23

GREAT SERVICE - I HAD A PROBLEM WITH THE DVD. LATTER I FOUND OUT IT JUST DIDNT WORK ON MY VCR - DVD PLAYER AT HOME BUT ON THE ONE I HAD AT SCHOOL IT WORKED GREAT

What I saw happen...

On: 2006-02-14

I first watched this movie while working as a Behavioral Health worker with borderline criminial Adolecents age 12-17. A fellow co-worker brought the film in as a suprise "treat movie" for the kids.

In all my years (there have been many) I have never seen a reaction to a film from this population in all my life. The story of the team and Mr. Bryant and how it wa portrayed in this film made the kids begin to think of their own lives , and how they could do better for people.

It was a strange reaction to this film, but it truly moved them and myself.

As far as the film itself goes Berringer is great as is the support cast and the studio did an excellent job. I have heard the book is even better.

Fine sports film.................

On: 2005-06-06

There is nothing about this movie that sugar coats what happened at junction in 1954. Even coach bryant knew that he went too far and was too rigid with his rules and standards. So rigid that even players who were sick and injured from the ordeal were not allowed to stay on the team if they couldnt practice. After A&M lost their first game in a blow out bryant said "that one was on me" because the players were too beat up. That 1-9 season was bryants only losing season ever! Understand the historical significance? The greatest college coach ever had a 1-9 team because of junction!

We need to have a historical perspective here. First of all texas a&m was not a small school. It is a big time major football school with a long history of winning. Back in the 1950s and even into the 60s it was not uncommon for coaches to work their players half to death in searing heat with no water. They believed then that it toughened them up. Read about bud wilkinson at oklahoma and you see the same thing. Also at that time you had a lot of walk ons. Students who played high school football but didnt get a scholarship trying out for the team. These walk ons were treated very cruel as a means of thinning them out quickly. That happened here but it happened everywhere.

This is a movie about survival under incredibly tough circumstances. The fact that those circumstances were forced upon them doesnt change that. Bryant loved those 35 men because he knew he pushed them too hard; because he knew he went too far. That is why he wore that ring to his grave And most of those 35 men loved him. The movie depicts a legendary 70 year old coach nervous like a school girl ready to meet these men 25 years later. He doesnt know how many would be there or how they would respond to him. Most were there and most were successful in life and credited junction with preparing them for that success.

It is uncertain how bryants legendary status effected the opinion these men had of him 25 years after the ordeal. We do know that junction is not just an "appalling" story. Its a story worth telling.

A Terrific Movie

by: Anonymous On: 2005-01-04

This movie really shows the tough practices at Junction with Bear Bryant. It was a very good movie and the story was great. The book is alot more descriptive, and the movie and book both share a story that will be remembered for a long time.

Good sports movie, appalling story

On: 2004-10-26

Tom Berenger shows his talent as a great character actor as legendary coach Bear Bryant, but I found the story to be still more evidence of the horrible expectations of athletes in sports by coaches and the dreadful pressures athletes place upon themselves to succeed. I found it hard to believe that Bryants proteges could show so little resentment for the outright TORTURE and ABUSE to which they were subjected in the name of "Championship Team." Still, this is a true story, and if the real players feel that way.... as a parent, though, Id have ripped Bryants lungs out. Recommend for the history and the fact that this is, indeed, a true story.

Good sports movie, appalling story

On: 2004-10-25

Tom Berenger shows his talent as a great character actor as legendary coach Bear Bryant, but I found the story to be still more evidence of the horrible expectations of athletes in sports by coaches and the dreadful pressures athletes place upon themselves to succeed. I found it hard to believe that Bryants proteges could show so little resentment for the outright TORTURE and ABUSE to which they were subjected in the name of "Championship Team." Still, this is a true story, and if the real players feel that way.... as a parent, though, Id have ripped Bryants lungs out. Recommend for the history and the fact that this is, indeed, a true story.

Great film..

On: 2004-08-28

amazing film about an amazing man. Shows the true heart and spirit of one of the greatest coaches of all time.. Best watched laying on the back of your own personal offensive lineman. ;)Oh come on girls you know i am right

Great film..

On: 2004-08-27

amazing film about an amazing man. Shows the true heart and spirit of one of the greatest coaches of all time.. Best watched laying on the back of your own personal offensive lineman. ;)Oh come on girls you know i am right

A must have for any Bear fan!

On: 2003-07-13

I LOVED THIS MOVIE!

I have been a fan of Bear Bryant ever since I can remember. He was without a doubt one of the toughest college coaches in the history of football. The Junction Boys is about Coach Bryants tenure at Texas A&M. Sure some critics say that this movie focused more on the brutal treatment of player rather than football, but thats is what set coach Bryant apart from other coachs. His practices were brutal, maybe to the point of torture. But maybe his long hard practices are part of what made him one of the winningest coaches in college football history! If your going to cry about this not being a football film, go watch Remember The Titans instead. But if you want a true insite on the icon that is Paul Bear Bryant, and what he was like as a man, this movie is a must have! Roll Tide!

A Completely Wasted Opportunity

by: Anonymous On: 2003-06-17

Thanks a bunch, filmmakers: Youve taken a terrific book, brimming with potential for cinematic presentation, and turned it into a stale old formula rendering of a boot-camp movie. You might as well have hired R. Lee Ermey to be the coach, or perhaps Frank Sutton as Sgt. Carter.

This story should have been told as it was in the book, beginning with the spirit of a college unlike any other in the world, a devotion to a campus with a theme which exists nowhere else: The vision of Texas A&M was the foundation of this tale.

Paul "Bear" Bryant, focused only on football, thought he was taking a mere little coaching job at a small school as just a step on the ladder of his career. Upon arrival, though, he found himself part of a richly woven society, the Fighting Texas Aggies. The place exuded spirit, and Bryant was astounded by the student and community enthusiasm. A complete stranger, he was welcomed to the team, to the family. The magnificent Aggie Band drummed him into the fold, and he realized he had arrived in a marvelously unique setting. Accordingly, Bryant set about to do his job and build a football team.

The film explored none of this -- it simply launched right into boot-camp maltreatment that bordered on criminal, with Sgt. Barnes from Platoon calling the cadence. We saw nothing of the spirit behind the endeavor, the reason for all that work, the motivation to bring honor to the Maroon and White. We just got another bland boot-camp flick, a smattering of awkward jokes, and very little of the complete story.

I wish I could win the state lottery -- I would use the funds to finance a remake of this film and I would do it correctly the second time. Read the book, its a great book, but dont waste your time watching this insipid version of the tale. It was nothing but the waste of a terrific opportunity to tell a great story.