Customer Reviews

One On One (1977) [VHS]

5 star:		(37)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

"One on One" opened in the summer of 1977 and was basically a nice follow up to "Rocky" the year before. An underdog, in this case, a small standout high school basketball player, enters the big time world of college basketball and is ill equipped to deal with the pressures - and the assortment of difficult characters he encounters (an underage and older woman seductress; a coach from hell; a smug intellectual, etc.). Robby Benson was an important film star for several years and made several high quality films. This film, which he co-wrote, is probably his best (with "The Chosen," another little scene film, a very close second). His characters were decent, warm, smarter than they seemed, and brave. The love story with Annette O'Toole, who plays his college tutor, is believably drawn, and is the spine of the story of a young man's growth toward manhood. There is also plenty of humor in the story - and the basketball scenes, whether in practice or the actual games, have the feel of real college basketball, even today. THIS FILM NEEDS TO BE ON DVD! It's the 30th anniversary, so come on! On ESPN classic, they showed this film with some terrific commentary by Robby Benson and others in the cast, reflecting back on the experience of making the film. This should definitely be included in the DVD version. It was just excellent - and brought back all the feelings I had when I first saw the film. I was in high school too. It was the late 1970's and we were hungry for heroes. And life was definitely simpler (though, of course, it didn't seem so at the time). This is a smart, funny, inspiring film - and it deserves a gold star DVD treatment - with the terrific Seals and Crofts songs included as a CD bonus. "My Fair Share," the title song is terrific. A five-star treat, by any standards!

This is a great "coming of age" movie, right up there with "Vision Quest", "Blue Chips", "Take Down" etc. I just wish it were available in DVD. I don't know how or who schedules these for DVD release, but I would sure like to add this to my DVD library. Also need to mention incredible soundtrack. Robby, although young and early in his career, was perfect for this role. This movie includes all my favorite elements in a movie, values, good vs evil, hard work pays off, underdog wins type stuff. Great family movie. Worth watching over and over again.

The year was 1977. Aside from their greatest hits CD, Seals & Crofts' next big hits are the songs in the soundtrack of One On One. It's a Paul Williams work! I am 48 now and I've wanting to hear the songs and watch the movie again. Pleaseeeeeee...the CD by Seals & Crofts was already out, the DVD should follow now. Those who agree with me, just add some more stars.

Sonny Baronia
Chiba, Japan

Fun movie, excellent vehicle for displaying good values, integrity and persistance. One of the best movies I saw as a young adult. Please release on DVD soon...I'll buy a copy for every one of my friends who happened to see it with me back in '77!

It's about time the studio should release this movie on DVD hopefully with the soundtrack CD as a bonus. It's one of those classics that's been forgotten.

This is a film I first saw the year it was released and almost 30 years later I am still quoting lines from it and humming the theme song. PLEASE release a DVD version of this marvelous film for a new generation to experience and us "older" viewers (mid 40's)to be reunited with old friends.
A must see film for all ages!!

I was sixteen when this movie was in theatres. I loved it then and I still do now. Of course, I may be a bit biased, as Robby Benson was my #1 heart throb. I wanted to marry him, but alas I never did run into him. Anyhoo...

I agree, this movie is long overdue for being released on DVD! The picture quality is poor on VHS, but that would never stop me from watching it.

One on One is no cinematic masterpiece by 21st century standards, but the story was a real represention of the world of college athletics and the characters well cast. Robby Benson does so well as the innocent, country boy jock and Annette O'Toole the beautiful and sexy college tutor who can't help falling for him. Henry Steele shows courage and true grit in sticking it out against a harsh and heartless college basketball coach. A nice teenage love story 70's style.

THIS IS A GREAT MOVIE WITH A TERRIFIC STORY LINE. G.D SPRADLIN MAKES A GREAT COACH. THIS MOVIE TELLS HOW IT REALLY IS WHEN YOU GO TO THE NEXT LEVEL AND WHAT HAPPENS WHEN EVERYONE ELSE YOU ARE PLAYING WITH WAS ALSO A STAR ON THE HIGH SCHOOL LEVEL. I AM WAITING FOR IT ON DVD.

You know when I watched this movie when it first came out I was about the same age as Benson and played basketball. I was probably caught up in the fantasy of placing myself in his shoes at the time because I would have rated the movie 5 stars back then. I then saw it again about 10 years ago and was amazed at how cheesy some of the dialogue was. I was almost embarrased that I like it so much. I finally saw it again this past month and found I could love it all over again.

I am especially fond of Annette O'Toole. She has a look in this movie that is almost mesmerizing. Some of her facial expressions are almost the definition of "cute". She is worth one of my 4 stars alone. Benson on the other hand was always one of those guys who you either wanted to have as your best friend or you wanted to beat up.

All in all the movies inside politics of college basketball holds up pretty good over the years. It certainly has held up better then movies like North Dallas Forty or Bang the Drum Slowly, which were much better movies at the time but are now woefully dated.

In 1977, my 2 younger brothers, late father and I saw two movies one after the other. The first was "Star Wars," and the other was "One on One." This was at the old QUAD Theater in Ayala Center, Makati, Philippines. The price of movies then was P5.00 for orchestra and P10.00 for loge/balcony (now movies here cost P150.00 - P180.00 or about $3.75 at the prevailing exchange rate). I truly enjoyed "One on One," not only because it had this inspiring theme about an underdog who beats the odds (something like the Rocky of basketball) but because I loved the music and the way it was interspersed with the scenes. Music played such a big part in making me appreciate this movie. I remember owning and repeatedly playing the soundtrack (on vinyl record!) at that time which I later replaced with the cd when it came out last year (or was that 2 years ago). I loved the songs performed by Seals and Crofts and I became an instant Seals and Crofts fan. The main theme "My Fair Share" has remained a radio favorite here in the Philippines up to now. One of my two other favorite songs in the soundtrack is "This Day Belongs To Me" which is played in the opening credits when Henry Steele (Robby Benson) bids his parents goodbye as he leaves home to start a new phase of his life in college. The other wonderful song "Love Conquers All" is played in the ending credits showing Henry and his ladylove (Annette O'Toole) playing basketball as the afternoon sun is about to set. Seeing this film again after so many years (there hasn't been any VHS copy anywhere) made me appreciate the movie even more. There is even a cameo role by a very young Melanie Griffith as a hitchhiker who extorts money from Henry. Annette O' Toole plays Henry's beautiful tutor whom he falls in love with. I rate this dvd 5 stars based on content. My real complaint is that it took so long for this film to come out on dvd but it does not have any special features at all for something which costs a whopping $25.99! And no subtitles? Isn't this supposed to be basic in a dvd - to have subtitles at least? They could have conducted some interviews on Robby and Annette now (32 years after!) and asked them to share their insights and anecdotes in making the movie. I am sure Robby and Annette would gladly oblige to an interview. But all in all, I had nostalgic fun watching this movie again. The steep price did not prevent me from purchasing a copy. It was quite a pricey trip down memory lane but sometimes people are willing to pay the price for something worth revisiting like "One on One" which happens to be one of my fave movies of all time!