Customer Reviews

The Pistol - The Birth of a Legend [VHS]

5 star:		(39)
4 star:		(16)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is a must see movie for all Dads and sons (or daughters). FYI: Re the previous reviewer that gave it one star. The movie is not a lie. Before Pete Maravich attended Needham-Broughton high, he did indeed play at Daniel High in Clemson, SC. He holds the record there with 483 points in one season. Without this uninformed one star review, the movie would get the five stars that it so richly deserves.

This wonderful basketball movie is a childhood biography of the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame enshrinee Peter Press "Pistol Pete" Maravich. He was one of the few people in basketball history bred by his father Press Maravich to become a basketball child prodigy.
Out of all the basketball movies ever released I would rate very few as truly exceptional. This is one of the best basketball movies ever made. It portrays the loving obsession of Pete's desire to become a basketball scoring superman and showman supreme. Maravich later lived up to his self-fulfilling prophecy of what NBA basketball hall-of- famer Isiah Thomas stated: " 'Pistol Pete' Maravich was probably the greatest NBA showman of all time ". Maravich, probably more than any other NBA player is responsible for the basketball "showtime" obsession we are permeated with today. He was the forerunner of assimilating more "Harlem Globetrotter" trick skills to seriously competitive NBA games than any individual before him.
"The Pistol: The Birth of a Legend" shows Pete in his self-training with amazing basketball handling and trick shooting skills. Former UCLA coach John Wooden stated that "Pistol Pete" Maravich could perform more amazing things with a basketball when he was in the tenth grade than any Harlem Globetrotter John Wooden ever saw.
This movie depicts Maravich's schoolboy career. Although in the past some plans had been made to create a movie about the entire life of Pete Maravich such a movie has never come to fruition. This is the only movie about Maravich in existence. Adam Guier as Pete Maravich and Nick Benedict as his father perform fine acting portrayals. Admittedly, Pete was spindly and somewhat ill health in appearance ( whereas Adam Guier is not ) and the real Press Maravich as his father was in fact probably tougher acting than Nick Benedict, this is still a very creditable acting performance. This movie doesn't explore the tragic personal problems Pete's mother had.
This inspirational movie has a Christian tone to it and it was the recipient of a Christian award to films. Although Pete Maravich early in his life wasn't clean cut in his life-style he spent a great deal of time spreading the Christian message in his later years before he so tragically died on a basketball court at a church school in California at the age of forty. This movie was released close to the time of his death so it is more in keeping with his moralistic intentions at that time. Perhaps because this movie wasn't released by Hollywood is the very reason why it is such a superb movie.
I perform one person basketball trick shooting shows and I must confess to you that Pete Maravich influenced me more than any one else other than the Harlem Globetrotters. Thanks to idolizing Pete when I was a teenager I am able to perform some of those extraordinarily difficult trick shots you see Adam Guier perform in this movie to a phenomenally high degree of statistical accuracy.
If you should only view five basketball movies in your lifetime this movie should be one of them.

Pistol Pete is one of my favorite basketball movies of all time, ranking right up there with Hoosiers. I don't understand why they haven't put it on DVD yet.

Pistol Pete sticks to the life of 8th grader Pete Maravich. His dad is a coach at the local college and teaches him basketball in his spare time. Pete doesn't fit in very well at school because he is so hooked on basketball. He gets a chance to try out for the team and hijinx ensue. It is actually pretty good basketball to watch - even though it was made a while ago and on a shoestring budget. I wish I could have seen Pete Maravich play when he was alive. Great for the whole family.

Pistol : the Birth of a Legend has to be one of the best movies in sports ever. It tells the story of where Pete's dream to become the greatest basketball player ever begins. In his freshman year of high school, Pete Maravich had a lot of trouble. The first knock against him was that his dad was considered a psycho by the town because he taught Pete the weirdest basketball drills and Pete was considered a hot dog when he put these drills to use on the basketball court. Another thing his teammates hated was that a lowly freshman was playing and starting on a team that traditionally only played seniors. The coach's son had a real problem with Pete because of his show-boating and at one time in the movie challenged Pete to spin the basketball on his finger for one hour just to show him up in front of everybody! It ends up backfiring against him in the end as Pete successfully completes the task and shows up the coach's son instead. This was a also a great movie because not only did Pete overcome all this adversity, but he also had a great deal of importance in the first black-white high school basketball game in South Carolina. I just saw the tv movie "Passing Glory" about the first black-white game in Lousiana high school basketball history and thought that both this movie and "Passing Glory" were very well-done in the way they interpreted the hardships of prejudice in the south at the time. As a matter of fact, Maravich is mentioned in the movie because at the time he was playing college basketball at LSU, although it was a derogatory statement about how people saw Pete play the game at the time. This movie was also made just before Pete's untimely death and there is a tribute to his life at the end of the movie. If you like basketball, Pete Maravich, or just want to see a really good movie which you can watch over and over again, then I would recommend purchasing the "Pistol: Birth of a Legend."

"The Pistol" was rated G for "GREAT!", said one reviewer when it was theatrically released in 1990. I concur. It's rare to see a biography that has the courage to show the least famous part of an individual's life, i.e. Pistol Pete Maravich's childhood, and the father-son relationship that was the fuel for Pete's later basketball greatness. It was so much more than just a basketball movie. It's the kind of movie you want to sit down with your entire family and enjoy. There's something for everyone in this movie. My 2 1/2 year-old-son loves the opening storm scene and the basketball sequences. As a mom, I love the scenes with Press and Helen Maravich, and of course, the wonderfully touching scenes with Press and Pete. Basketball enthusiasts will enjoy some of the historical touches, as well as Pete's signature showboat passes, dribbles, ballhandling, and shooting. There's drama galore, wonderful music, and even great character development to treat film officionados. Too bad there's not a CD of the music in "The Pistol," because there's a lot of really meaningful and catchy stuff. I find myself singing the tunes even now. So if you're looking for a really good family film, something you don't have to worry about your kids watching, and they'll watch again and again, "The Pistol" is a must. Let me recommend a companion series done by the late great Pistol himself that shows him teaching his drills and basketball skills: Homework Basketball (4 tape series). END

The Pistol shows the young basketball career of the legend "Pistol Pete" Maravich...Adam Guier is amazing in his basketball skills, but even more valuable and exciting than that is the lessons this movie teaches in how to handle relationships with peers whose attitudes range from true friendship to jealousy. Setting and reaching goals (pun intended!) is a hallmark of this video. You will want to stand up cheer after seeing this video

It's a shame he's gone, but a legendary father and son team created one of the biggest fanfare idols in sports history. Before Micheal Jordan, there was Pistol Pete Maravich. To this day you can check the college basketball history books and find an amazing basketball wizard who brought showmanship and dazzle to the game. As a kid "Pistol" Pete Maravich was groomed to be the best. His dad dreamed he would someday be just that. This movie only shows the young Pete on the high school varsity squad before he was even in high school! He was smaller than the others players, but his gifted ability to play basketball and do things no one at that time had ever seen before made him a star at a young age. Pete was named one of the NBA's 50 best players of all time, but didn't live to see it. At the NBA All-Star Game where all of the greats were honored, his two sons (Jaeson plays at Univ. of Alabama) stood proudly in the place of their father. This is a story about a magnificent obsession to be the best there ever was, and a son's hope to show his dad that he could be just that. Today's best example of the kind of player "Pistol" was is Sacramento Kings Guard Jason Williams. Pete created some of the moves you will see; and you won't believe your eyes!

The Pistol The Birth of a Legend is jam packed with action and drills to make you want to go outside and work until you die. It expresses that any man or woman on earth could do what ever he or she wants to do if they has confidence. Press Maravich, Pistol's dad, drives Pete to have confidence in what ever he wants to do and Pete will succeed. Pistol Pete takes his confidence and spreads it to everyone that surrounds him. Even though most of his teammates think he's a showboat by doing his behind the back passes as an 8th grader playing varsity basketball, Pistol lets that negativeness drive him to be someone better. Pistol led his team to the state championship losing it to Cleveland High. This is the best movie I have ever seen and would recommend this to anyone whether you like basketball or not.

This movie a once in a life time film that teaches you some skills that can be used in the game. But if you don't like basketball this is still a great family film that everyone will enjoy.

This is the Greatest Movie ever made. "Pistol" Pete was the greatest player ever and this movie shows his childhood perfectly. I am now a high school student and this movie related to me beautifully.